Build your business fluency: four practical habits Business fluency is built by what you practice. These four habits can help you build fluency in the business metrics that frame comp strategy conversations: Listen to quarterly earnings calls. Spend 10–15 minutes on your company’s or a peer’s call. Pay attention to what execs emphasize: margin pressure, market bets, and cost efficiency. It clues you into what matters when you build a business case. Ask finance to explain one margin trend. Whether it’s rising operating expenses or tightening gross margin, understanding what’s driving the shift will strengthen how you justify compensation decisions and the conversations that follow. Add a KPI to every comp recommendation. Even one sentence that ties comp to retention rate or cost per hire can reframe the entire conversation. Over time, this positioning builds influence. Read one business article a week through a comp lens. Choose a source like SHRM or CFO Daily. Ask: How would this shift affect our pay strategy? What questions would leadership raise? Want help connecting your compensation strategy to business performance? Call 866-605-1031 or email surveys@mercer.com.