Came over from finance: I can model a budget but not explain a pay decision

I was a financial planning analyst for seven years at a mining services company in Johannesburg, around 3,200 employees, and built the salary budget model every year without ever being in the room when it was spent. In August I moved into the reward team as a senior analyst.

The modelling is the easy part. What I find hard is the judgement: why one engineer gets 7 per cent and another 4, and how to explain that to a manager who wants a rule.

I am here to learn how experienced people think through those calls. Glad to help anyone wrestling with cost models in return.