Comp review without the spreadsheet chaos and last-minute panic.
Most comp reviews are orchestrated in spreadsheets that break when managers miss the deadline. This template structures benchmarking, budget allocation, and approvals with two executive gates so the cycle closes on schedule.
For hr business partner and chro teams running compensation review preparation. No credit card. First run in under a minute.
2026 Comp Review Cycle
Sales & Engineering divisions · Budget: $842K · 127 employees
- Define review scope100%HR BPSLA 3d
- Market benchmarkingHR BPEvidence
- Compa-ratio analysisHR BP
- Manager worksheetsHR BPSLA 7d
- HR audit submissionsHR BP
- Executive approvalCHROApproval gateDep. pendente
- Comp letter distributionBLOQUEADAHR BPDep. pendente
- Cycle close and debriefBLOQUEADAHR BPApproval gateDep. pendente
Opinion
What we cut. And what we kept.
This template is structured, not comprehensive. Comprehensive is why comp reviews start in January and finish in April.
Cut
- Manager worksheets distributed without context or deadline.
- Budget conversations that happen after managers submit numbers.
- Executive approval via email thread after letters are drafted.
- Cycle close with no debrief or lessons captured.
Kept
- Market benchmarking and compa-ratio analysis before distribution.
- HR audit of manager submissions before executive review.
- Executive approval gate before any letters are generated.
- Mandatory cycle close and debrief with documented learnings.
What this template includes
Process steps
- 1Define review scope and eligibility
- 2Market benchmarking
- 3Compa-ratio analysis
- 4Manager worksheet distribution
- 5HR audit of manager submissions
- 6Executive approval
- 7Comp letter generation and distribution
- 8Cycle close and debrief
Why teams use this template
Structured prep for annual comp reviews: benchmarking, budget allocation, approvals, and manager communication. When this work runs through inboxes and ad-hoc spreadsheets, ownership gets fuzzy and evidence gets lost. Compensation Review Preparation gives you a 8-step process with 2 checkpoints and a built-in SLA so nothing slips between handoffs.
Built for teams led by HR Business Partner and CHRO: every task has a named owner, every approval routes to a real role, and the run history is the audit trail your auditors actually want.
The checkpoint tasks ("Executive approval" and "Cycle close and debrief") cannot be skipped, they're where the run produces evidence the next stage depends on. Overdue runs escalate automatically, and you start with structure instead of building it from scratch every time.
Ready to run this process?
Open this template in Cadenio, customize the fields and approvals for your context, and run it for the first time in under 60 seconds.
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