We have a clear philosophy which guides how we think about pay at Buffer. Our philosophy is derived from our Values and Operating Principles, and has been shaped over the many years Buffer has existed. Our philosophy is distilled into four compensation principles. These principles shape both the questions we ask ourselves and how we answer them. These principles establish the high bar we strive for in compensation and act as a vision for us to pursue over time. The principles determine what should always be true even as the salary formula changes over time.

Our four compensation principles guide compensation-related decisions. We strive for Buffer’s approach to salary, equity, and benefits to be:

• Transparent
• Fair
• Simple
• Generous ⠀

The 2023/24 Salary System was designed with our compensation principles in mind, and we focused on Approaching salaries from first principles as we rebuilt our salary methodology. Over time, there were a number of the principles that we felt had weakened and from which we had deviated.

Each of the compensation principles stands alone, and additionally if we fulfill each of the principles they are strengthened by each other and the sum becomes greater than the parts:

Transparency: We have full transparency of salaries internally, in order to create trust, hold ourselves accountable to these principles, and to invite open discussion around specific decisions embedded in our approach rather than pushing conversation to be shared privately. We openly share our approach and our salaries publicly to hold us to an even greater standard, and to serve as a resource for the industry. We believe that the world would be a better place with more transparency around pay, and we have chosen to drive this shift to our full capabilities.

Simplicity: We aim to maintain an easy-to-understand formula that allows anyone to easily see how we arrive at any individual salary. Transparency is achievable without simplicity, however when we also succeed in keeping salaries simple, it makes the understanding of how salaries work much more accessible to everyone, and this enhances the trust that we gain from our focus on transparency and fairness.

Fairness: We believe that those with the same role and responsibilities who are at the same experience level should be paid equitably. We believe in maintaining fairness, and attracting those who value that fairness, over clinching a specific skillset we may need at any moment.

Generosity: We pay above market to attract high performing team members, and to create the possibility of a small-for-revenues, tight-knit team that achieves great outcomes together. We believe that when we achieve results as a cohesive team, the rewards of those outcomes should be shared with those who created them. Paying above market ensures that we can take our unique approach to How Salary Negotiation works at Buffer.