Western Union 2014 Annual Report Download - page 58

Compensation Discussion and Analysis PROXY STATEMENT
The Western Union Company – Proxy Statement | 40
NOTICE OF 2015 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS AND PROXY STATEMENT
In early 2014, Mr. Ersek also submitted a self-evaluation
to the Compensation Committee. The committee shared
Mr. Ersek’s goals for the year and his self-evaluation with
the independent members of the Board of Directors, who
then evaluated Mr. Ersek’s performance in 2013 based
on his actual performance versus such goals. In setting
Mr. Ersek’s compensation, the committee considered this
evaluation, market data regarding chief executive officer
compensation levels provided by the Compensation
Consultant, and a tally sheet of Mr. Ersek’s historical and
current compensation data. No member of management,
including Mr. Ersek, made any recommendations regarding
Mr. Ersek’s compensation or participated in the portions of
the Compensation Committee meeting or in the meeting
of the independent directors of the Board during which
Mr. Ersek’s compensation was determined or ratified.
Market Comparison
For 2014, the Compensation Committee considered market
pay practices when setting executive compensation,
but did not target the specific compensation elements
or total compensation against the market data. Instead,
the committee used market data to assess the overall
competitiveness and reasonableness of the Company’s
executive compensation program. In evaluating 2014 market
data, the committee considered both peer group proxy data
and compensation survey data, but did not assign a specific
weight to either data source. While the Compensation
Committee considers relevant market pay practices when
setting executive compensation, it does not believe it
appropriate to establish compensation levels based only on
market practices. The Compensation Committee believes
that compensation decisions are complex and require
a deliberate review of Company performance and peer
compensation levels. The factors that influence the amount
of compensation awarded include market competition for
a particular position, an individual’s experience and past
performance inside or outside the Company, compensation
history, role and responsibilities within the Company,
tenure with the Company and associated institutional
knowledge, long-term potential with the Company,
contributions derived from creative and innovative thinking
and leadership, money transfer or financial services industry
expertise, past and future performance objectives and the
value of the position within the Company.
The Compensation Committee believes that the Company’s
peer group should reflect the markets in which the
Company competes for business, executive talent and
capital. Accordingly, the Company’s peer group includes
companies meeting either of the following criteria:
• Globalbrandsprovidingvirtualproductsorservices;or
• Companiesinvolvedwithpaymentandprocessingservices.
In October 2013, the Compensation Consultant was asked
to re-evaluate the Company’s peer group with respect to
revenue, operating income, number of employees, market
capitalization, and other factors. Based on this review of
the members of the peer group, in December 2013 the
committee approved the deletion from the peer group
of Visa and MasterCard primarily due to the size of their
revenue, operating income and market capitalization in
relation to the Company. The revised peer group was used
for evaluating 2014 compensation decisions.