Your internal pay equity audit just flagged a wage gap. Now what? Do you trust a software platform to sort it out for you, or do you bring in a consultant who knows the terrain?
Pay equity has moved beyond compliance buzzword territory. It’s a strategic imperative, a legal requirement in many jurisdictions, and a visible signal to employees that fairness is a core value for how your business operates.
Pay transparency laws are rapidly gaining traction across the United States and the European Union. In California, New York, Colorado, and Illinois, to name a few, employers are now required to disclose compensation ranges, and Illinois, Minnesota, Massachusetts and California carry legislation requiring employers to conduct pay equity audits. At the same time, employee expectations around transparency and fairness are rising just as quickly. According to WTW, more than half of U.S. employers are planning to conduct compensation reviews in 2025, citing both legal risk and employee retention as driving factors.
With the pressure to present a fair compensation strategy for your organization comes a choice: software or human expertise. Tools can crunch numbers fast. Consultants add strategy and nuance. Both can play a role, but they’re not interchangeable.
The right choice depends on your goals, your risk, and how much guidance you need to get it right.
When planning a pay equity analysis, the tools you choose shape your results and your exposure to risk. Here’s how consultants and software stack up.
Software can be a powerful first step. It automates the heavy lifting of organizing your data for human interpretation. Running analyses, producing reports, and surfacing statistical red flags across roles, departments, or locations can be accelerated with the right software. Many platforms offer pre-built models and dashboards designed for HR teams to quickly visualize risk and track trends.
That said, software has its limits. It doesn’t understand your business model, compensation structure, or the context behind your pay decisions. When gaps emerge, software can’t help you interpret why they exist—or guide you through the complex process of deciding how to address them. Whether you’re planning to close a gap, explain it internally, or phase in adjustments over time, you need insight that reflects your unique workforce and goals. And if your data is messy or incomplete, the outputs may raise more questions than answers.
Software can tell you where you might have a problem, but it can’t help you solve it.
A consultant starts where software stops. They go beyond the spreadsheet to help you interpret your data and take action on it. That means identifying the why behind disparities and helping you build a strategy to correct them.
Consultants can:
They’re also a valuable partner when your findings need to be shared across the business. A consultant can help you prepare documentation, build internal alignment, and communicate your pay practices clearly to executives, boards, or employees. And unlike software, they stick around to guide you through implementation, communication, and risk mitigation.
OutSolve’s consultants bring deep expertise in compensation, federal and state-level compliance, and non-discrimination in employment reporting and analysis. They work directly with human resources and legal teams to offer hands-on, strategic support.
| Feature / Need | Consultant | Termination Date |
| Legal risk interpretation | ||
| Custom strategy development | ||
| Automated data analysis | ||
| Audit prep and response | ||
| Ongoing support | ||
| Scalable for Enterprise | ⚠️ |
When Software is the Best Choice
Pay equity analysis software can be a valuable tool for organizations that need to analyze large volumes of pay data quickly. These platforms are designed to automate calculations, visualize potential pay gaps, and provide high-level reporting that can support internal reviews.
Software is often a good fit when:
In these cases, software can offer efficiency and scale. It allows HR teams to run regular equity checks without building everything from scratch each time.
What pay equity analysis software doesn’t do is adapt to the broader context behind your data. It runs the numbers, but it won’t interpret them in light of your compensation strategy, workforce structure, or compliance obligations. If results surface unexpected findings, you may need additional support to determine next steps or assess potential risk.
Software is helpful for identifying patterns. But when deeper questions arise like how to address equity concerns across different business units, you may need more than automated outputs.
For organizations with complex workforce structures, high compliance exposure, or a desire to go beyond the basics, a consultant can bring clarity and confidence to pay equity work.
Consultants go beyond the analysis stage to help you understand the story your data is telling and how it connects to your broader compensation goals. That includes identifying where pay inequities exist, assessing whether they’re legally defensible, and mapping out a plan for resolution. Consultants can also help integrate pay equity into your compensation benchmarking strategy, ensuring that internal equity aligns with market expectations.
They also provide support beyond the numbers. A consultant can:
This level of support is especially valuable when results raise questions that can’t be answered with a dashboard alone. Consultants offer the context, judgment, and hands-on help HR teams often need to move from data to action.
A consultant doesn’t just show you where to go. They help you get there, step by step.
At OutSolve, we do more than run the numbers. We bring strategic, ongoing support built on years of experience guiding HR and compliance teams through complex pay equity challenges.
Our consultants use a proven methodology to assess your compensation structure, identify potential risks, and build tailored action plans that align with your goals. But we don’t stop at delivering a report. From equity reviews to long-term strategy, we offer advisory support that evolves with your needs.
As an experienced HR advisory firm, we understand the pressure to get this right. We’re here to help you move from analysis to action, ensuring compliance every step of the way.
Choosing between pay equity software and a pay equity consultant is a big strategic decision. Software can help you identify patterns. A consultant helps you navigate them. For teams managing risk, demonstrating fairness or building long-term equity into compensation practices, that difference matters.
At OutSolve, we help HR leaders turn data into direction—guiding compensation strategy, strengthening employee trust, and aligning equity efforts with business goals.
If you're working to make pay equity a visible part of how your company operates, now is the time to take action. Talk with one of our consultants or explore our Pay Equity Checklist to assess where your program stands today.