What does the gender pay gap mean for staff motivation?
It’s not simply those companies who published their pay gap results who need to be conscious of their staff motivation levels. Just because your pay gap results weren’t published, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.
But how can you help reassure your staff that the problem will be dealt with? It’s simple really, as long as you utilise the three motivation accelerators.
Communicate
Although communication in a business is always key, when it comes to counteracting any sort of reduction in staff morale after the release of gender pay gap results it becomes even more so. It is just as important for organisations to consider what they will say to their own staff about their pay gap results, as well as to the public.
The factual benefits of diversity within teams, roles and departments should be conveyed. A prevalent issue when it comes to the gender pay gap is the distribution of job roles between the genders, with women tending to be confined to part time or lower skilled jobs.
Reward
There is more diversity in the workplace than ever before, so it is unlikely that a single reward and recognition solution will work for every employee. For some of your staff, a pay rise is the answer to their pay gap woes, but for others flexible working may be the answer. It’s a benefit rated highly by many generations, as it allows for a better work/life balance. It is also great for encouraging men to take a more hands-on approach when it comes to raising their young children.
However, not everyone wants or needs to work from home, so it is important that you listen to the desires of your employees, and don’t force what may be good for one section of your workforce on the entirety of your staff.
Teach
Workplace learning and development is important for all employees, and it can be an invaluable tool both for closing the gender pay gap over the longer term and for increasing morale after it’s announcement.
Whether this is unconscious bias training for hiring managers and HR or wider learning and development opportunities for all staff to bolster your internal talent pipeline, it’s important to make sure you announce workplace learning opportunities, and that sign-up is quick and easy. It is important to emphasise that you are teaching staff skills that will assist them as they progress further up the career ladder and help make them even more valuable to the organisation.
Dealing with the aftermath of gender pay reporting in the workplace is a daunting task. Unfortunately, there is no ‘quick fix’ for the problem but the steps taken to aid its reduction and elimination will undoubtedly leave you with a happier, more engaged, more productive workforce, regardless of gender.
Read more in our report Closing the Gender Pay Gap The Link Between Pay and Happiness.
The author is Hayley Dolby, Communications Executive at Personal Group.
This article was provided by Personal Group.
Personal Group is sponsoring REBA's Employee Wellbeing Congress 2018, which is being held on 5 July in London.
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