What Are You Going to Do About the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act?

New regulations. We’re crawling with them. My colleagues Terri Albee and Darcy Dee have written extensively about what we are dealing with right now and they have offered you some insights into how to handle them.  But what are your plans?

I thought the most useful reality check would be with the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.  Terri and Darcy have suggested, among other things:
• Introducing tighter controls on managerial discretion in pay decisions (if needed)
• Providing business reasons for pay decisions
• Improving documentation of pay discussions
• Ensuring your recordkeeping is reliable

I have heard other practitioners recommend audits.  I’m sure there are other things to do, as well.

My question to you is, what are you really going to do?  Not within HR, but with your managers and employees?

Tell us, are you getting your managers involved?

Manager training is one idea, but what does that really mean in your company?  Can you shoot us back your case study in the form of a comment?  I think your colleagues would really appreciate your insights into these sensitive challenges.

What about your employees?

Even more tricky, how do you plan to communicate with employees about the Act?  Your first reaction may be to say nothing, but if you are briefing your managers, employees will learn what’s up.  Besides, they will have read about it in the media, so they may wonder what your company is planning to do.

Can you share your ideas on employee communication?  These may be even more valuable to your colleagues, since it will be important to strike the right balance.  Please take a minute and send your plans, or even just your thoughts along.

What is the "whole truth" in your mind?

In my recent post on “The Best Advice That You Can Get in June,” I highlighted selections from the a description of how to build trust in employee communications.  It was take from Charles H. Green’s  post on the Trusted Matters blog,  “Why Trust Improves the Bottom Line”: 

“Tell the whole truth, don’t just don’t lie.  .  . If you don’t know something, say so.” 

How do you think this applies? The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is a good test -- and we're listening for what you have to say.

Margaret O’Hanlon is founder and principal of re:Think Consulting.  She has decades of experience teaming up with clients to ensure great Human Resource ideas deliver valuable business results.  Margaret brings deep expertise in total rewards communication to the dialogue at the Café; before founding re:Think Consulting, she was a Principal in Total Rewards Communications with Towers Perrin.  Margaret earned her M.S. and Ed.S. in Instructional Technology at Indiana University.  Creative writing is one of her outside passions.

Comments

[working girl]

I think that what's going to matter more than documenting why Joe got a 5% increase and Sally only got 4% are the overall trends. In other words, if you look at the company as a whole, how does pay measure up across the board? Be sure you can justfiy (or rectify as needed) the aggregate numbers.

[Margaret O'Hanlon]

I agree. Communications with employees shouldn't get tied up in justifying actually increases. Employees need to learn about the key issues of their performance, business results, increase budget, etc. But how many companies will talk with their employees about their company's trends -- and should they get into that topic?

A lot depends on the culture and past communications history -- open and candid companies have a responsibility to address the Act.

Also, most companies will complete an audit process to assess their practices. It would be helpful to know how companies are planning to manage the visibility and results of the audit process. How are they explaining it to managers and employees?

Thanks for your thoughts!

[Rhys]

You're right about the importance of communication. Even in the form of small talk, communication might be the most important way to handle new regulations. The Power of Small authors made a video showing how small talk saved a woman's life ( http://tinyurl.com/csd7je ). If it can do that, it can certainly help keep your employees informed about new regulations, and keep your business on the right side of them.

[Margaret O'Hanlon]

Rhys, thanks so much for introducing us to that video. It is a wonderful reminder of how powerful our influence can be, for better or worse.

It reminds me of why I encourage HR practitioners to have a communication commitment. They need to remain aware of the influence that they have, and be as thoughtful about their communication plans for the employee population as they are about any executive presentation.

It's been proven, effective employee communications (which are often guided by HR)improve the bottom line.