Why you should never negotiate salaries

Leapsome doesn't negotiate offers. Bands are published, expectations are aligned in the first interview, and the framework holds from there.

In this session, Jessica Zwaan, VP People Strategy and Operations at Leapsome, walks through the compensation philosophy behind that stance: why negotiation systematically rewards confidence over contribution, how Leapsome built its bands (benchmarked on Ravio data at the 75th percentile), and why the team rolled out $191K in proactive salary increases before anyone asked.

Natasha Delisle-Barrow, CPO at Ravio, brings the market data on who actually negotiates, who doesn't, and what those differences do to pay equity over time. You'll leave with a practical case for calculated pay over negotiated pay, and a way to handle the candidate who pushes back anyway.
‍

We will discuss:

• Why salary negotiation systematically disadvantages the people who don't push back — and what the data shows about who that is
• How Leapsome built and benchmarked its comp bands (Ravio data, 75th percentile), and why publishing them changed the dynamic with candidates
• What proactive pay equity looks like in practice: how to find and close gaps before anyone asks
• How to handle the candidate who pushes back anyway — without undermining the framework

‍

‍