With vacancies taking longer to fill and pay gaps widening, are employers willing to take the risk of missing out on talent or narrowing the type of applications they receive?
A recent study by People Managing People showed that 41% of ads for marketing roles didn't disclose salaries, nor did 35% of sales and operational roles, 27% of IT roles and 29% of professional HR roles.
Reasons for hiding salaries:
- It offers businesses more negotiating power to settle on a salary later on in the recruitment process, taking into account a candidate's own expectations and circumstances.
- It gives a certain amount of competitive advantage for businesses, allowing them to outbid to attract talent.
- Employers experience resentment and demands for pay increases from their existing workforce if the pay on offer isn't comparable.
- Candidates can feel bitter towards a new employer upon finding out they have been given a salary at the lower end of an advertised pay scale.
Transparency around remuneration contributes to and supports building trust within a workforce, which in turn leads to higher retention. Businesses that opt for non-disclosure of salaries in their ads, may need to rethink as pressure grows to increase transparency, close inequalities and promote truth.
At Aspire Jobs, candidates have a preference for roles that are advertised with a salary disclosed. Employers need to carefully consider their options and their recruitment strategies. Whilst there may be benefits to the non-disclosure of salaries, in today's candidate-driven market it has the potential to reduce the number of applications for advertised job roles and give cause for concern to potential candidates about the reasons for the lack of transparency.
As ever, I'm here to support my clients and if you need any help or advice with your recruitment practices, please do get in contact with me.
Sending very best wishes for the New Year.