More than a third (36 per cent) of U.S. employers say they disclose individual pay ranges to employees and nearly half (46 per cent) are planning or considering doing so in the future, according to a new survey by WTW.
The survey, which polled nearly 450 employers, found roughly half (48 per cent) said they communicate how individual base pay is determined and progresses.
Employers cited regulatory requirements (81 per cent) as the No. 1 factor for encouraging greater levels of pay communication, followed by company values and culture (55 per cent), employee expectations (54 per cent) and fulfilling diversity, equity and inclusion mandates (53 per cent). Roughly 40 per cent of employers said they communicate or plan to communicate pay rate or pay range information regardless of regulatory requirements.
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Half (50 per cent) of employers said they believe communicating pay rates or ranges will increase questions from current employees. Although managers were the most common channel for communicating pay program information (84 per cent), only 38 per cent of organizations reported being effective at educating managers about this complex topic.
“Many U.S. organizations are providing more visibility into their pay programs and practices,” said Mariann Madden, fair pay co-lead for North America at WTW, in a press release. “Boards of directors are taking ownership for pay equity and pay transparency and are looking for organizations to define, monitor and report on their commitments and priorities. Pay equity and transparency are closely linked. It will be very difficult to have confidence in one without the other in place.”
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