The bigger issue is what happens after people see the range. A current employee may see a job posting and think, “Why am I below that?” A manager may be asked why the range is so wide. A candidate may ask how the range was set. A long-term employee may wonder why a new hire could make more than someone already doing the work. That is where pay transparency becomes more than a posting issue. It becomes a retention issue. It can also become a recruiting issue.

In my HR and compensation work, I have seen this happen quickly. Pay questions can become trust questions. When employees do not understand how pay decisions are made, they often assume the worst.

Addressing that issue starts in four places.

1. The range starts the conversation

The worst time to explain your pay practices is after an employee is already upset.

Once a salary range is public, employees may compare it to their own pay. That is normal. They may ask why they are not in that range, why the range is so wide, how they move higher in it, or whether new hires are being paid more than current staff.

These are fair questions. The problem is not that employees ask them. The problem is when the organization is not ready to answer.

2. Recruiting starts before the posting

A job posting can only do so much. If the salary range is unclear, too low for the market, or not aligned with the role, the search gets harder before it begins. Candidates and current employees notice.

Before posting a role, employers need to know what they are hiring for, not just the title or duties copied from an old job description. They need to know the required experience level, the real budget, and what the market says the role should pay. They also need to consider whether location affects the range, how this role compares to similar roles inside the organization, and whether the range can be explained clearly.

If the range is too low, the right candidates may not apply. If it is too wide, candidates may question whether the organization knows what it wants. If it is higher than what current employees are making, internal trust can take a hit.

Pay transparency makes the compensation conversation more visible. That means employers need to do more thinking before the job goes live.

3. Internal equity matters

Pay transparency can bring old pay issues to the surface. A posted range may show that the market has moved, that a role has changed, or that current employees are not where they should be.

Sometimes there is a good reason for a pay difference. Sometimes there is not. Either way, leaders need to understand what the range means before it is posted.

If current employees are below the range, why? If the range is wide, what does the top end represent? If new hires may come in higher than current staff, could that create compression?

For example, a long-tenured employee earning $58,000 may see a posting for their same role with a range of $55,000 to $75,000. Even if there is a legitimate reason they sit near the bottom, silence around it can do more damage than the number itself.

These questions affect trust. Trust affects engagement and retention.

4. Managers need more than a script

Pay transparency will create questions for HR, but the brunt of it will land with managers. Managers are often the first people employees go to. They may not set pay ranges, but they still need to know how to talk about them.

Before a posting goes live, confirm that managers know how the range was set. They should know where current employees fall within it, what to say if someone feels underpaid, how employees move through the range over time, and when to bring HR or leadership into the conversation.

Managers do not need to be compensation experts, but they do need clear, consistent information. A vague answer frustrates employees. Different answers from different managers damage trust.

Pay transparency can help retention.

Pay transparency does not have to be a problem. It can help an organization get clearer about pay ranges, compression, and what growth looks like for employees, but that only happens when the organization does the work behind the range.

Before posting any role, promotion, or transfer, pause and ask: Is this range realistic? Is it based on current market data? How does it compare to current employees in similar roles? Could it create compression? Does the job description match the range? Can managers explain it? Do we have a clear pay philosophy we can point to?

Pay transparency does not create every pay problem, although it can reveal problems that were already there. If your organization has not reviewed its ranges, current employee pay, and manager talking points, now is a good time to start. The range is what people see. The trust behind it is what they remember.

Virginia’s law changes what employers must disclose, but it also changes what employees expect. Organizations that prepare now will be better positioned to recruit, retain, and build trust with their workforce.