Rethinking Compensation in the Public Sector

By Harold Westervelt, CEO of TrueComp 

Not long ago, I was in a conversation with a CHRO from a large public agency who said something that stuck with me: “We’re not trying to be flashy. But we are trying to stop losing our best people.” 

There was no panic in her voice—just quiet urgency. Her team had been working around the clock to understand how rising market pay, shifting expectations, and budget pressures intersect. And they weren’t alone. 

Across the country, I see public agencies navigating a very real tension: the need to offer competitive, equitable pay—without overcommitting budgets or disrupting internal structures. At the same time, private sector employers are rewriting the playbook in real time, adjusting comp strategies faster than ever to attract, retain, and realign talent. 

Public agencies can’t always move at that pace—and they shouldn’t be expected to. But that doesn’t mean they can’t move smarter. 

What agility really means in compensation 

In the private sector, agility often gets framed as speed: how quickly can we respond to market shifts? But in the public sector, agility is more about readiness—the ability to make informed, defensible decisions before a problem becomes a crisis. 

That starts with asking better questions: 

• Are we overpaying in some areas while falling behind in others? 

• Do our planned adjustments hold up across multiple years, or just this cycle? 

• Are we addressing turnover risk early enough to retain key roles? 
   

Private companies use comp data dynamically to test and refine strategy in real time. The public sector has the same opportunity—if it has the right tools and mindset. 

What’s holding agencies back? 

It’s not a lack of commitment. Every public agency we work with cares deeply about serving its workforce and community. What holds many teams back is a lack of shared visibility. HR has benchmarking data. Finance has labor cost models. Labor teams have boots-on-the-ground insights. But too often, these operate in silos—each trying to tell a complete story with only a third of the picture. 

That makes it harder to justify raises, harder to defend negotiations, and harder to explain decisions to stakeholders. 

Compensation isn’t just a number—it’s a story. And public sector leaders need tools that help them tell it clearly, completely, and credibly. 

Agility, by design 

What I admire most about agencies that are leading the way is that they aren’t chasing speed—they’re building systems for alignment. 

They’re doing the hard, practical work of connecting HR, finance, and labor around shared data and shared strategy. They’re treating compensation not just as a compliance function, but as a core element of workforce health. And they’re investing in tools—not to replace people, but to empower them to act with confidence. 

That’s what agility really looks like: not reaction, but readiness. 

Leveling the playing field 

The truth is, public agencies don’t need to become private companies to compete for talent. But they do need access to the same caliber of data, modeling, and strategic foresight. That’s where the right partnerships come in—between technology providers and agencies, between departments inside organizations, and between people who care about making better decisions, together. 

At TrueComp, we believe public sector leaders deserve that same edge. Not for the sake of disruption—but for the sake of clarity, equity, and long-term service to their communities.  

Because getting compensation right isn’t about being first. It’s about being ready—and being trusted. 

And in today’s labor market, that’s what makes all the difference.