100 People Behind Bay Business - 2023

BUSINESS ADVISORS | PEOPLE
DAYNA HENDRY
consultant, strategic pay
One thing that is abundantly clear when talking to
Strategic Pay’s Dayna Hendry – she is passionate about
the field of remuneration.
When she’s not facilitating
‘hands-on’ business
team training with client
organisations, Dayna
Hendry is often ‘head-down’ analysing
national and international remuneration
data, specific industry trends, skill
shortages and reward packages.
“These are changing times,” she says.
“Creativity is absolutely a key
ingredient when responding to wage
pressures now. So I make sure our
clients are exceptionally well-informed
and aware of the realities, expectations,
and options available in the current
environment, ” she says.
BUSY DAYS AND CHANGING TIMES
“There is a lot of uncertainty at present,
especially with inflationary movements.
People are regularly asking me, ‘are wage
movements equivalent to inflation?’
“And then there is the political
dimension, with the likes of increases to
minimum wage levels - business people
want advice and guidance on how to
navigate these things.”
Staff shortages in many industries
have exacerbated the pressure on
employers. Dayna has been with
Strategic Pay’s northern consulting
team based in Tauranga for two years.
She has lived in Tauranga since she was
a teenager, with a brief career stint in
Auckland, so while not born in the Bay,
she definitely considers herself a ‘Bay
local’.
She holds a Bachelor of Business,
majoring in Human Resource
Management.
Dayna spent five years in generalist
human resources (HR) roles in local
government and tertiary education
before joining Strategic Pay.
Her extensive remuneration
experience includes job evaluation,
benchmarking and planning and
implementation of organisational-wide
remuneration solutions.
She believes her own experience as a
generalist HR business partner for public
sector organisations has been invaluable
in providing a broad ‘economy-wide’
overview of the remuneration sector.
PUBLIC SECTOR EXPERIENCE A BONUS
“It’s been quite a shift moving to the
specialist remuneration field from large
public sector organisation roles – at
Strategic Pay we’re leaner with a wide
cross-section of client organisations,”
she notes.
Strategic Pay is a specialist
nationwide firm providing innovative
solutions to organisations for
their strategic remuneration,
performance development and
performance improvement needs.
The 100 percent New Zealand-owned
company has expertise in all key
market sectors – private, public and
not-for profit. They help improve
organisations’ overall performance by
ensuring employee effort, remuneration
and rewards are closely aligned with
business objectives.
The company works alongside
businesses to provide compelling
“I MAKE SURE
OUR CLIENTS ARE
EXCEPTIONALLY WELL-
INFORMED AND AWARE OF THE
REALITIES, EXPECTATIONS, AND
OPTIONS AVAILABLE IN THE
CURRENT ENVIRONMENT.”
propositions that attract, retain and
motivate the best people.
Remote working, particularly in the IT
sector, is one example Dayna points to
as evidence of a change in thinking for
businesses.
“This represents a real change
in culture for many mainstream
businesses. I work remotely – I believe
I’m a good example of how the ‘remote
working revolution’ can be a real benefit
to both workers and employers.
“Sure, remote working won’t work for
every business and every employee, but
it certainly can offer real benefits for the
right ones.”
Although balancing her personal and
professional life has its challenges – she
has twelve-year-old twin daughters –
Dayna is philosophical: “The advantages
of my remote working situation mean I
can perform better professionally and be
a better Mum – that’s a win:win!”
In her spare time, you’ll find Dayna’s
family wakeboarding in summer and
skiing in winter – but you can be sure,
creative remuneration ideas will never
be far from her mind.
100 – PEOPLE BEHIND BAY BUSINESS | 2023 | 11