I’m Kayla. I run People Ops for a 380-person tech company. We’re spread across four states, with remote folks everywhere. Last year, right before review season, my CFO asked a simple question: “Are we fair on pay?”
My stomach dropped. My spreadsheet said yes. My gut said no.
So I brought in real pay equity software. (I later did a public teardown of that year-long test over on QuSoft.) I used Syndio PayEQ every week. I paired it with PayScale’s Pay Equity tools during comp planning. And I leaned on Trusaic PayParity for reporting and legal comfort. Different tools. Different vibes. Let me explain.
The “oh no” moment that kicked this off
Colorado posted pay ranges. People started asking good questions. One engineer emailed me a chart she made herself. It showed a gap. It wasn’t huge, but it was there.
I ran a first pass in Excel. It broke. So I tried Syndio.
Syndio took our HRIS feed (we used Workday then, now Rippling). It cleaned the data with me. It ran a regression with controls like level, tenure, location, and job family. It flagged people who looked low based on folks like them.
That’s when we saw it: Women in engineering were down by a median of 5.2%. Not in every pocket. But in enough places that I felt it in my chest.
Syndio PayEQ — my daily driver
What I loved:
- The model made sense to my CFO. We could see the controlled gap and the raw gap, side by side.
- It showed me the “why” fields: title, level, team, location. No guessing.
- The remediation budget feature was clutch. It said, “If you invest $71,000, you’ll close the gap in these roles.” That number helped me get buy-in.
- Pay Finder gave raise suggestions for each person. Not perfect, but a solid start.
- The visuals did half my meeting work. I printed one chart three times. It did not get old.
A real example:
We had two Senior Software Engineers with the same level and similar tenure. One in Denver, one in Austin. The Austin engineer (a woman) was 6% under the model. We raised her base by 4.5% right away, then planned another 1.5% after the next review cycle. She told me, “It wasn’t just the money. It was the check-in.” I wrote that down.
Where Syndio annoyed me:
- Price. Ours landed in the high five figures per year. Worth it, but still a gulp.
- Messy titles made it cry. I spent two weeks cleaning job families. If your job architecture is chaos, get ready.
- It didn’t love temp workers or contractors. We handled those offline.
- Early on, we got a few false flags when a team’s levels were off. The model was right, but also wrong, if that makes sense. Fix the levels first.
PayScale Pay Equity — good when comp meets finance
We already used PayScale for market data and ranges. We added their pay equity features during our review cycle.
What worked:
- Good if you live in comp spreadsheets. It talks to ranges and market data.
- Scenario modeling was smooth. “What if we bump these nine folks by 3%?” Then you watch the gap and budget move.
- I liked tying fixes to our bands, not just to a model line.
A real example:
Our sales team had a weird month mix. Some reps were new. Some were mid-ramp. PayScale flagged nine red cases. Syndio flagged seven. We dug in. Three were true pay issues. Six were “ramp timing” noise. We adjusted the three and set a plan to check the others after ramp. That saved us from throwing random dollars at a mirage.
What bugged me:
- Data matching got picky. Market matches are a whole art, and I don’t always have the exact job codes on hand.
- Support was slow the week before reviews. Timing hurt.
- The UI felt a bit heavy. Not bad, just… a lot.
Trusaic PayParity — calm during reporting season
I’m not a lawyer, but I talk to them a lot. Trusaic made me feel safe for audits and state pay data reporting.
What helped:
- Clean EEO categories and audit-ready files.
- Guidance on CA pay data reporting (SB 1162) and pay range laws by state.
- A human who could say, “Yes, that report will pass.”
A real example:
We had to file California pay data fast. Trusaic helped me produce it in two days, with the right groupings and totals. They also flagged a small issue with job codes for our designers. We fixed it before filing. That alone paid for the seat.
Where it lagged:
- Day-to-day analytics felt slower than Syndio. Fewer knobs to turn.
- For companies under 200 people, it might feel like a lot.
What changed for our people
We built trust. Not in one day. Over months.
- We posted ranges for roles and stuck to them. That mattered.
- We added a “pay check” step to promotions. Simple checklist. Big impact.
- Managers learned to talk about pay without getting lost. We used one page from Syndio charts in skip-levels.
- One small story: Jess, a backend engineer, got a 3% adjustment after the analysis. She said, “It’s not huge money. It’s the message.” I still think about that line.
What this software can’t fix (but tries)
Pay equity tools can show gaps. They can size fixes. They can’t fix bad ranges, messy leveling, or wild hiring offers. If your job ladder is mush, the charts will wobble.
For a completely different look at how another industry wrestles with payout structures and earnings transparency, check out this detailed Flirt4Free review—it breaks down commission tiers and incentives for independent performers, offering a fresh lens on how compensation mechanics play out outside the tech bubble.
Who should pick what
- Small but growing (50–200): Start with PayScale if you already use it. Add a one-time audit from a vendor or consultant. Keep your bands clean.
- Mid-size (200–800): Syndio as your core engine. Use PayScale for comp cycles if your team lives in ranges. Borrow Trusaic for filing season.
- Larger orgs (800+): Syndio plus Trusaic is a strong pair. Add internal analytics or Visier if you have a people analytics team. And if you’re weighing other operational platforms—say, a point-of-sale overhaul—the candid field notes from someone who ran an entire shop on IMMORPOS353 are a worthwhile read right here.
Costs I saw (ballpark, not gospel)
- Syndio: high five figures per year for our size.
- PayScale add-ons: mid five figures with other modules.
- Trusaic: project-based or subscription; ours was mid five figures for the year we filed more.
Prices move with size and modules. Vendors will bundle if you ask. You know what? Ask. (If wrangling budgets makes you think of chasing daycare invoices, my teammate’s honest take on childcare billing software will save you some headaches here.)
Set-up steps I wish I started sooner
- Clean job titles and levels. Decide the ladders. Write them down.
- Lock your “like for like” rules. Level, function, location, and time in role.
- Get FTE %, hire dates, and location fields tidy. Don’t skip them.
- Document one exception policy. Write examples. Stick to them.
- Plan a small communication kit: a FAQ, a one-pager, and manager notes.
The human side
I thought this would be all charts. It wasn’t. It was people.
We had one tough case. A star hire came in hot above band. The model said three folks were low because of that one outlier. We had to fix the team, not just the line. We met with the manager. We set new offer guardrails. Then we made three small raises. Moral of the story: you can’t buy trust with one big offer. You build it with many small, fair moves.
Incidentally, if you’re curious how structured formats can accelerate genuine connections outside the workplace, take a look at the organized mixer schedule over at Speed Dating Santa Maria—the event page lays out dates, attendee ratios, and sign-up details so you can arrive confident and make the most of every eight-minute conversation.
Final take
- Syndio gave me the clearest read and the best budget plan.
- PayScale helped tie fixes to our bands during reviews.
- Trusaic kept us clean when lawyers and states came calling.
- If you want a digestible refresher on regression basics before diving in, the walkthroughs at QuSoft hit the spot.
Was it worth it? Yes. Not just for numbers. For sleep.
If you’re on