Salary Transparency: Is Your Organization Ready?
At the start of 2020, several organizations did an about-face regarding existing business practices. They were either forced or chose to reshape policies, whether allowing employees to work from home, increasing the number of sick days, or taking a closer look at equity practices.
Fast-forward to 2022; many organizations are advancing several new modifications. In a recent LinkedIn article highlighting anticipated changes for 2022, salary transparency is at the forefront.
Many organizations are still hesitant to publish salaries
Gender and wage equity is deeply entwined with salary transparency, and in certain cities, like New York, it’s becoming the law to publish salary ranges. However, many organizations still oscillate when disclosing salaries or withholding them.
Ron Rapatalo, Associate Partner at Edgility, stated, “Many of our clients are starting to do compensation redesigns; however, it’s mostly a trickle right now when it comes to going public on salary ranges. Many organizations are still hesitant because they worry it’s going to open up a can of worms in terms of paying out employees based on historical, aggregate wage gaps or simply adjusting salaries moving forward.”
School districts, for example, are mandated to share salaries because they are government funded, but many charter schools and nonprofits feel unprepared to publish salaries, despite embracing other changes needed to create more equitable workplaces.
Publishing salaries benefit women and people of color
Employers and potential hires expect to engage in a bargaining period regarding pay during the interview process. However, salary negotiations are a substantial reason why wage gaps persist. A woman or person of color asking for a raise or higher starting salary may solicit a different reaction than a White male.
In a study done by the University of Virginia, the research revealed that hiring managers responded unfavorably to people of color trying to negotiate salaries and carried an implicit bias that they should be happy with the compensation offered. Whereas interviewers responded supportively when counter-offering with higher salary expectations for White males.
This implicit bias demonstrates the invisible forces that continue to hold down women and people of color. Publishing salaries in advance can help offset these inherently biased responses.
Salary transparency can attract a strong talent pool
Glassdoor published a report citing that 70% of employees believe that salary transparency is good for employee satisfaction. Additionally, 61% of Americans say they are more likely to apply for a job if the salary is published.
“Organizations might be hesitant to show their hand upfront and show where they fall in the marketplace. However, imagine if you miss out on a candidate over the difference, of say $20,000, who can have a big impact on an organization over several numbers of years. Naturally, most nonprofits and charter schools are thinking about budget, but it’s also critical to look at the big picture and the amount of impact someone can have over time. Salary transparency can signal what organizations think candidates are worth.” shared Rapatalo.
Conclusion
Publishing salaries will force many organizations to dive into their compensation practices and closely examine how salary impacts hiring and overall employee satisfaction. Additionally, it will help narrow the gender and race wage gap. Is your organization ready? Click here to learn about how Edgility Consulting can guide your organization to make salary structures more transparent.
