The majority of U.S. (86 per cent) and Canadian (58 per cent) employers say they communicate pay rates or ranges across the entire country or region regardless of state or provincial regulations, according to a new survey by WTW.
The survey, which polled more than 1,600 global employers, found 75 per cent of organizations reported communicating the hiring rate/range for jobs to their external candidates, while 69 per cent said they communicate this information to internal candidates.
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Employers said they typically communicate information about job level (74 per cent), variable pay opportunities (58 per cent) and how individual base pay is determined (65 per cent).
Regulatory requirements (73 per cent) were cited as the most common driver of increased communication about pay programs, followed by confidence in their company values and culture (47 per cent) and employee expectations (46 per cent).
Most employers said they expect more questions about compensation from employees (72 per cent) and managers (71 per cent). They also anticipated more requests for pay negotiations (57 per cent) and off-cycle pay changes for existing employees (43 per cent).
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The survey found employees’ questions most often focused on how an individual’s pay aligns with the organization’s pay programs, which includes pay positioning (80 per cent), pay management (72 per cent), visibility (56 per cent) and compensation program terminology (44 per cent).
Regardless of the legislative landscape, 56 per cent of North American employers said they’re establishing metrics to assess the impact of their pay transparency strategy. Employers reported evaluating employee retention (40 per cent), questions received from employees and managers (37 per cent) and the change in gender pay gap (36 per cent).
“Employers are seeing an increase in regulatory requirements around the globe, which has forced many to act fast and comply with a consistent minimum standard, regardless of location,” said Mariann Madden, North America pay equity co-leader at WTW, in a press release. “As a result, we’re seeing employers across North America increase the visibility of pay information as well as provide clarity to employees about their pay.”
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