Pay gap analysis and remediation workflow
Pay equity has become a central concern for organizations that navigate increasing regulatory scrutiny and workers' rising expectations around fair compensation. Identifying a pay gap, however, is only the first step. The real challenge lies in translating analytical findings into auditable, transparent decisions. PaySuite and PayAnalytics address this by creating a single, governed workflow in which PaySuite owns the data, PayAnalytics consumes it for analysis, and PaySuite orchestrates and executes the remediation process.
Overview
At a high level, the workflow moves through four stages. First, data is prepared and structured in PaySuite. A snapshot is then synchronized to PayAnalytics, where the pay gap analysis itself is performed. Once complete, the analysis results are synced back into PaySuite, where a PayAnalytics Admin reviews, adjusts, and publishes them to the Planner. Finally, HRBPs access the published analysis in the Planner and enter their final pay proposals.
Below, we describe each of these stages in detail.
Prerequisites: Pay Analysis Data Mapping
Before organizations can create or synchronize any dataset, they must configure the Pay Analysis Data Mapping for the relevant data model. This configuration is a mandatory prerequisite for snapshot-based dataset creation.
The mapping is managed in PaySuite and consists of two parts: a global setting and a mapping specific to each data model.
Global setting
The global setting involves defining a label to identify pay analysis results in PayAnalytics that can be synced back to PaySuite. This label is unique and applies to all data models across the pay analysis mappings. To configure it, users need to go to Workbench > Data Management > Pay Analysis Data Mapping > Analysis refresh configuration, as illustrated in the following figure:
Pay Analysis Data Mapping page with a label and list of mappings
Data model mapping
For each data model, a dedicated mapping determines how its data is structured for PayAnalytics. The mapping covers the following elements:
Worker ID & group or category for analysis segmentation,
Currency configuration, including the currency field, target currency, and conversion settings,
Compensation data, including the compensation amount field and any additional compensation elements,
Demographic variables, including the gender field with value mappings for Male, Female, Non-binary, and Not reported, as well as any additional variables.
See an example of a mapped data model below:
Pay analysis data mapping for the selected data model
This feature is available in Workbench > Data Management > Pay Analysis Data Mapping > Data models with pay analysis mapping. After the user clicks Add mapping to model, a new window appears, where they can select a data model and configure the mapping for the essential fields.
Minimum field requirements
PayAnalytics requires at least four types of data to be present in every dataset: Worker ID, demographic data, compensation data, and grouping. These must all be accounted for in the data model mapping before continuing with dataset creation.
Field type rules
PayAnalytics does not support null values in numerical fields. It treats all mapped fields as either numerical or categorical (string) values. This governs which fields are eligible for certain roles in the mapping. For example, only numerical fields can be selected as compensation fields.
Currency configuration
The main currency for pay gap analysis must be defined in PaySuite as part of the data mapping in the Add mapping to the model window in the Main currency field. Users cannot do it in PayAnalytics directly because all compensation data must be expressed in a single currency for pay gap analysis to work correctly, and defining it in PayAnalytics would break the two-way sync consistency required for remediation. PayAnalytics' own multi-currency conversion can still be used in parallel, but PaySuite currency conversion takes precedence for sync purposes.
The multi-currency service in PaySuite's Workbench > Data Management > Currencies & Exchange Rates supports setting a primary global currency, enabling specific currencies, defining effective-dated exchange rates, and creating multiple exchange rate types. For the PayAnalytics integration specifically, it ensures that all local currencies are converted into the main currency specified in the data mapping, using the effective date of the snapshot. The default exchange rate type is used for this conversion.
This is a tip message.
While it may seem tempting to include every available field in a data model, this is not recommended. Limiting the data model to the fields that are genuinely needed for analysis improves performance and reduces unnecessary data exposure.
