Summary
Dandy is the first and only dental lab to unite scanning technology, on-demand clinical expertise, and advanced manufacturing at-scale into one integrated system.
When Luis Valdez Jr. joined the team as Head of Total Rewards, the company had recently expanded its international growth plans to more than 15 countries and prep work for the annual compensation cycle was already underway. With this level of significant growth, they needed a platform that could keep pace with the business from day one.
By using Compensation Planning and Total Rewards from Pave, Luis streamlined the compensation cycle process and delivered robust compensation statements to all employees.
Key Wins
- Stood up an annual compensation cycle using an entirely new platform in two weeks rather than the typical six to eight.
- Designed and delivered advanced compensation statements in just one week.
- Leveraged expert support from Pave to accomplish business goals as a lean team.
Setting the Scene
Luis Valdez Jr. joined Dandy at a pivotal moment. He came aboard to an annual compensation cycle already in motion, serving as the go-to person while still finding his footing in a new role.
"The toughest part was balancing the ramp-up while also running point on such an important and visible process for the company. Speed, execution and agility were absolutely critical."
—Luis Valdez Jr., Head of Total Rewards at Dandy
At the same time, Dandy was growing rapidly. A 15+ country expansion plan was set for the year and launches in Spain, France, and Australia were just around the corner, so the compensation infrastructure needed to keep pace. "The main driver for how we operate is speed," shared Luis.
To stand up the program and deliver the cycle on time, at scale, Luis turned to Pave.
Standing up a compensation cycle with a new provider would normally take six to eight weeks. With the support from Pave, the cycle edits were up and running in two. "Honestly, I don't think most people would believe me when I tell them how quickly it went,” said Luis.
Why the Model Worked
From Luis’ own point of view, three things made the difference:
1. Self-Serve Flexibility
Many times, modern compensation teams move too quickly to rely entirely on vendor dependency. The ability to configure key aspects of the cycle directly, without waiting on long implementation timelines, created critical agility. Using Compensation Planning, Luis was able to configure and manage many components of the process himself. For a team operating with little margin for error, that flexibility and control was the difference.
"I like to self-serve as much as I can, and Pave gives me a platform that allows me to do that."
—Luis Valdez Jr., Head of Total Rewards at Dandy
2. Strategic Partnership (Not Just Software)
Technology alone doesn’t save a compensation cycle. When operating as a team of one, having experts available to problem-solve in real time matters just as much as the platform itself. Luis had experts in his corner every step of the way.
"This wouldn't have worked without support from the Pave team. It wasn't just about the tool. It was also about the people."
—Luis Valdez Jr., Head of Total Rewards at Dandy
3. Raising the Bar on Compensation Statements
The experience of receiving a compensation statement shapes how Dandy’s employees understand and perceive their compensation, so getting this right matters.
"I think that our compensation statements are one of the most important pieces of documentation we provide in the company when it comes to the type of work that I do."
—Luis Valdez Jr., Head of Total Rewards at Dandy
Of everything Luis delivered during the cycle, the compensation statement design is a key highlight. He had built statements at scale before—for more than 100,000 employees at Intel and more than 10,000 at Block—but he called the Dandy statements the most advanced he has designed yet.
“Pave was able to meet every single requirement I threw out there in terms of statement design,” shared Luis. The turnaround was one week, compared to the four to six weeks the process typically takes. And employee feedback reflected the credibility he aimed to achieve: people found the experience straightforward, and questions at this stage were minimal.
Looking Ahead
The cycle is done. The statements are out. Now, Luis has a lengthy list of compensation initiatives he wants to tackle next.
At the top: supporting the international expansion, centralizing compensation ranges into a single source of truth, revisiting Dandy's job architecture, evolving market pricing, leveraging Team View as a platform to house compensation data, assessing Dandy’s compensation programs, and building out recruiter and manager enablement.
With rapid expansion underway, the compensation infrastructure and support model needs to keep pace with a business that moves fast. For Luis, that's exactly what Pave delivers.
"We need to make sure we have vendors that can help provide us with the speed and the nimbleness needed to execute quickly, and Pave really pulled through for us on that side."
—Luis Valdez Jr., Head of Total Rewards at Dandy
