Partner Remuneration System Diagnostic
Our in-depth partner remuneration system diagnostic uncovers specific actions you can take to measurably improve your partner reward system.
What the Partner Remuneration System Diagnostic Does
The best partner compensation systems drive strategy execution, foster collaboration among partners and provide competitive profit shares to retain and attract the best partner talent – all while recognizing that each partner’s contributions to the business are unique.
Our in-depth partner remuneration system diagnostic uncovers specific actions you can take to measurably improve your partner reward system.
Why Firms Invest in the Diagnostic
The best partner compensation systems drive strategy execution, foster collaboration among partners and provide competitive profit shares to retain and attract the best partner talent – all while recognizing that each partner’s contributions to the business are unique.
01
Drive Strategy Execution
Align partner incentives directly with the behaviours and priorities that deliver your firm’s strategy.
02
Foster Collaboration
Design reward systems that incentivise partners to work together across practice groups and geographies.
03
Attract & Retain Top Talent
Provide competitive profit shares and a transparent reward framework that attracts and keeps the best partner talent.
04
Recognise Unique Contributions
Recognise that each partner’s contributions to the business are unique and reward them accordingly.
05
Uncover Specific Actions
Uncover specific, evidence-based actions you can take to measurably improve your partner reward system.
The Six Drivers of Effective Partner Compensation
Through our consulting work, we have identified six key drivers of highly effective partner compensation systems. Our partner remuneration system diagnostic covers all six.
01
Strategic Foundations
How well your partner reward system is aligned to firm strategy, culture and long-term direction. A system that is misaligned with strategy will actively undermine the behaviours your firm needs to succeed.
02
Financial Outcomes
The effectiveness of your profit-sharing structures in delivering competitive and equitable financial rewards to partners. This driver examines whether financial outcomes are perceived as fair and competitive in the market.
03
Partner Contribution Management
How partner contributions are defined, assessed and recognised consistently across the partnership. This driver evaluates whether the firm has a robust and shared understanding of what constitutes partner contribution.
04
Measures and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
The quality, relevance and consistency of the metrics used to evaluate and reward partner performance. This driver examines whether the measures in use genuinely capture the full range of partner value creation.
05
Compensation Decision-Making Efficacy
The transparency, fairness and effectiveness of the processes by which compensation decisions are made. This is consistently one of the most sensitive drivers and one of the most impactful when addressed.
06
Enablement and Underlying Infrastructure
The systems, tools and governance structures that underpin and enable the remuneration framework. Even a well-designed reward system will underperform if the infrastructure to support it is inadequate.
Four Core Outcomes
Our diagnostic delivers measurable insights that transform how your firm approaches partner remuneration.
01
Clarity
An objective assessment of how your current remuneration system enables or inhibits the right partner behaviours. For the first time, leadership has a clear, evidence-based picture of where the system stands.
02
Actionable Insights
Concrete, prioritised recommendations for change across all six drivers of effective partner compensation. Not a list of observations — a structured plan of action your leadership team can act on immediately.
03
Peer Benchmarking
Compare your system against similar professional service firms to understand where you stand in the market. Knowing how peers approach each driver provides critical context for your own findings.
04
Progress Tracking
A baseline that enables you to measure the impact of changes and track improvements over time. The diagnostic creates a reference point against which future progress can be objectively measured.
How We Work With You
A structured, expert-led engagement that delivers clear and actionable findings for your leadership team.
Kick-off Workshop
Align on context, scope and firm-specific considerations with senior leadership. This session establishes the parameters of the engagement, ensures all stakeholders are aligned on objectives and surfaces any specific areas of focus for the diagnostic.
Senior Leadership Interviews
In-depth interviews with senior leaders to understand the current system and its perceived strengths and gaps. These structured conversations provide qualitative context that enriches the quantitative findings from the partner survey.
Partner Remuneration Diagnostic Survey
A diagnostic survey sent to all relevant partners, including all supporting communications. The survey uses carefully designed questions across all six drivers to capture the full range of partner perceptions and experiences of the current system.
Quantitative Analytics and Report
Rigorous analysis of survey data to produce your firm’s diagnostic findings across all six drivers. The analysis identifies patterns, highlights areas of strength and concern and benchmarks your firm’s results against comparable professional service firms.
Debriefing Workshop and Plan of Action
A detailed workshop presenting findings and a prioritised plan of action for your leadership team. The debrief translates diagnostic findings into a clear, sequenced set of recommendations that your firm can begin implementing immediately.
A Glimpse Into How We Present Findings
Our diagnostic report presents findings across all six drivers using structured survey data. Partner responses are captured on a five-point scale, from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree, enabling precise identification of where consensus and divergence exist across the partnership.
