Paycom is a payroll system that includes some compensation management and analytics features that allow you to benchmark salary ranges for certain titles; however, these capabilities pale in comparison to what Comp Engine offers for startup hiring managers looking to source data for go-to-market (GTM) jobs. Developed by Betts Recruiting leveraging our years of experience in the tech industry and insights captured from our Connect platform, this pay benchmarking solution gives your talent acquisition team real-time visibility into compensation trends for GTM roles.
In this blog, we will dive deeper into comparing Comp Engine versus Paycom, and how our solution provides you with the total on-target earnings (OTE) insights you need to hire your unicorn sales, marketing and customer success talent:
Paycom
Paycom’s budgeting software positions itself as an automated solution for internal compensation management, featuring a merit matrix system that ties performance ratings to pay increases. Their platform emphasizes streamlined payroll integration, with new pay rates automatically flowing into their payment processing system. This includes tools for generating compa-ratio analysis and budget forecasting reports, aiming to help companies maintain internal pay equity and structure.
However, there are several drawbacks to Paycom reported among its existing customer base. Reviews consistently mention issues with customer support responsiveness and noticeable turnover among account managers, leading to inconsistent service experiences. More importantly, its lack of external market benchmarking data makes it difficult to validate compensation decisions against current industry standards. Additionally, users note that the reporting features can be confusing and unintuitive, often requiring extensive training and support resources before teams can effectively utilize the platform’s capabilities.
Comp Engine
Comp Engine is a specialized compensation benchmarking tool directly linked to Betts Connect, our proprietary hiring platform hosting one of the largest networks of GTM talent in the tech space. Unlike more HR-focused tools, it provides targeted insights tailored specifically for startup recruiting and sourcing top performers for revenue-generating roles. Our platform also allows hiring managers to filter through variable salary rates and OTE using key parameters including job title, years of experience, vertical industry and location.
Comp Engine’s core strength lies in its ability to extract real-world compensation data from actual placements made by Betts recruiters. Users can access detailed information including recommended target rates, Time-to-Hire (TTH) predictions and the size of the available talent pool at each rate. Unique features include the ability to view performance metrics like average deal size and quota attainment, enabling more informed hiring decisions. By leveraging data from Connect’s extensive network of pre-vetted GTM talent and insights from our team, Comp Engine offers a more precise approach to understanding the fluid compensation dynamics in an evolving tech startup ecosystem.
Comparing Comp Engine vs Paycom
While Paycom is a popular system for HR and payroll tasks, it is less effective for compensation planning and has other drawbacks. Here is a more detailed breakdown of how Comp Engine measures up to this software when it comes to sourcing current OTE trends:
System Flexibility
Paycom’s compensation budgeting tool offers limited customization options, with users reporting frustration over their inability to tailor reports and analytics to their specific needs. The rigid structure of its merit matrix system, while useful for traditional corporate environments, can become a constraint when dealing with the dynamic compensation models common in startup GTM roles.
Comp Engine is built from the same architecture as our Betts Connect hiring platform and features the same intuitive and straightforward design. Users can leverage filtering and a few simple fields to customize their benchmarking criteria based on specific revenue metrics, industry experience and past titles sold into, ensuring that their compensation rate insights align with their sales motion and go-to-market strategy. The system also helps account for different variable comp structures and equity models without requiring complex workarounds.
Support Resources
User feedback consistently highlights challenges with Paycom’s support infrastructure, citing high turnover among account managers and difficulties getting timely responses to urgent issues. Reviews also claim that the platform’s complexity often requires extensive training and ongoing support, creating potential bottlenecks in the compensation planning process.
Comp Engine is not only much more straightforward to use, but the Betts team is here to help ensure you get the most out of our solution for compensation benchmarking and planning. When paired with your Betts Connect account, our Customer Success Managers (CSMs) can help you navigate the sourced data and bridge any gaps between the analytics of either system, ensuring that your OTE benchmarks align with your talent acquisition strategy and are competitive with current rates for your unicorn seller.
Performance-Based Analytics
Paycom’s reporting capabilities focus primarily on internal metrics like compa-ratios and budget forecasting, lacking the specific performance indicators crucial for GTM roles. While their system can track basic performance ratings, it does not provide the detailed insights needed to align compensation rates with revenue impact and help you scale your Cost-per-Hire (CPH) with your target goals.
Comp Engine’s analytics are built around more focused metrics, including key performance indicators (KPIs) and detailed breakdowns of OTE factors. This data allows hiring managers to make more informed decisions about compensation based on competitiveness for top performers rather than just broad industry averages.
Integration Capabilities
While Paycom offers automated payroll integration within its own ecosystem, users report challenges when trying to connect with external systems or data sources. This can create silos between compensation planning and talent acquisition, creating more manual work for teams to merge insights.
Comp Engine seamlessly integrates with our Betts Connect platform, enabling you to transition smoothly from compensation planning to candidate sourcing and engagement. By bridging these two critical phases, it eliminates the traditional silos between planning and execution, allowing your talent acquisition team to streamline the hiring process and align your salary offers with real-time market trends.
Depth of Compensation Insights
The primary differentiator between Paycom and Comp Engine lies in the granularity of compensation data. Paycom’s platform provides a surface-level approach to salary management, focused primarily on internal budgeting and basic merit tracking. This approach lacks visibility into the more complex pay structures seen in tech startups, particularly when it comes to creating competitive offers for unicorn sales and marketing candidates in a limited talent pool.
Comp Engine differs from other compensation benchmarking and planning software by leveraging actual placement data directly from Betts Connect and our network of thousands of job seekers, drawing on our findings in the field and proactive calculations. It includes recommendations for optimizing your Time-to-Hire pace for top performers and smaller talent pools, ensuring that you receive more than surface-level insights and helping you scale your talent acquisition efforts to match current market realities.
Empower Your Hiring Strategy with Real-Time Comp Data
Navigating compensation in the tech startup landscape requires specialized insights beyond standard HR tools. Comp Engine delivers targeted compensation data for go-to-market roles to support strategic hiring decisions.
Sign up for Comp Engine today and unlock a data-driven talent acquisition strategy that will help your startup scale its revenue.