MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO’S DESK

Every February, the corporate world enters a familiar cycle of "performative panic." Logos turn black and gold, LinkedIn feeds fill with the same three MLK quotes, and the efforts feel… tired.

As a white founder leading a team that is incredibly diverse, and includes many Black team members, I’m acutely aware of the fact that while Black History Month feels performative for much of corporate, white America, it is personal for many people. It isn’t a "theme" or a marketing opportunity. It is REAL HUMANS who have been impacted and uplifted by civil rights activists, freedom fighters, and their literal ancestors. We as a company and as a country are where we are today because of Black History. It’s personal. So if your DEI&B efforts are just a box-checking exercise, you’re not just failing a calendar month, you’re failing your people.

Here is my advice on how to move from performance to actual practice this month, and move beyond scratching the surface in acknowledgement of Black History Month:

1. Consume Black Art & Storytelling (Offline): For those in the majority, Black History Month is a great time in the healthy exercise of de-centering. Take it as an opportunity to take your team offsite to a play, a movie, or an art exhibit that centers Black creators. Our client, The Berkeley Partnership, took their team to The Apollo. If you’re in NYC, I would also recommend Seydou Keïta’s exhibit at The Brooklyn Museum or Ronald K. Brown at The Joyce, or have a movie night inside the office and watch Sinners!

2. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: If you have an ERG (Employee Resource Group) give them a budget for Black History Month programming. Tell them with your dollars that their work is essential, and you want them to spread their impact. At PFunc, we’re using our Ramp rollout to give everyone a stipend specifically to spend with Black-owned businesses. Allyship without economic impact is just noise.

3. Protect the Labor: Do not ask your Black employees to "lead the Black History Month committee" on top of their day jobs. That is unpaid emotional labor. If you want expert programming, pay for it. Hire a consultant, a speaker, or a Black-led agency. Don't tax your team for their identity.

4. Show Real Effort: Engagement shouldn't be generic. At my previous client, Mixlab, the executive team highlighted Black pioneers specifically within the veterinary and medical fields to the team every few days. It showed that we had done the research to understand the Black history that built our industry, and it showed that every leader put in the work and genuinely cared. 

5. Build the Future Infrastructure: Use the momentum of February to audit your "long-term" systems. Who is your insurance broker? Your law firm? Moving a one-time lunch order to a Black-owned spot is easy; moving a six-figure annual contract to a Black-owned firm is an institutional shift.

The bottom line? If your "celebration" doesn't require any effort, change, or expense, it’s probably performative. Let’s do the real work. We still have almost half the month left - make it count!

ASK THE EXPERTS 👨🏻‍🏫

With many organizations deep in compensation and review cycles, the PFunc team has been fielding a ton of questions. Over the next few issues of PFunc Pulse, we’ll tackle the most common ones and share expert insights from our team.

Question: What sort of budgets are companies setting for their merit pools? What’s typical for startups?

Answer: To start, a few questions to answer when setting a merit pool:

• Are we differentiating high performers meaningfully?

• Are we budgeting separately for promotions?

• Is this aligned with our total rewards philosophy?

• For startups: Does this align with runway and funding plans?

According to Pave’s “2026 Compensation Budgets & Trends Report,” created in partnership with Alpine Rewards, ~3–4% of base payroll is the current median merit pool.

• Many companies are targeting ~3.5% specifically for performance-based increases.

• Total salary increase budgets (including promotions and market adjustments) often land closer to 4–5%.

Pave recognized that budgets have moderated from peak post-pandemic years but remain structured and performance-driven. Most organizations are prioritizing:

• Clear pay-for-performance differentiation

• Tighter calibration

• More disciplined spend control

As for startups, their merit pool budgets are tightly linked to burn rate, revenue growth, and investor expectations. It also heavily depends on the startup’s stage-

Seed / Pre-Series A

• Often no formal merit pool

• Raises are ad hoc, tied to runway and milestones

• Heavy reliance on equity vs. cash increases

• Focus is on hiring critical talent, not annual merit cycles

Series A–C

• Begin formalizing compensation processes

• Merit pools typically align closer to market:

• 3–4% range

Have an HR- or operations-related question? Submit your query here, which might be answered in an upcoming issue!

THE BRIEFING 🗞️

HR NEWS TO KNOW

The latest HR headlines and stories, curated with our perspective.

Nearly 1 in 4 unemployed Americans have been out of work for six months or longer as hiring slows and companies pull back after the post-pandemic boom, CNBC reports.

• ↪️ PFunc’s Perspective: This means HR leaders can expect more candidates with résumé gaps, so the focus should be on skills, not recency. Rethink sourcing to tap overlooked talent, and double down on internal mobility and clear career pathways to stay competitive.

The 8th Circuit upheld dismissal of a truck driver’s ADA discrimination and retaliation claims, finding his heart condition did not substantially limit a major life activity and therefore did not qualify as a disability under the ADA. Read more at HR Dive.

• ↪️ PFunc’s Perspective: This ruling reinforces the importance of grounding ADA decisions in objective medical evidence and a clear understanding of what qualifies as a disability, while ensuring accommodation requests are handled through a well-documented, interactive process.

Another story to check out:

• Benefit News: A recent survey shows younger employees are pushing for “heartbreak leave” to support them through breakups

COMPLIANCE CHECK

Stay ahead of HR compliance as these latest updates take effect.

• New York City (effective 2/22/26) - Employers must provide a separate bank of a minimum of 32 hours of unpaid Earned Safe and Sick Time, in addition to the 40 or 56 hours required under the ESSTA, and allow its use for expanded reasons, including caregiving, at the start of each calendar year and available for immediate use.