Data sync and dataset management
PaySuite > PayAnalytics: creating a dataset from a snapshot
After data mapping configuration, the data flow from PaySuite to PayAnalytics begins with generating a snapshot from the configured data model. This can be done in Workbench > Data Management > Snapshot Manager through the Create snapshot button. From the generated snapshot, users then create a pay analysis dataset directly by clicking the three-dot icon in the list of available snapshots and selecting Create pay analysis dataset.
When creating the dataset, the user defines two things: the target PayAnalytics tenant and one or more dataset labels, as shown in the following picture:
Create pay analysis dataset window
Once confirmed, the snapshot is synchronized to PayAnalytics and the dataset becomes available there. The system automatically assigns compensation and demographic field mappings after dataset creation.
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PayAnalytics users can still import employee datasets directly into the PayAnalytics interface using an Excel file. However, data imported this way will not sync back into PaySuite and therefore cannot be used for pay gap remediation review, pay communications, or reporting.
PayAnalytics > PaySuite: synchronizing analysis results back
Once the Pay Equity Analysis has been completed in PayAnalytics, its results can be synchronized back into PaySuite for use in the remediation workflow.
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For the remediation workflow to be possible in PaySuite, the Pay Analysis feature must first be activated by the Configuration Admin in Workbench > Platform Setup > Feature Enablement. Also, for the sync to include raise suggestions, the Pay Equity Analysis in PayAnalytics must have been configured to include raise suggestion settings. Analyses run without this configuration will not carry raise data into PaySuite.
The PayAnalytics Admin manually triggers the synchronization from Workbench > Pay Intelligence > Pay Analysis Results by clicking the Sync analysis button presented below:
Pay Analysis Results page with the Sync analysis option
The synchronization retrieves both the main pay analysis results and any subgroup-level analyses – for example, splits by country or category. However, the sync action only retrieves analyses that meet two conditions:
The analysis must be labeled in PayAnalytics using the customer-defined label configured in the Pay Analysis Data Mapping.
The analysis must not have already been synchronized.
Once synchronization completes, the retrieved analyses appear in the Pay Analysis Results list in Workbench with the status New, and are immediately available to PayAnalytics Admins for remediation preparation.
Workbench: management of pay analysis results
After synchronization, pay analysis results become available in PaySuite as a comprehensive workspace where PayAnalytics Admins can review, validate, and prepare data before the remediation phase begins.
When a synced analysis is opened, its status automatically updates from New to Validation, ensuring that analyses are reviewed before being used for remediation.
Reviewing analysis results
The Workbench > Pay Intelligence view for Pay Analysis Results presents the full data from the original snapshot alongside the pay analysis data received from PayAnalytics. The following figure illustrates this view:
Analysis result details in Workbench
On the analysis view page:
Raise suggestions from PayAnalytics are pre-populated into the recommended raises fields.
Current line manager and current compensation manager are shown based on live hierarchies.
Key insights can be toggled on or off, including the number of raises, the total cost of raises in the configured main currency, and adjusted pay gaps by demographics. For the total cost of raises, insights also show the percentage of the current total compensation represented by the model prediction, the recommended adjustments after administrator review, and, once available, the finalized adjustments after HRBP review.
Grid columns can be configured for both visibility and order, and that configuration applies to both Workbench and Planner views.
Workers can be searched by name or ID.
The full analysis data can also be exported for offline review, reporting, and sharing.
Editing recommended raises
Users with the PayAnalytics Admin role can adjust raise recommendations directly in Workbench. Three fields are available for editing: raise percentage, raise amount, and compensation after raise. Editing any one of these fields automatically recalculates the other two. Changes are immediately reflected in the total cost of raises, the number of recommended raises, and the Adjusted pay gaps by demographics shown in the insights panel, all recalculated automatically in real time as recommendations are modified. Alongside the monetary total, the insights panel also shows what the model prediction and the recommended adjustments represent as a percentage of the current total compensation of the analysis. This way, administrators can immediately understand the budget impact of their changes.
