Explaining how pay works, yourself, in person, before the letter.
In our leaver data it is rarely the number that drives people out. It is the number arriving with no explanation, from nobody, in a letter.
Fifteen minutes in private before the letter: criteria, where they sat, what would change it, and what you argued for.
Pay is mostly not yours to set, and in the NHS, councils and much of retail and construction it is set by a national spine, a grade or a rate card. The explanation is still yours, and it is the part people remember. Where there is a decision, explain the criteria and where they sat; where there is not, explain the system and where they sit in it. Either way, sitting down and saying it, even when the news is flat, keeps trust through a conversation most managers avoid.
Before the letter
- See each person in private, before the formal communication arrives. Fifteen minutes.
- Say how pay is set here, where they sit, and what would change it next year, if anything can. Plain words.
- If there was a decision and you disagreed with it, say what you argued for. Do not pretend it was your decision; do not pretend it was nothing to do with you.
- Ask if they have questions. Write down the ones you cannot answer and come back within the week.
When the answer is no
A no with a reason and a path is survivable. A no with neither is a resignation in six months. If there is no path, say that too; people would rather know.
The rest of the year
The pay conversation lands better when the recognition has been happening all year. If the first time someone hears what you think of their work is the pay letter, no explanation will help.
The clearest thirty minutes in your week.
Send us your last engagement survey and we’ll show you what it’s missing – no charge, no deck, no obligation. Or start with a pilot or a 30-minute conversation.