Dive Brief:
- While men place importance on seniority or tenure and outside pay comparisons, women think that internal pay comparisons and work duties are more important, a new WorldatWork report found. Women tend to be more concerned about rewards fairness than men, the organization said.
- The study also found that promotional opportunities are employees' top concern, and that individual performance and work responsibilities rank high in evaluating base-pay rewards fairness.
- "How aware employees are of their organization's compensation philosophy is directly tied to their perception of reward and pay fairness," said Alison Avalos, WorldatWork's director of Membership and Total Rewards Strategy, in a statement. "This presents an opportunity for organizations. If they can raise awareness of their compensation strategies and gain employee buy-in, their employees are more likely to accept that the rewards offered are fair and equitable."
Dive Insight:
Some employers believe they have a better chance of gaining employees' trust and satisfaction when it comes to pay and rewards if they're transparent. This can include compensation statements that show how pay is set and training that empowers managers to explain decisions.
PayScale recently identified organizations that have taken steps in this direction. Taking the top spot was grocery store chain Aldi, followed by McKinsey & Company and Sanderson Farms in second place. Trader Joe's, Texas Roadhouse and Smith's Food and Drug Stores followed. PayScale said that organizations should consider culture and market data, among other factors, in determining an approach to pay transparency.
A separate PayScale study found that how employees feel about their organization's approach to pay fairness and transparency — pay perception — had a higher impact on their job satisfaction than the amount they were paid.