PayAnalytics Admin users can also add notes at the individual worker level to justify a raise recommendation decision. Each note is labeled with the author’s role (PayAnalyticsAdmin) so that it is clearly identifiable in the context of the remediation workflow.
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Users see only the notes that are relevant to their assigned role. This ensures that sensitive comments remain appropriately contained. For example, internal admin observations added in Workbench are not surfaced to HRBPs in the Planner. Where an HRBP permission to view admin comments has been granted at publishing, those notes remain visible accordingly.
Importantly, this step focuses on validation and preparation – it is not yet part of the remediation itself. Additionally, any edits made to raise recommendations in PaySuite are not pushed back to PayAnalytics. The two systems remain independent after the initial sync.
Publishing pay analysis to the Planner
Once analysis results have been reviewed and raise recommendations finalized, the PayAnalytics Admin can publish the analysis to the Planner by clicking Publish analysis to planner in Workbench > Pay Intelligence > Pay Analysis Results. This enables the pay gap remediation process.
Publishing the analysis changes its status to In progress and makes it accessible under Planner > Pay Analysis for the relevant HRBPs.
Configuring access and permissions
When publishing, the administrator defines what HRBPs are permitted to do with the analysis in the Planner.
Publish window with permission setup options
As you can see in the illustration above, the available permissions include:
viewing the analysis,
adding comments,
viewing recommended raises,
viewing comments from the admin or other HRBPs,
viewing and editing final offers.
Recommended vs. final raises
The publishing step establishes a clear distinction between two types of raise data:
Recommended raises are defined by the admin in Workbench and are read-only in the Planner.
Final offers can be edited by HRBPs in the Planner and remain editable by the admin in Workbench.
The interface color-codes the two accordingly: blue marks recommended raises, green – final offers. This visually separates central recommendations from local decision-making.
The administrator also has the option to pre-populate final offer fields with the recommended raise values at the time of publishing. The current grid configuration – columns and their order – is carried over to the Planner automatically.
Post-publish management
After publishing, the admin can update HRBP access permissions at any time using the Change visibility action in Workbench > Pay Intelligence > Pay Analysis Results. Any changes made are reflected immediately in the Planner for the relevant HRBPs.
Once the analysis is published, two additional metrics become available in the insights panel: the number of final raises and the total cost of final raises. As with the model and recommended figures, the total cost of final raises is also expressed as a percentage of the current total compensation.
Pay gap remediation in the Planner for HRBPs
HRBPs perform pay gap remediation by accessing published analyses in the Planner, reviewing the recommended raises defined by the administrator, and entering their final pay decisions for the workers within their area of responsibility.
Accessing published analyses
Under Planner > Pay Analysis, HRBPs find each published analysis listed with its relevant details, as presented below:
List of pay analyses in the Planner
The pay analysis view corresponds to the column visibility, order, and note permissions configured at publishing:
Analysis result details in the Planner
Workers can be searched by name or ID. HRBPs can also export the analysis data to have access to it offline.
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HRBPs only see workers within their defined area of responsibility. Access is controlled through ABAC-based security rules, ensuring that pay data is visible only to authorized users.
Entering final raises
For each worker in their assigned population, HRBPs can enter final raise decisions using three dedicated fields: final raise percentage, final raise amount, and compensation after final raise. As with the recommended raise fields, editing any one of these dynamically updates the others. When a final raise differs from the recommended raise, HRBPs can add a note to explain the adjustment, each labeled with the author’s role (HRBP) beneath the author’s name.
The insights panel shows the number of final raises, the total cost of final raises, and the Adjusted pay gaps by demographics, all of which are automatically recalculated in real time as final raises are entered or modified. The total cost of final raises also displays as a percentage of the current total compensation, giving HRBPs the same budget-impact visibility available to administrators, though scoped to the recommended and final figures relevant to their role. This allows HRBPs to immediately see how their compensation decisions impact pay equity metrics.