  • Unpaid sick time balances must be displayed on employee pay stubs.

  • Unused unpaid sick time balances do not need to carry over.

  • Employees should use any accrued, unused paid sick leave, if available, before requesting unpaid sick time.

• Federal (effective 3/1/2026) - Employers must file Form M-1 with the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) if they operate a multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) that provides medical benefits.

• California (effective 5/13/2026) - California just opened its Pay Data Reporting Portal, where all employers with 100+ employees must submit annual pay data reports by May 13, 2026.

THE OPPORTUNITY EXCHANGE 📈

ROLES ON OUR RADAR

The PFunc job board is packed with open roles across our client companies, making it easier than ever to tap into our network. Hundreds of opportunities, dozens of companies, and a few standout roles highlighted below.

This week, we’re highlighting roles that pay an annual salary of at least $100,000.

• Allocate, Information Security Lead - Allocate is hiring an InfoSec Lead to own and scale its security and compliance program, covering SOC 2, vendor risk, and a Zero Trust roadmap with the opportunity to build and lead a future InfoSec team.

• Cocoon, Operations Associate - This role sits at the center of a fast-paced startup, focused on streamlining processes and building scalable runbooks that stick. If you have a sharp eye for inefficiencies and the instinct to fix them, you’ll want to apply.

• Small Door Veterinary, Payroll and Benefits Manager - This manager-level individual contributor role blends hands-on execution with systems ownership, partnering across People, Finance, vendors, and employees to deliver a seamless payroll and benefits experience as the company scales.

See a role you’re interested in? Reply to this email and we’ll try to connect you with the hiring team. Hiring for an open role yourself? Reply to have your job featured in an upcoming PFunc Pulse issue.

TALENT SPOTLIGHT

A warm introduction to a hiring manager can make all the difference between landing your next role and continuing the search. As an HR consulting firm, we’re committed to helping our community get hired and grow their careers. That’s why we created a PFunc Talent Network, and we’d love for you to be part of it!

Join the Talent Network here (it’s free!). Whether you’re actively exploring new opportunities or happily employed but open to the right fit, becoming part of our network ensures your profile is shared with recruiters when roles align with your experience, skills, and career goals.

If you’re interested in being featured in a future “Talent Spotlight,” be sure to sign up to be a part of the Talent Network and reply to this email to let us know.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE💡

Check out this resource, vetted and recommended by us.

The Revive - Dave Bethoney, former president of The Muse, launched a Substack newsletter where he explores careers, resilience, and finding momentum amid professional uncertainty. Recent issues cover topics like maximizing your workday, book recommendations from executives at companies like Etsy, and reflections on curiosity and long-term career growth.

Like PFunc Pulse, it’s a newsletter worth making room for in your inbox. 😉

INSIDE PFUNC HQ ⋒

WHERE TO NEXT?

Our team is always on the move, popping up at the HR events, conferences, and summits we actually love.

🌐 Countdown to Community Moves 2026 in New York City (Wednesday, February 25): 8 Days
Emma will be joining a panel at Justworks’ one-day conference for small business leaders, where she’ll speak on “Don’t Forget the Human Touch: Culture, Community, and Creating in the Age of AI.” Register today (it’s free!) if you’d like to attend. Justworks is also hosting conferences in Dallas on February 19 and San Francisco on February 26. Learn more here.

💻Countdown to Leapsome Virtual Event (Wednesday, March 4): 15 Days
Emma is joining a panel of HR leaders to explore why People teams are so often tasked with delivering decisions they didn’t shape and sometimes taking the fall for them. The discussion will also cover how HR executives can better align with and influence leadership decisions at the top. Register for the free virtual event, starting at 10 a.m. EST, here.

✈️ Countdown to Transform 2026 in Las Vegas (March 23-25): 34 Days
We’ll be there, and hosting a few fun, decidedly non-corporate side events (because let’s be honest, Transform is really about the people).

One of the highlights: an exclusive experience sponsored by Justworks. As part of our PFunc Plays Hooky series, we’re heading to The Wizard of Oz at The Sphere. We have just four spots left. Join an incredible group of leaders, step away from the conference buzz, and experience an unforgettable show together. Register today!

💼 Countdown to Startup Leadership Salon in New York City (Thursday, April 16): 58 Days
Hiring leaders, this one’s for you. Lindsay Glogower, PFunc’s Recruiting Practice Lead, is taking the stage alongside fellow hiring experts for a fast-paced panel on who to hire and how to get it right. Join us in Manhattan from 6:00–8:00 p.m. for two hours of sharp insights and great connections.

CHRONICALLY ONLINE📱

For your enjoyment, here was what the PFunc team of HR experts shared ahead of Valentine’s Day.

Join 100,000+ followers across PFunc’s Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn, hailed as “the best HR social accounts online today.” 😉

STAY IN TOUCH 💌

If you’re interested in fractional HR support for your team, reply to this email or contact us to learn more about our offerings, pricing, and how we can support your growing company.

🗣️ Thoughts, feedback, requests? Let us know! 🗣️

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PFunc Pulse is landing in your inbox every Tuesday because we’ve officially gone weekly 🎉 Each issue will bring you the HR news and compliance updates you need to know, plus Emma’s perspective on the trends and questions top of mind for her as an HR expert, CEO, and founder. Practical, timely, and designed to help you make better people decisions week by week.

Have thoughts on what you’d like to see in future issues or special one-off editions? Take this survey or reply directly to this email - we’d love to hear from you. And thank you for the support through Year One of PFunc Pulse. Here’s to Year Two (and beyond!).