Training leaders and managers on pay equity and transparency

Many organizations are now realizing that investing in pay equity and pay transparency is worth it. Genuine commitment to fair pay can reduce pay discrimination, improve workplace culture, boost performance and job satisfaction, and strengthen recruitment and retention to build a high performance culture.

But like any investment, pay equity work needs to be protected and future-proofed. Good policies and tools are a start. But to sustain fair pay decades into the future, an organization’s leaders and managers need to be trained on pay equity and pay transparency principles and practices. This article discusses what this training should cover, and gives a few considerations for its delivery.

The changing pay equity and transparency landscape

On multiple fronts, employers are feeling the push to prioritize pay equity and increase pay transparency. It draws investors, who tend to consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors when investing. It appeals to employees and prospective employees. It can help a company stand out in the marketplace. And to combat the sluggish rate of progress on gender pay equity, regulators are passing pay equity and transparency legislation.

What should fair pay training for managers and leaders cover?

Here is what managers specifically need to know:

• How to have difficult conversations with employees about pay.
• The determinants and factors used to calculate pay.
• The architecture and pay structure of all employees under their supervision. If this info is unavailable from the HR  team, managers should determine objective roles and responsibilities with associated pay ranges within their teams.
• What to do if one of their team members is paid outside of their relevant pay range.

Here is what leaders specifically need to know:

• What motivated the organization’s fair pay efforts, and what progress has been made? Leaders should be able to prioritize and sponsor the fair pay journey.
• Any applicable pay transparency and pay equity regulations, including reporting requirements and deadlines. At a minimum, they should know who is responsible for reporting, the scope of reporting, and the reporting workflow.
• What is involved in refining the organization’s job architecture (worker categories) and related pay drivers? How does the pay analysis process work?
• How to talk about pay with those on their team.

Considerations for training

Training can be structured in any way that fits your organization. We recommend a collaborative environment so that people managers can practice their soft skills in a supportive, feedback-oriented setting. Here are some other considerations:

• Per our internal communications best practices, align the training with the organization’s goals, mission, and challenges.
• Be honest about the challenges of pay equity and pay transparency.
• Keep concepts manageable and accessible.
• Prepare managers to have conversations with employees about pay. Allow them the opportunity to actively practice conversations and give each other feedback.
• Present clear and ongoing support pathways. For instance, if a manager fields a challenging question from an employee, where can they turn for guidance? Who can leaders talk to when preparing presentations for stakeholders? After training, keep this information available digitally where it is easy to find.
• Consider training on implicit bias. This helps leaders and managers become aware of ways they may be unconsciously stereotyping employees and perpetuating inequality.  

With proper training, leaders and managers will become adaptable, agile, and knowledgeable about pay equity and pay transparency. This will create institutional knowledge and will help them lead and support employees even when things get a little complicated. And when managers and leaders are properly trained, fair pay becomes enculturated, making it far more likely to stand the test of time.

How PayAnalytics by beqom can help

Our holistic software solution helps managers and leaders communicate about pay with confidence and transparency. Designed to provide both powerful analytics and ease of use, PayAnalytics gives your leaders and managers clear insight into the organization’s pay structure and helpful pay gap visualizations.

We’re also happy to help you train your managers, leadership, or any other employee on the use of PayAnalytics. For years, we’ve been supporting our product with a growing collection of video tutorials. We can also provide initial consulting and be available for further consultation.