In the race to dominate the artificial intelligence (AI) market, companies see opportunities to reap major profits—and some are willing to offer big salaries to the candidates who can help them get there.

“Astronomical” salaries. The price employers put on hiring the best AI talent became apparent to Kaitlyn Knopp, founder and CEO of compensation software firm Pequity, when her team recently helped advise the founders of Inflection AI, who were tapped to join Microsoft, on what competitive pay looks like among major industry players.

To get a sense of the market rates for AI roles, Pequity reviewed its own compensation data, as well as market research of publicly available sources, including compensation trends from OpenAI. The company that launched generative AI chatbot ChatGPT in 2022 is currently valued at $80 billion, and is credited with starting an AI “arms race” among businesses. When reviewing the compensation data, Knopp saw that OpenAI was paying AI and machine-learning talent anywhere from 125% to nearly 400% the going rate of what software engineers traditionally earn at big tech companies like Google or Microsoft.

“When we looked at the going rate for what OpenAI I was paying for, like, three years of experience for data science, it was anywhere from $245,000 base to $377,000…And then the equity was around $1.5 million, equivalent over four years. So, astronomical rates,” she said.

Keep reading here.—CV

One in three employees balances work with parenting. But get this: Only 12% of US workers have access to childcare through their employer.

That absurd stat means many employees have likely never worked at an organization that offers crucial childcare benefits. Turn the tides at your org with Upward’s definitive guide to childcare benefits.

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Businesses can play a pivotal role in supporting employees’ childcare needs. And since the majority aren’t providing that support, they’re losing out on major ROI opportunities.

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The race for top AI talent is prompting some employers to offer multimillion-dollar pay packages to candidates with in-demand skills that are currently in short supply. It’s also occurring at a time when job-seekers have more access to information about how companies pay their workers than ever before, and are highly attuned to inequities.

To ensure fair compensation practices, HR teams tasked with hiring AI talent can focus on building out a clear, detailed job architecture that helps explain why these roles are commanding higher salaries, experts told us. Employers should also consider how to upskill their current workforce so that employees can grow their career—and earning potential—in AI-related roles.

Making transparency a priority. HR pros can invest time in building out a job architecture for AI roles so that they’re “able to offer the salaries that they want for AI engineers” in a way that’s “defensible,” said Shankar Raman, a global coleader for consulting firm Willis Towers Watson.

In their job architecture, employers should specify exactly what the work of an AI engineer is, and how that work compares to other engineers within their company, Raman said. They should also clarify how work progresses at different levels, from a junior to a principal engineer, even within the AI domain, he added.

Keep reading here.—CV

The Nashville Predators hope their latest power play leads to a win for their employees.

The NHL team and the Bridgestone Arena where it plays partnered earlier this month with DailyPay to offer their employees an earned wage access (EWA) benefit. Courtni Mosley, the Nashville Predators’ CPO, told HR Brew the move is part of the organization’s strategy to stand out as an employer of choice.

Part- and full-time employees of the Nashville Predators and Bridgestone Arena making less than $200,000 per year are eligible to participate in the EWA program. (Sorry, Filip Forsberg—your $10 million left wing salary puts EWA just out of reach.)

Zoom out. An EWA benefit can help employees get ahead of bills and other expenses, not to mention alleviate financial stressors that can hurt their emotional well-being and productivity. It can also help employers retain talent.

Keep reading here.—AS

Watch the resumes roll in. Want top-notch applicants? Focus on how you connect with candidates. Lever, an Employ solution, packed all their data and insights into their 2024 Employ Job Seeker Nation Report for a closer look at the labor market today. Dive into the data surrounding job-seeker realities, preferences, and experiences.