New hires closing in on tenured pay. Supervisors earning barely more than their teams. This calculator surfaces the compression math before your employees do it themselves.
This tool provides compensation analysis estimates from your inputs. It does not constitute a pay equity study or legal advice.
Compa-ratio = pay / range midpoint x 100, where the midpoint is the average of your range minimum and maximum. A ratio of 100% means pay sits exactly at midpoint; the standard competitive band for experienced performers is 90% to 110%.
Range penetration = (pay - minimum) / (maximum - minimum) x 100. It shows where pay sits across the full band. Long tenure with low penetration and no recent increase is the clearest compression signature: time and performance passing without pay following.
New hire versus incumbent: offers within 5% of tenured pay, or above it, generate resentment and turnover once discovered, and discovery is not a matter of if. Supervisor premium: below roughly 10% over the highest-paid direct report, promotion into supervision stops being rational.
Market rates rising faster than internal raises, flat cost-of-living adjustments, minimum wage or entry-rate jumps, and hiring in hot markets. It accumulates silently until an offer letter or a payroll conversation exposes it.
Compression itself is not illegal. It becomes legally dangerous when the pattern correlates with protected characteristics, and it becomes operationally expensive through turnover long before any legal line is crossed.
Assume yes. Discussing pay is protected activity for most private-sector employees, and pay information travels. Compression strategy built on secrecy is not a strategy.
Less than the alternative in most cases. A targeted adjustment for the compressed cohort, sequenced over one or two cycles, is typically far cheaper than replacing the tenured employees who leave over it.
Book a no-cost 30-minute consult. Bring your result, and leave with a straight read on the risk and a practical next step.