“Right now what’s hot in the marketplace is the disparity between cost of living raises,” said Frank Wydra, managing partner at IRI. “Employers need to be smart for their companies by educating their employees about why they received the raise they did – before they get disgruntled and start looking for another job.

IRI works closely with management in establishing communication processes that will help employees understand how the economy works and how their wages and raises can fluctuate.

“Most people just look in the want ads to see what’s out there. That’s not the way to calculate cost of living raises and should not be used as a barometer for what is actually happening in the marketplace,” said Wydra. IRI, for example, will use information obtained through surveys to help management educate their staff.

Many large companies use economic communication as a retention tool. Putting a process like this in place answers questions, calms fears, and solves problems before they actually become issues in the workplace.

Experts agree that an understanding of economic concepts – such as supply and demand, productivity, and profit – makes for a more knowledgeable, satisfied employee who can tell the difference between fair and unfair compensation.