For the last N years, when we're informed of our new salaries, my employer has provided some info about how the new value compares to similar positions with similar job responsibilities across the industry. Nothing that employees couldn't already find out for themselves through various online sources but it's official acknowledgement that you're being underpaid.
It strikes me as odd that on the one hand, upper management sends out missives about how we need to work with increased urgency, increased focus, etc and on the other hand the same management team informs employees how much more they could be earning by doing to same type of work at another company. “Thanks for your hard work last year. By the way, we're paying you $35k/yr below the industry median for your position. Keep up the good work!”