Pay Equity & Fairness

In response to the numerous court cases and news articles, my colleague David Smith and I published an article on pay equity in EASI•Consult®'s November Perspectives. We all want to be treated fairly, we all want to be paid equitably, but that doesn't mean that we all need to be paid the same. Moreover, companies shouldn't treat paying equitably as some major endeavor.

The key point is that it's really not that hard to do the right thing and do things right.

Most of the time it's about perceived fairness. It's how people feel about how they are paid and not necessarily how much they are paid, as Steven Miller also points out in this month's SHRM newsletter. Pay satisfaction increases more by openness and trust than the actual salary or increase. Paying fairly matters a lot. And when employees know that there is a proper process in place, they will have a lot more faith that they are being treated fairly.

So get your ducks in a row. Put the right processes in place and talk to your people. Good compensation management includes communication and owning the message. It provides employees with the context and will influence their perception of how much you value them.

For more information on how to do things right, please read Equal Pay – Another Reason to Focus on Compensation Management or contact me directly via email.