Write the philosophy behind the ranges you post
Most employers have a compensation philosophy — few have it written down, and fewer still have one their employees understand. Answer a few questions (about 10 minutes), and get a written statement you can adopt, edit, and share. Free, no signup required. This is a template, not legal advice, and it never suggests a salary number.
Template, not legal advice. Review with counsel before adopting. A philosophy statement does not satisfy any state's posting requirements on its own — ranges in postings must still meet applicable law (see jobdescriptiontool.com/pay-transparency). Checked, never certified.
About 10 minutes. Skip anything you haven't decided — skipped questions show up as bracketed placeholders in your statement, never as positions we invented for you. Nothing here suggests a salary number: percentiles are your choice, shown back exactly as you entered them.
1. Market positioning *
Do you lead, match, or lag the market? *
Target percentile
Market scope
2. Pay mix
Base versus variable emphasis
Short-term incentives
Long-term incentives
3. Internal equity
When internal equity and market data conflict, which governs?
4. Transparency *
Are pay ranges included in postings? *
Posting ranges must still meet applicable state law — see state pay-transparency requirements. This statement alone does not satisfy any state's posting rules.
Are pay ranges shared with employees?
How are ranges communicated? (your own words)
5. Performance linkage
Are merit increases tied to performance?
What are bonuses tied to?
6. Geography
National ranges or location-adjusted?
Remote approach
7. Governance and review
Who owns pay decisions?
Review cadence
How are ranges kept current?
8. Values, in your own words
Pick up to 2 values
One custom line, in your own words
Your statement — live preview
Fully editable. Edit here before downloading; if you change answers after editing, use Regenerate to re-apply them.
Answer the two required sections (market positioning and transparency) to enable downloads.
No account required. Nothing you enter here is stored — the statement is built in your browser and the document is built in-request.
Why most employers don't have one
- WorldatWork's Compensation Programs & Practices Survey (2021, 920 responses, 3% margin of error) found 88% of organizations have a formal compensation philosophy — but only 62% have it written, and 41% say most employees don't understand it.
- Payscale's 2026 Compensation Best Practices Report found 61% of organizations have a compensation strategy, leaving 39% without one.
- Salary.com's 2026 State of Pay report (525 practitioners, 23 industries) found only 34% of organizations are transparent with employees about how pay is determined.
Each figure is from its own study, cited with source, sample, and year. No vendor endorsement is implied.