Written by Sandy Lee, CHRL, ACC is the VP, Customer Success at The Emerson Suite.

Salaries - to post or not to post?  This is the question that’s been on people’s minds over the last several months based on a recent change in practice by the BC Arts Alliance who changed their posting policy on their job board to mandate employers share the salary/salary ranges of open positions.  BC’s change was in response to the insights of Vu Le of NonProfit AF, who’s blog article pointed to how outdated the practice of keeping salaries secret was at best, and discriminatory at worst.

And this past November, the CBC published this article after interviewing a panel of HR experts on why organizations may be reticent to post salaries.  And while there are logical arguments about why many employers don’t post salaries or ranges, (keeping salaries hidden from competitors, having benefits or other practices that perhaps make up for a lower salary) - how valid are these points today?
 
There’s clearly a movement afoot towards action and innovating old recruitment practices.
 
Here’s 5 actionable next steps employers can take to create a more transparent recruitment process:

1. Create new job postings – you may have a format or template you’ve been using for some time.Turn it on its head and write from the perspective of the job seeker.You’ll still keep information about the skills you need and responsibilities – but consider who you want to attract. If salary is low but you have other benefits or perks that offset that – talk about them!Include information about culture and values.You never know what’s going to be important to a job seeker until you list it.
2. Can’t find a compensation survey to benchmark what you’re paying?Reach out to 5 organizations in your sector who are of similar size and similar budget and share information on a few roles you have in common.It’s a starting point.
3. Make a list of what needs to be done before you start sharing salary ranges if you’re not doing it already.Things like if you need to make changes to your current employees’ salaries, having open communication with employees, and preparing that first posting where you actually share a salary or range – set dates for each of these milestones and keep yourself accountable to them.
4. Don’t go it alone!Find others who are in the same boat and talk about strategies for moving forward.Find an organization who’s posted a salary range and reach out and ask them how they manage discussions about compensation internally and what it took for them to get there.
5. Lean on WorkInCulture – there are great HR resources and information that can help you beef up your practices.

Organizations may not be able to make the switch over night – so this dialogue needs to continue.  2018 may be the perfect time to start implementing some changes to how you hire, and more specifically what you share with prospective job seekers.

Sandy Lee, CHRL, ACC is the VP, Customer Success at The Emerson Suite. She helps customers foster excellence in management practices to drive employee engagement and business results.
Sandy comes from a Senior HR Professional background and is also a member of the WorkInCulture Board of Directors, where she provides guidance on building HR business skills for the sector.