Six Drivers Radar
Executive Overview
Summary of diagnostic findings across all six drivers. Each driver is assessed based on aggregated partner responses across the full survey instrument.
Driver Summary
Aggregated partner sentiment across the six drivers, based on survey responses.
Key Finding
Compensation Decision-Making Efficacy is the lowest-rated driver across the partnership, with significant divergence between practice groups. This is the highest-priority area for intervention.
Strategic Foundations
Partner responses to survey questions assessing alignment between the reward system and firm strategy, culture and direction.
Sample Survey Question
“Our partner remuneration system strikes the right balance between rewarding partners for achieving short-term results and recognizing partners for investing in longer-term initiatives (i.e. where a financial return might take three years or longer to realize).”
Key Finding
A strong majority of partners agree that the reward system broadly supports firm strategy, though alignment with long-term direction is less consistently perceived across practice groups.
Financial Outcomes
Partner responses to survey questions assessing the competitiveness, fairness and equity of profit-sharing structures.
Sample Survey Question
“I am satisfied with how our partner remuneration system recognizes individual contribution / merit (however this may be defined).”
Key Finding
Partners broadly view financial outcomes as competitive, though equity perception, particularly across different practice groups, is a notable area of concern requiring further attention.
Partner Contribution Management
Partner responses to survey questions assessing how contributions are defined, assessed and recognised across the partnership.
Sample Survey Question
“I am held to account for the results I promised.”
Key Finding
While contribution management is broadly accepted, consistency of assessment across practice groups is a recurring concern: partners in different areas of the firm report notably different experiences.
Measures and Key Performance Indicators
Partner responses to survey questions assessing the quality, relevance and consistency of the metrics used to evaluate and reward partner performance.
Sample Survey Question
“Irrespective of whether they are used for reward purposes, the measures / KPIs we use to track partner contribution are clear to me.”
Key Finding
Partners broadly accept the current metrics but question whether they capture the full range of value creation, particularly non-financial contributions such as mentoring, knowledge sharing and firm-building activities.
Compensation Decision-Making Efficacy
Partner responses to survey questions assessing the transparency, fairness and effectiveness of the processes by which compensation decisions are made.
Sample Survey Question
“I am satisfied with the transparency I have about how my financial reward compares to those of other partners.”
Key Finding
This is the lowest-rated driver across the partnership. Confidence in the fairness and transparency of the decision-making process has deteriorated significantly, with notable divergence across practice groups.
Enablement and Underlying Infrastructure
Partner responses to survey questions assessing the systems, tools and governance structures that underpin the remuneration framework.
Sample Survey Question
“The processes we use to support our partner contribution / performance management / reward allocation processes are efficient.”
Key Finding
Infrastructure is broadly adequate, though governance structures supporting the remuneration process are perceived as inconsistently applied, particularly in relation to documentation and accountability mechanisms.
Client Outcome Anonymised
“We knew something was wrong. We just didn’t know what, or how to talk about it with the partnership.”
A 55-partner professional services firm had experienced three senior partner departures in 18 months. Leadership attributed the losses to market competition, but suspected the compensation system was a contributing factor. The diagnostic confirmed it: decision-making transparency was the lowest-rated dimension across the partnership and confidence in the fairness of the process had collapsed across two practice groups. Within 12 months of implementing the recommended changes, the firm reported measurable improvements across all six drivers.
Client details anonymised in accordance with our confidentiality policy.
3
Senior Partner Departures in 18 Months Prior
0
Senior Partner Departures in 18 Months After
6
Drivers Showing Measurable Improvement
12
Months to Measurable Impact
Start With Our Partner Compensation System Health Check
If a full partner remuneration diagnostic is not the right step yet, our Compensation System Health Check offers an entry-level alternative. It is designed for leadership teams who want to gauge the state of their compensation system and infrastructure without the full involvement of the partner group.
The Health Check gives your leadership team a structured, evidence-based view of whether a full compensation review is necessary and where the most pressing gaps lie. It is a lower-commitment starting point that still delivers clear, actionable direction.
Compensation System Health Check
An entry-level diagnostic for leadership teams. No partner involvement required.
- Leadership team only — no partner survey
- Assesses system design and infrastructure
- Identifies whether a full review is warranted
- Delivered as a structured debrief report
Watch: Partner Remuneration Insights
Explore our thinking on partner compensation, reward system design and what drives high-performing professional service firms.
Video content coming soon. Contact us to discuss the topics that matter most to your firm.
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Your Partner Reward System?
Our in-depth partner remuneration system diagnostic uncovers specific actions you can take to measurably improve your partner reward system.
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