FNDN Series The Tough Pay Conversations (And How to Actually Have Them) with Sarika Lamont, VP of People & Culture at Vidyard
Welcome back to the FNDN Series, where we continue our deep dive into startup compensation with industry leaders from across the startup world. In our conversation with Sarika Lamont, VP of People and Culture at Vidyard, we tackle the most challenging compensation conversations that people leaders face. From delivering "no raise" news to high performers during budget constraints, to navigating pay transparency questions about salary differences between new hires and existing employees, Sarika shares practical frameworks for handling these difficult discussions. We explore how AI can enhance performance feedback, the importance of transparency in building trust, and strategies for managing expectations when business realities clash with employee desires. Keep watching to discover how to turn your toughest pay conversations into opportunities for deeper engagement and trust-building.
Chapters:
00:50 Guest Introduction: Sarika Lamont, VP at Vidyard
02:15 The Toughest Pay Conversation: Telling High Performers "No"
03:21 Framework for Delivering Bad News About Compensation
06:34 The Power of Recognition Beyond Money
08:20 Building Year-Round Recognition and Development
11:57 Using AI to Enhance Performance Feedback and Mentoring
12:31 Practical AI Application for Personalized Development Plans
13:02 Pay Transparency Challenges: New Hire vs. Existing Employee Pay
16:02 Navigating Pay Band Implementation and Market Reality
19:27 The Benefits of Long-Term Employment vs. Job Hopping
21:15 Moving Toward Pay Transparency Despite Executive Concerns
22:52 Treating Employees Like Adults: Trust and Consistency
24:14 Conclusion and Wrap-Up
Connect with Sarika
Visit: vidyard.com
https://linkedin.com/in/sarikal/
Resources Mentioned
Tools and Companies:
Vidyard - AI-enabled go-to-market platform for video messaging and hosting
ChatGPT - Used for creating structured performance feedback and development plans
Ontario Pay Transparency Laws - Full transparency requirement starting January 1st, 2026
Concepts Discussed:
Pay band quartile systems for compensation structure
Comp ratios and market positioning strategies
AI-powered performance feedback generation
________________
Pave is a compensation intelligence platform that gives you real-time compensation data from more than 8,300 companies, allowing you to make calls with confidence, not guesswork.
Access Information & Resources from Pave:
2026 Budgeting & Trends Report: Get your free copy of the full report discussed in the episode, which includes trends on planned merit budgets, "job hugging," and pay transparency.
Learn More About Pave: Visit the Pave homepage to explore how you can benchmark pay, price jobs, manage pay ranges, and run your merit cycle all in one place.
________________
More FNDN Episodes: