Sharing the pay range when you need to fill a job is a smart decision
With the cost of living skyrocketing across the U.S. and wages failing to keep up, people are justified in being concerned about making enough money to live the kind of lifestyle they dream of. And this concern grows when they are in the middle of a job search. If they leave their current job, will the next one pay enough to cover their rent or mortgage payments? Will it also cover the extras they enjoy so much like dining out often and traveling?
Sure, factors like company culture and work/life balance are becoming increasingly important to applicants. But most people are unlikely to leave a job for one that doesn’t offer the same (or higher) level of pay.
If you are an HR or business leader, chances are you’ve thought about whether to list salary ranges on job postings. The truth is that sharing the pay range when you need to fill a job is a smart decision.
Saves Time
Want to find better candidates faster? List the salary range in the job posting.
Sharing the range upfront is far better than hiding numbers until later in the process. You can still mention that pay is DOE (Depends on Experience). Hiding what you will pay is just slowing down the process and you may not attract the right candidates to your opening.
Streamline it by giving the applicants the information they desire before they even submit their resume. Some candidates may even turn down the job offer if they don’t find out about the salary until the final interview and the pay is too low for their needs. Or people with not enough experience apply. In both scenarios, everyone’s time is wasted.
And when it comes time to start interviews, the conversations are smoother and far less awkward. It allows you to have a more comfortable conversation about the qualifications, their skills and background, your work culture, and the benefits.
Promotes Transparency
In efforts to be more supportive of equal pay, a trend of not asking for salary history of applicants is spreading across the country. Companies like Progressive Insurance, Google, and Amazon have stopped doing it altogether, and even states and cities have banned it.
Scrapping salary history questions and listing salary ranges together shows that you value transparency and are committed to fair pay. It leaves no room for secrecy about what the job will pay, and signals to candidates that you have a willingness to have an open conversation about it. This in turn builds trust with your new hires from the start.
Increases Number of Applicants
Tired of feeling like the applicants you’re seeing are either overly qualified or not qualified enough? Not listing the salary range on your job postings could be the problem.
When you do list a range for a job opening — compared to other companies that don’t — it gives potential candidates an incentive to apply to your job first. You then have the advantage and if you have a fast-moving interview process, you may be able to get the top talent on your team.
Not only do you want people to be committed and motivated to apply in the first place, you want employees that plan to stay long-term. This gives them the chance to apply and walk into the interview with the right expectations.
Talk with an HR Consultant
I’m Denise Liebetrau, a Human Resources Consultant with over 20 years of experience in HR. I started Prosper Consulting to help growing businesses, executives, and HR teams design great pay programs and keep talented employees happy. Schedule a free strategy call with me today!