The Fairness driver reflects how employees feel about the rewards and treatment of individuals within the organization. It helps us to understand if their perception is that employees are treated fairly on unfairly.

The perception of fairness typically relates to two components - rewards and treatment. Fairness of rewards is focused on compensations while fairness in treatment can point to procedures or decision making processes.

In the Emplify Engagement Assessment, employees are prompted to reflect on the following statements related to Fairness and share how strongly they agree or disagree:

Employees tend to associate fairness issues to decisions made by top-level leaders in the organization. When fairness is low it can create skepticism among employees which impacts their ability to fully engage. This can run the risk of spreading among peers and teams and can impact how employees respond to future decisions or changes.

As a leader in the organization taking the opportunity to share transparent communication (as much as you are able) to explain the process behind decisions can go a long way to promoting fairness. Confusion or misperceptions can negatively impact fairness so defining standard, consistent procedures and reinforcing with open communication is a great way to foster fairness throughout the entire organization.

As a direct manager, you have the benefit of being much closer to the emotions and perceptions of your team. While fairness issues are often associated with decisions made by upper leadership, you can help promote fairness for the organization in the way you clarify and reiterate communication about changes or decisions. If you notice an employee that is struggling with a negative perception, think about ways you can coach them one on one so the sentiment doesn't spread further in the team. If there is a situation that was truly unfair, consider ways you can advocate on behalf of your team higher up in the organization to build the momentum to improve fairness!