Understanding Waves & Planning Hierarchy in Pequity

What Are Waves?

Waves represent the phases of your compensation cycle.
Each wave defines who is planning at a given time and determines which sets of employees they can view, update, and submit decisions for.

In the visual metaphor:

The WAVE is the stage of the cycle (e.g., Executive Pre-Planning → Manager Planning).
Boats move through the wave as the cycle progresses.

Common Examples of Waves

Wave 1 – Executive Pre-Planning
Executives review budgets, validate early recommendations, and model impact.

Wave 2 – Manager Planning
Managers enter final recommendations for their teams.

Wave 3 – HR/Comp Review (optional)
HR or Compensation reviews submitted decisions and prepares for approvals.

Most customers use 2–4 waves, depending on complexity.

What Are Planning Groups?

Planning Groups are the foundational “containers” of a cycle. Each planning group includes:

A Planner (the “captain”)
Optional Planning Partners (HRBPs or helpers)
Employees Being Planned For (the “passengers”)

The Planning Hierarchy Structure

Pequity uses a flexible hierarchy that determines who can plan for whom, and when.
Each employee must belong to exactly one planning group per wave.

Planner (Captain)
The lead decision-maker for that group. The planner:

Submits final recommendations
Sees all employees in their planning group
May have planning partners supporting them

Planning Partners
Optional users who help with analysis or data entry but cannot submit final decisions.

Employees Being Planned For
The team members who will receive compensation adjustments.

How Waves and Planning Groups Work Together

Think of your cycle as a series of boats traveling through sequential stages.

Wave 1
Executives review early recommendations and budgets.
Their boats carry large groups of employees.

Wave 2
Managers take over planning for their direct reports.
Each boat now contains a smaller, more targeted group.

Wave 3 (Optional)
HR or Comp may review results before final approvals.

This step-by-step flow ensures:

No duplicated editing
No overwritten decisions
Alignment from executives → managers → HR/Comp

Assigning Employees to Planning Groups

Administrators can set planning groups in two ways.

1. Bulk Assignment Using Filters

Filter by attributes such as:

Job level
Department
Manager
Executive
Then assign employees to groups in one step.

2. Bulk Update Using a Spreadsheet

Upload a file with:

Employee ID
Planning Group Name
Pequity assigns employees automatically.

This ensures every employee is in exactly one “boat” per wave.

Budgets in Waves & Planning Groups

Budgets can be structured as:

Top-down: each planning group gets a fixed amount
Bottom-up: budgets are formula driven based on recommendations

Planners can:

View remaining budget
See overspend alerts
Provide required justifications when exceeding thresholds

Admins choose which roles can view budgets.

Submission & Activation Flow

Active Status
A planning group becomes active when it’s allowed to begin planning in that wave.

Submitted Status
Once a planner submits:

The group locks
No additional edits can be made
The boat has “reached the end” of that wave

Reactivation
Admins can reopen a group if corrections are needed, even if a later wave has already begun.

Why This Structure Works

The Waves + Planning Groups framework ensures:

Clear approval pathways
Fewer errors
Scalable planning across multiple levels
Strong audit trails
Easy-to-understand structure for planners (“my team = my boat”)

It works for small organizations as well as global, multi-layer planning environments.

Summary

Waves define when planning occurs.
Planning Groups define who is planning and which employees they’re responsible for.
Together, they form the Planning Hierarchy, which guides decisions from initial modeling through final approval.

The boat metaphor provides an intuitive way to understand the process:

Each planner captains a boat
Employees sit in that boat for the wave
Boats move through the wave one stage at a time