Coffee Talk: The benefits of fair pay

This article has been updated — 11 August 2023

From increased employee satisfaction (and, in turn, motivation) to a dip in turnover and more control over compensation decisions, the benefits of paying fairly and transparently build upon one another. In this coffee talk, Henrike and Margret have a lightning round to answer your burning questions about the measurable positive outcomes of pay equity.

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Q: What happens when you set off on a pay transparency and pay equity project?

A: You set in motion a domino effect of positive gains that ripple through your organization.

What are those benefits?

1. Fair pay can have positive knock-on effects, benefiting not only individuals who receive higher wages but also the overall company culture and employee satisfaction.

2. Fair pay practices are correlated with employee satisfaction, wellness at work, and higher motivation, productivity, and happiness among employees.

3. Implementing fair pay can give companies a competitive edge in labor markets, especially in industries with high competition for skilled workers.

4. "People want to be working in places where they have purpose."

Grab your cup of coffee, kick back, listen, and learn all 10 + 1 benefits of fair pay.

(To learn more about the benefits of pay transparency, read the full article.)

Friday Coffee Talk from Planet Fair is a podcast/videocast series co-hosted by PayAnalytics founder Margrét Bjarnadóttir and Henrike Von Platen, founder and CEO of the FPI Fair Pay Innovation Lab in Berlin. It is available through all podcast platforms as well as on YouTube as a videocast.

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#62 — “Mindset change challenge:” Pay bands, pay philosophy, and closing the gap

What happens when an employer can’t adequately explain why an employee’s pay is what it is? Or what if their explanation is based on “the old way” of doing things? In this coffee talk, Margrét and Henrike discuss pay bands, pay philosophy, the EU pay transparency directive, and how to minimize confusion while trying to close the gender pay gap.

Listen to episode 62

#61 — Dietmar Knoess on PUMA’s Fair Pay Leadership

In this coffee talk with Henrike von Platen and Dietmar Knoess of the PUMA group, we hear about both the pleasant surprise and the challenges in PUMA’s journey into fair pay leadership.

Listen to episode 61

#60 - Sana Zafar on the surprising effects of pay gaps

It’s intuitive that a gender pay gap would leave women feeling less than satisfied in the workplace. But according to Sana Zafar, our coffee talk guest, the real effect is more nuanced. Pay gaps lead to lower satisfaction among both women and men, but through different mechanisms.

Listen to episode 60

#59 – Iceland’s CEO Gender Gap with Thora Christiansen

University of Iceland Researcher Thora Christiansen has been looking into why, despite Iceland’s intensive work on pay equity, there are still so few female CEOs. In this coffee talk, Thora joins Margrét to talk about her research into this problem—and a few possible solutions.

Listen to episode 59

View all Coffee Talk episodes

Coffee Talk — 17 September 2021

#16 - 10 Benefits of Fair Pay (+1 Bonus)

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Coffee Talk

#62 — “Mindset change challenge:” Pay bands, pay philosophy, and closing the gap

Coffee Talk

#61 — Dietmar Knoess on PUMA’s Fair Pay Leadership

Coffee Talk

#60 - Sana Zafar on the surprising effects of pay gaps

Coffee Talk

#59 – Iceland’s CEO Gender Gap with Thora Christiansen