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 = salary / 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 = (salary - minimum) / (maximum - minimum) x 100. It shows where pay sits across the full band. Long tenure with low penetration is the signature of compression: time passing without pay progressing.
New hire versus incumbent: when market-rate offers land within 5% of tenured employees, or above them, resentment and turnover follow disclosure, and disclosure always happens. Supervisor premium: below roughly 10%, promotion into supervision stops being rational, and your leadership pipeline quietly closes.
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.