Dive Brief:

• Many companies are concerned with compliance with the new CEO pay ratio disclosure rule — but even more are concerned with communicating the pay-setting procedure to employees and explaining their pay ratio in comparison to other companies' ratios.

• These are among the findings of a September online poll of almost 600 corporate compensation professionals conducted during Towers Watson's webcast on the implications of pay ratio disclosure.

• Communication challenges dominate the recent poll, with 50% of respondents citing that issue among their top two concerns.

Dive Insight:

As Towers Watson also found in a 2013 poll (when the SEC pay ratio programs was announced), 17% of companies at this point have a good handle on what they'll need to do in order to comply with the final pay ratio disclosure rules.That means almost two-thirds say they are not sure about compliance.

Tower Watson recommends that employers begin the planning process now to develop a comprehensive employee communication strategy around pay leading up to the disclosure. As part of that strategy, companies should review and revise value propositions and rewards communication efforts for employees to enhance transparency and foster better understanding and engagement.