It is important for HR professionals to secure top talent who can meet the business’s needs. Surely, one would want to do everything possible to attract the top candidates?
Job descriptions would be inspiring: they would offer great benefits, flexible working and opportunities for growth. Noura Dadzie points out that, in most cases, job descriptions don’t include the information job seekers are looking for: their salary expectations.
We at Talent.com believe that this is a major oversight. The results of our research on Salary Transparency were quite shocking. The vast majority of respondents (98%) wanted to know what the salary was for a particular job and would not apply if it wasn’t made clear. The majority of respondents (79%) also supported a law requiring employers to disclose salary ranges on each job listing.
This evidence makes it clear that HR professionals would be well advised to include salary information in their job advertisements as a standard. In the hope that you will reconsider the information you include in your job description, we’ve compiled a list of benefits of salary disclosure.
What is the best business strategy?
Only 14 percent of all job offers currently include salary information. Some companies are motivated by the desire to protect their opportunities. They may get more applications by top talent if they don’t provide a number. This can have a negative impact if the salary is not disclosed.
In fact, providing salary information could even help to increase the pool of candidates. According to our research, 75 percent of women from minority backgrounds and 73 percent among those who are female believe that a new law that requires employers to disclose salaries in job advertisements would be beneficial for them. By enforcing salary transparency in job adverts, you could even see an increase in the number of candidates responding to the advertisement.
Setting clear expectations for salary from the start will save both time and money. You can expect to see a positive effect on your bottom-line the sooner you hire a candidate. This is what you want.
Foster an inclusive and open workplace to support business continuity
To weather the storm that is coming, businesses must seriously consider employee retention. Hiring can be expensive. Oxford Economics and Unum conducted a study that found the average cost per employee of a salary above PS25,000 to be PS30,614. The importance of establishing a culture in the workplace where salary negotiation is encouraged cannot be overstated.
In our survey, we found that more than a third (35%) of job seekers find it difficult discussing salary during the interview. Over half of Gen Z applicants say they would not feel comfortable discussing salaries with their colleagues.
The cost of living can become an obstacle to the continued employment of these employees, if they are experiencing financial problems or mental health issues.
The employer would be better off starting these discussions sooner than later. The employer can set the tone for the discussion of salary negotiations from the beginning, ensuring business continuity.
Take action to end inequality
Transparency in salary can be used by forward-thinking businesses to show their commitment to fair pay and equal treatment. The best talents want to work with companies who respect them and stand behind their commitments to activities which could otherwise be viewed as lip service or box-ticking.
Inclusion of concrete pay scales into job descriptions is a public declaration that the role has value. One-third of respondents to the survey reported prior experience with pay discrimination. This is more important than you might think.
There is high hope. The survey found that a staggering 71 per cent of respondents believed salary transparency could help reduce the gender pay gap. It is a good way to demonstrate greater equality, even if it’s not the perfect solution.
Our findings show that including salary transparency in job descriptions has many benefits. We hope that you will adopt this strategy for your next hire, as it has many benefits to the company and the applicants.
__
Noura dadzie, Senior Vice President of Sales at talent.com.
