Deferred Compensation

Definition

Compensation arrangements where employees forgo current earnings in exchange for higher payments in the future, often including stock options, RSUs, or non-qualified deferred compensation plans. It's basically a promise: 'we'll pay you later... probably.'

Example Usage

The executive package includes a $200k salary plus $500k in deferred compensation over four years.

Origin

Tax and executive compensation planning from the 1950s+

Fun Fact

If a company goes bankrupt, deferred compensation claims are typically treated as unsecured debt, making employees last in line.

Source: Executive Compensation Standards

Related Terms

Beginner

seniority

A system where tenure and time-served trump talent and performance when determining privileges, promotions, or layoff protection. It's the organizational equivalent of "I was here first, so I get the good parking spot," which works great until you realize the person with seniority peaked in 1987. The union's best friend and the merit-based manager's worst nightmare.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

cultures

The shared beliefs, behaviors, symbols, and unspoken rules that define how a group operates; the invisible operating system that determines whether your workplace is toxic or terrific.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

protected class

Groups of people protected from discrimination under federal and state laws based on characteristics like race, gender, age, disability, and religion. Being in a protected class doesn't guarantee a job, but it does guarantee you can't be rejected because of that characteristic.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

redress

The fancy legal term for "making things right" after someone's been wronged, usually involving apologies, compensation, or policy changes. It's what happens when grievances actually lead somewhere instead of disappearing into the corporate void. Think of it as justice's customer service department, ideally with better response times.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

Counteroffering

When your current employer suddenly matches or exceeds a job offer you've accepted elsewhere. It's the corporate equivalent of 'wait, don't leave, I do love you.'

👥 Human Resources

Advanced

Succession Planning

The process of identifying who will take over key roles when current leaders leave, retire, or ascend to a higher plane of executive retreat. In practice, it means everyone secretly knows who the backup is except the backup, who finds out the day their predecessor quits.

👥 Human Resources

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