When you review pay to determine if inequities exist, I recommend that you focus on more than base pay. You should also look at bonuses and sales commissions as well as long-term incentives. And then expand to look at overtime, spot awards, and special programs like high potential stock grants, retention awards, and project milestone payments.

A workplace equity analysis includes not just the pay elements but also the full employee lifecycle. That includes recruiting, hiring, development, total rewards, retention, and attrition.

The pay gap is not just caused by unfair pay decisions. It is also caused by not providing opportunities to your employees in an equitable manner.

Can you say that your career advancement opportunities are equitably for all your employees?

Who is getting the promotions, high performance ratings, and high potential label? Who isn’t?

Are your processes standardized, documented, and followed? If they are followed AND you still have inequities that exist, dig deeper. Bias exists in the decision-making process. Finding and fixing it should be a priority.

Per Syndio, there are many areas to focus on:

1. Recruiting and hiring analysis

2. Starting pay analysis

3. Engagement analysis

4. Performance rating analysis

5. Promotions analysis

6. Pay change analysis

7. Diversity and representation analysis

8. Pay equity analysis

9. Pay policy analysis

10. Attrition analysis

It’s like layers of an onion. A robust workplace equity analysis requires awareness and the willingness to look closely at the layers.

What are the reasons for the decisions made? What biases exist? Is trust present so those biases can be discussed and solved? Are we committed to finding and fixing root cause problems? Or are we focusing on the surface layers that don’t tell the full story?

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