Talk It Out: Employer Strategies for Communicating About Pay Equity

The days of keeping conversations around pay on the hush are out. Employees, job seekers, and consumers are expecting organizations to discuss their pay equity efforts. People want to know that the company they work for or buy from is doing its part.

When you’ve put in the hard yards to develop a sound, equitable pay policy, you’ll want your employees to know about it. You may even come across pay disparities throughout this process. So, how can you effectively communicate about pay equity and turn existing issues into growth opportunities?

Important Questions to Ask When Crafting Your Pay Equity Communications

Before communicating about pay equity, there are a few key questions to ask yourself. What are you trying to achieve? How does pay equity fit into your company brand? How will we ask for and incorporate feedback?

The answers to these questions will guide your communication efforts. Remember there are different audiences to engage with regarding pay equity, and the conversation will need to be tailored accordingly. Here are some considerations for each audience:

• Employees– Ensure you have resources that are easy to navigate and understand. Your employees need to know their rights in terms of pay equity. Group meetings run by the HR and finance departments are a great way to answer questions and receive feedback.

• Job candidates – When listing job openings, be clear on salary ranges and expectations. This shows that you’ll pay based on position, not the person. Demonstrate how much your organization values pay equity as a branding technique to entice applicants.

• Customers– Be clear about your pay equity practices on the company website and in your social media presence. Use press releases to amplify your commitment to achieving pay equity and transparently report on your organization’s progress.

• Shareholders– Provide verbal and visual evidence for how pay equity goes hand-in-hand with your business objectives. Discuss the competitive advantage, broadened talent prospects, and financial gains due to retention. Offer this information with data and a future plan.

When to Communicate About Pay Equity

So when should you communicate about pay equity? Realistically, you should be prepared to talk about it whenever the topic arises. There isn’t a set time to have this conversation. If you’re limiting your pay equity communication to your annual review, you’re not talking about it enough.

As a rule of thumb, if you’re making changes to or introducing new features to your pay policy – talk about pay equity. Not only can you explain the changes and what they mean for the company and employees, but you can also discuss the values behind them. It’s a good way of demonstrating that pay equity is high on your organization’s priority list.

As we know, pay equity is an ongoing process. When you begin this process, inform your employees and shareholders, and then continue to update them as you make progress. Seeing continuous effort is encouraging and will foster positivity. This way, you can be transparent about discrepancies that arise and take responsibility for them immediately.

What Employees Want to Know About Your Pay Equity Practices

Although pay equity concerns your customers and shareholders, you should start by communicating about it with the body of your organization – your employees. They’re going to want to know specific details about your pay equity practices.

Pay has traditionally been considered a taboo subject. Chances are, your employees still have questions about pay but are hesitant to discuss them. By taking the initiative to communicate as much information as possible, you can help to alleviate concerns around pay equity. The more knowledge your employees have, the more comfortable they will be.

So what would they want to know? Start with how you’ve structured your pay equity efforts, the changes you’re implementing, and how they’ll impact on each worker.

• Pay Equity Structure – Your employees want to know that you’re not just mentioning pay equity for compliance reasons. They need to see how you structure your pay equity analysis and organize internal and external data. Offer visuals to demonstrate how you keep compensation equitable across the board. Show your employees you’re serious about pay equity.

• Implementing Changes – Once your employees know how you’re addressing pay equity, they’ll want to know what changes to expect. This is especially important if you’ve changed pay grades or how employees can earn promotions and bonuses. Stress that these changes are for the better good of your whole organization.

• Employee Impacts – Pay equity should (hopefully) result in better pay for groups often targeted by pay discrimination. It could also result in traditionally privileged individuals not gaining as much. To ensure that everyone is on the same page, present pay grades to each employee and discuss what their career journey could look like with your organization.

How to Utilize Feedback About Pay Equity

When it comes to pay equity, feedback is invaluable. Your employees and shareholders are your best resource. They can offer insight into gaps in your practices and concerns that you haven’t considered. Ensure to remain open-minded and receptive.

Present anonymous surveys to employees to better understand how they perceive your pay equity practices. You may think you’re doing all you can, but it’s easy to miss gaps. Doing these regularly means you can respond to discrepancies before they lead to turnover, or worse.

Communicate when you make changes in response to this feedback. You’ll demonstrate that you’re listening and value their input. This level of commitment to pay equity can further strengthen the work culture in your organization. As the saying goes, communication is key.