> ... but part of a manager's job is to ... minimise the difference between compensation…" In principle, I agree but in practice I don't see how this is workab

> ... but part of a manager's job is to ... minimise the difference between compensation…" In principle, I agree but in practice I don't see how this is workable (unless you're trying to retain a star -- as opposed to all employees). It means the direct managers need to know how much the comp is elsewhere at all times. Who has energy to figure that out and meet all the demands of the day-to-day? On top of which, the spread of salaries/benefits might cover a wide range so how do you figure out where you fit (who should you really compare yourself to)? The simplest way is when you hear internally that X has left for company Y and got a pay-bump of Z%. It's the kind of thing people would expect the folks at HR to be looking into, rather than the engineering managers. I'm not trying to justify the above but it does seem easy to understand why things are this way.