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There’s an ongoing debate whether to include salary information in job adverts, with less room for negotiation, emitting talks among employees, and competitors being able to view offerings being both valid and common concerns.
But perhaps the benefits outweigh the risk? Will it provide employers with that well needed competitive edge?
These are some of the positives worth considering:
It’s something that job seekers will need to know at some point, and with the budget for the role having already been decided, why not be transparent from the start? In fact, according to CV-Library, 81.6% of Brits claim that salary is the most important part of a job advert. So, it’s highly likely they'll search for the figure elsewhere regardless, often via site a like Glassdoor. It's also worth noting that without this information, some candidates may not even apply.
It may feel as though the pool of talent will shrink, but maybe that’s not a bad thing. By not including this information, there’s a higher risk that a candidate will drop off, when the information revealed is not up to their expectations, creating a much longer hiring process intern. Instead, by divulging this information sooner, it eliminates that risk. This way candidates who have applied are clearly already happy with the salary range willing to be offered.
Of course, there's the risk that the talent pool may shrink if salary information is provided, and this can be seen as a positive or negative depending on how you choose to look at it. There may be less talent, but better talent as just said. But, some companies offering a ‘competitive salary’ *by actually stating that competitive figure rather than just referring to their salary offering as ‘competitive’*, can gain higher application rates of around 30% than ads without. So, it really could be dependant on the role be advertised.
This subject matter is particularly important right now in the recruitment market. To successfully work towards these goals, transparency is needed, especially around company policies, ethical behaviour, and performance. With this, it seems only natural to also show transparency around paychecks. By publicly showcasing salary offerings businesses can powerfully illustrate their loyalty to giving staff members equal pay. Honesty is the best policy, after all. Those who choose not to leads candidates to question why.
Salary talk is often seen as taboo. But by not eliminating it sooner, the process only becomes more awkward for the job seeker. Candidates will be thinking, ‘when is it the best time to ask’. They’ll not want to appear as though that’s the only reason they are applying and risk impairing their application because of it. But the matter of the fact is, people, work for money. So, it’s understandable why it’s an important factor to be considered early on. At least, by being transparent in this way, the expectations are set from the start, therefore improving the candidate experience, and avoiding the recruiters, hiring managers and candidates time wasted.
The employment landscape is changing, and so hiring practices need to change with it. The openness around finance is increasing, especially when it comes to millennials. They’re far more likely to discuss their wages with friends, family and even colleagues despite traditional taboos and contractual constraints. And so, by openly including salary information, it’s argued that this potentially allows adverts to become more attractive to this valuable market. After all, they are slowly making up more and more of the workforce, so surely it makes sense to factor them into job postings.
A clear, competitive salary that takes pride of place in an advert could give businesses that competitive edge. Many companies do not want to advertise their salaries or benefits because it makes them vulnerable to competition, understandable. But by doing so, will it make a company stand out from the crowd when trying to attract candidates? The question is, if a candidate looks at one advert with a salary and another without, which one would they be more likely to apply for?
What do you think? Could you be swayed by the positives? Perhaps rather than offering a set figure, offering a salary ‘range’ is far less risky and still enables wriggle room for negotiation? Of course, many businesses use this approach already, but it’s worth considering if you don't, it could be the missing element you're looking for.
