Is salary transparency in job adverts the key to finding more candidates?

According to our recent poll, 80% of job seekers say they are less likely to apply for a job if the advert doesn’t specify a salary. There has arguably never been a more challenging time to recruit good talent but positioning your company as a great place to work or advertising some team-building activities and shiny offices are no longer enough. So, is salary transparency the key to attracting more candidates? Sam Pepperell, Senior Consultant in Macmillan Davies’ HR FuturExec Team discusses.

Salary transparency matters to candidates

I’m unsurprised by the results from our poll. This accurately reflects what we are seeing in the market, in order to get candidates to apply, they want to know the potential salary. As a candidate I’m not sure I would apply to a job which didn’t advertise its salary. It would make me wonder reasons why the salary wasn’t being advertised. I would want to know that if I’m taking the time to complete an application, that the role I’m making the effort for is going to be financially in line with my requirements.

Why aren’t companies advertising salaries?

The cost-of-living crisis, combined with today’s candidate-driven market, means casting the theoretical ‘talent net’ wider is essential. Despite multiple benefits there can be many reasons why a company may choose not to advertise the salary, with the most obvious one being that those candidates who find the salary too low or get a higher offer will automatically go to the competitors. Another fear when considering the disadvantages of pay transparency is that it could lead to overpaying employees.

I’m currently working with a high-profile sporting organisation recruiting a junior HR role who have asked me not to advertise salaries. Although the salaries are normally extremely competitive, their reasoning is that they don’t want to attract media attention. For them, it’s about balancing the pros and cons.

The benefits and advice on salary transparency for businesses

As a business you could potentially be missing out on some of the best talent in the market by not advertising salaries. Most candidates want to know up front if the role that they’re taking the time to apply for is going to be financially viable for them. Not advertising the salary could also leave candidates wondering reasons why you aren’t being open about the salary, is it because it’s not competitive in the market?

The benefits:

• Attracting more candidates
• Attracting more relevant and better culture-fit candidates
• Establish trust with candidates
• Demonstrate you’re competitive in the marketplace

If you’re looking to make a stand in a challenging candidate market, even if you don’t want to specify a salary, my advice would be to at least provide a salary banding in order to be attracting the right level candidate, as well appearing transparent with candidates.

Advice on salary transparency for candidates

Role titles can differ a lot from company to company so it can often be difficult to determine the actual seniority of the position. As a candidate you could be spending your time and making the effort to apply for a role which might be totally out of line with your salary expectations which is going to prove pointless to both yourself and the company when the discussion of salary eventually happens.

If the job is advertised through a Recruitment Agency, my advice would be to get in touch with the Recruiter managing that vacancy as they may well be able to provide you with some clarity.

Government backing for transparency

In March 2022, the UK government launched a pay transparency trial primarily aimed at reducing it in the UK. Participating businesses will have to list a salary range on every job advert, and not ask applicants to disclose their salary history. The trial, which was launched on International Women’s Day, is aimed at closing salary gaps and providing a footing for women to negotiate pay on a fairer basis.

The Future – Watch this space

We are seeing more companies recognising that in such a competitive and fast-moving market, they need to be transparent with salaries from the get-go in order to avoid missing out on quality candidates.

Going forward, I think we will see all companies being more transparent on salary, particularly when it comes to recruiting. It will be interesting to see the results of the government trial and whether this could be rolled out further.

Get in touch

Should you wish to have a confidential chat with Sam Pepperell to discuss the current HR market or your search for work/recruiting into your team, please contact her directly at spepperell@mdhr.co.uk 

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