This month while I’ve been working with several clients on strategies for employee recruiting and attracting the right candidates, the question of whether or not to include in a job posting the compensation structure or range keeps coming up.  This is certainly a hot topic and one that elicits strong opinions as to what falls within best hiring practices.  From my seat, however, I am a strong advocate for being candid in the job postings about the pay range.

Admittedly, there is distinct taboo in our culture for talking about money. It’s not considered socially acceptable to talk about our compensation over dinner with friends.  Nor is it generally considered acceptable to talk about our compensation with our colleagues.  Regardless of our perspectives on these taboos, the fact is that it is these attitudes that make us gasp at the idea of blatantly saying in a job posting, “Here’s what we’ll pay for this position.”  What if the former employee sees that figure and it’s vastly different than what they earned?  What will others in the company say if they know this information?  Does this information help your competitor?  Eek!  Too many companies hear these questions and quickly mandate that postings not include wage information.  I think this is an over simplified reaction and one that harms the company in the long run.  Here are five reasons distinct advantages to posting the range:

1. Save time – The company doesn’t need to waste time with candidates who aren’t a good fit.  The salary information is the best bottom-line self-selection mechanism for potential candidates.  Let candidates weed themselves out if the pay just won’t work for them.
2. Save time (part 2) - The compensation is the clearest indicator of the level of the position.  Again, let self-selection take place and let many over and under-qualified candidates pass by.
3. Transparency – Withholding any compensation information for late in the candidate screening process conveys to candidates a feeling that the company is playing games.  This can deter candidates and/or make your new hire get started with a less-than-positive feeling about the company.
4. Avoid mishires – Withholding the information also may result in someone taking the position because they’ve gotten so far into the process even though the writing is on the wall that it won’t work for them financially.  The outcome?  Say hello to early turnover!
5. Appeal to cautious applicants – The cautious applicant (who may be the perfect person for your accounting, QA, purchasing, etc. position) may skip your posting and focus on those where there’s less risk in applying because the dollar figure is out on the table. You need these candidates.

Repeatedly, one of the reasons I’ve heard that a company won’t post the compensation range is because they’re not comfortable with it.  Sometimes they’re unsure how competitive they are in the market.  A simple salary survey (we can help with that!) will provide that information.  Other times they know that they aren’t competitive and they’re nervous about turning off candidates.  But I have to ask, is a strong candidate going to be more disenchanted seeing the low pay in the posting or when several steps into the screening process?  If your business model depends on highly competitively priced product/services and as part of that you have low wages, I encourage you to own that, make your case as a strong employer in other ways, and embrace the advantages listed above that will come when you are candid about pay.

There is both an art and a science to recruiting employees - at ADVISA, we enjoy looking at all angles and helping our clients be savvy about their efforts.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject and welcome the opportunity to help advance your hiring.  Let’s talk!