Compensation-focused conversations between managers and direct reports should have three goals:

  • Help reports understand the organization’s overall compensation philosophy.
  • Help reports understand their individual compensation.
  • Tie compensation into a larger discussion about development and growth.

As you navigate these conversations, there may be some employees who feel less comfortable talking openly about their own and others’ compensation. Managers should approach these 1:1s with patience, and can help empower reports to ask questions by proactively bringing up potential questions and concerns. Building this confidence is especially important for workers from historically underrepresented (and underpaid) groups.

A list of questions and statements from our pay transparency playbook to circulate to managers to use as a starting point:

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