Compensation & Total Rewards

Merit & Bonus Cycle Agent

hitl

Automate merit increase and bonus calculations, enforce budget guidelines, model scenarios, and generate approval packages.

Total RewardsHR Business PartnerPeople Manager
75%
Reduction in merit cycle processing time
100%
Budget guideline compliance
2 weeks
Faster cycle completion
Use Case 1

Annual Merit Cycle Execution

Trigger: Merit cycle kickoff

1.Calculate budget by team based on payroll and performance distribution
2.Generate recommended increases per employee
3.Distribute manager worksheets with guidelines
4.Track manager submissions
5.Validate against budget and equity guidelines
6.Generate approval packages for VP/CHRO review
7.Process approved increases in HRIS

Merit cycle completed 2 weeks faster with 100% budget compliance.

Integrations

HRIS (Workday, ADP)
Comp Planning Tool
Budget Management System

Industries

healthcaretechnologyfinancial-servicesretailmanufacturingprofessional-servicespublic-sectorhospitalityother

See It In Action

A sample conversation with this agent

Set up the annual merit cycle for 2026.
I'll configure the merit cycle: Total budget is 4% of payroll ($2.8M for 500 employees). I'll generate recommended increases based on: performance rating (higher performers get larger share), compa-ratio (employees below market get priority), tenure, and critical role designation. Managers will receive pre-populated worksheets with recommended ranges and a budget envelope they can adjust within. Want me to model the distribution scenarios before we open the cycle to managers?
Manager X wants to give their top performer 8% but their budget only allows 5.5%. Options?
Three options: (1) Redistribute within their team - reduce other increases to fund the 8% while staying within budget. (2) Supplement with a one-time spot bonus ($3K-5K) to bridge the gap without recurring cost. (3) Request an exception budget from their VP - I'll prepare the justification package showing the employee's compa-ratio, flight risk score, and market data supporting the higher increase. Which approach would you like to explore?