DETERMINE

A Communications Plan

Communicating with your employees about pay equity is vital for your pay equity plan to succeed. Keeping the lines of communication open will:

• help inform your employees about pay equity and their rights;
  
  
• increase credibility for the pay equity process with your employees;
  
  
• allow your employees to "buy in" to the plan you are developing;
  
  
• dispel rumours or false information;
  
  
• help you to create a plan that is useful to your workplace.
  
  

Communication should happen at each step of developing your plan and especially after you have completed your plan.

• Provide information on the Pay Equity Act and the definition and concept of pay equity (the Pay Equity Commission can provide you with information for your employees).
  
  
• Tell your employees that a pay equity plan is being prepared in the workplace. Outline who will be doing the work and emphasize that your organization is committed to developing a good, thorough plan that is relevant to the workplace.
  
  
• Consider what will be the role of the bargaining agent in the communications plan.
  
  
• Emphasize that this process will look at the jobs in the workplace and what is required to do the jobs, not measure the performance of the people doing them.
  
  
• Outline what is expected of your employees. If you are using a questionnaire to collect job information, let them know that they will be given one to provide detailed information on the job each of them is doing. If you are giving questionnaires to only a percentage of employees, explain to the others why you are doing this and what opportunity they will have to comment on the questionnaires relating to their jobs.
  
  
• Explain the pay equity process, especially how job classes are selected for evaluation.
  
  
• Use your pay equity committee to help you communicate.
  
  
• Encourage the support and co-operation of your employees and explain that the pay equity process is necessary to create a fair and equitable system of compensation.
  
  
• Provide a contact person in the workplace for more information. You can also tell your employees that they can get in touch with the Pay Equity Commission.
  
  

• An open letter to all employees from the owner/president/general manager distributed to every employee or posted in all common areas such as the lunchroom.
  
  
• A meeting at lunchtime or before the start of the work day, or an announcement at a regularly scheduled general staff meeting.
  
  
• A questions-and-answers fact sheet about pay equity that is distributed to each employee. The Pay Equity Commission has publications available for you to distribute to your employees.
  
  

We are here to help. We can answer your questions by e-mail at pecinfo.pecinfo@ontario.ca or by phone at (416) 314-1896, or toll-free at 1-800-387-8813. Publications and seminars are available free of charge. Request these by contacting us at pecseminars.pecseminars@ontario.ca

All communications are confidential.