LiveRem launches free real-time gender pay gap analysis tool

Payroll and HR data company LiveRem is attempting to address the gender pay gap by launching New Zealand’s first free real-time gender pay gap analysis tool. This feature enables businesses across the country to analyse their payroll and HR data instantly and accurately, thereby providing a real-time gender pay gap index. The aim is to relieve human resources teams from the cumbersome task of calculating the gender pay gap manually, allowing them to focus on addressing the identified disparities, the company states.

The initiative builds on LiveRem’s previous achievement in March, when it launched the first cross-industry tool offering live salary benchmarking for New Zealand businesses. Recognising the potential of the data underlying this tool, LiveRem decided to extend its functionality to solve the pay gap conundrum, providing a streamlined and automated approach to gender pay gap analysis.

Jonathan Morgan, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder of LiveRem, explained, “Talking to our customers revealed that most businesses still use clunky spreadsheets and complex calculations to work out their gender pay gap, if they even calculate it at all. In an era of big data, finding a way to automate these calculations in real-time was a no-brainer. What’s more, the level of granularity we offer by department, pay level and role gives organisations a huge head start in formulating a targeted, forward-looking plan to address any issues.”

The gender pay gap analysis tool is designed to empower New Zealand companies to take substantive action towards gender pay equity. Kathleen Webber, Co-Founder and CEO of LiveRem, commented, “We believe New Zealand companies want to take action around their pay gaps, but this starts with an ability to understand and interrogate their data. In an ideal world, reporting on our gender pay gap would be as ubiquitous as reporting on our staff count and profits.”

The tool offers comprehensive insights into gender pay gaps within an organisation. It enables detailed analysis that goes beyond identifying the existence of a pay gap to uncover whether specific biases exist at different organisational levels and roles. It also provides information on staff turnover by gender, which can help organisations understand if they are not only attracting but also retaining diverse talent.

Webber noted that the ease of access and instant availability of such detailed analysis has historically been a significant challenge. “Ordinarily, this level of analysis simply wouldn’t be possible instantly; and this probably contributes to why moving the needle on these stats has historically been such a huge challenge,” she said.

The tool’s setup is straightforward, taking only a matter of minutes to integrate with New Zealand’s most common payroll and HR systems. It then produces an internal dashboard and shareable report almost instantaneously. The free version of the tool provides companies with an automated and accurate analysis of their overall gender pay gap and highlights three roles where this gap is most pronounced. A paid version offers a more detailed breakdown and market comparisons, enabling organisations to track their progress over time without the need for complex data collation or calculations.

Pay equity is increasingly seen as a significant factor in attracting and retaining talent. Companies that can prove a commitment to equitable pay are likely to be more appealing to potential employees. Webber believes that LiveRem’s tool can help businesses demonstrate their dedication to pay equity, thus attracting new talent while retaining their existing workforce.

LiveRem has previously launched successful people data analysis products and continues to focus on solving data-related challenges using technology. Morgan emphasised, “We’re deeply entrenched in people data challenges day-in and day-out and simply believe in the power of turning data into accurate insights that facilitate better decisions at a price point any company can afford.” The solutions provided by LiveRem have regularly outperformed those offered by the Big Four accounting firms and are often sought after when other companies have failed to deliver.