There are more than 25 U.S. states or municipalities that have salary history bans. Most of these laws were enacted after 2017.

There are hiring managers and some in HR that are still asking this question, “What are you making now as a Job Title at Company Name?”

You do not need to know what someone is earning now or what they earned in the past to make a competitive job offer.

You have a job description. Compare that to the salary survey data. There are many free resources: https://prosperconsultingllc.com/free-pay-data

And there are many compensation surveys for sale from a variety of sources: Radford, Culpepper, McLagan, Mercer, Willis Towers Watson, Croner, Empsight, Western Management Group, Economic Research Institute, AON, Salary.com’s CompAnalyst, Payfactors, PayScale, etc.

Step 1: Determine how much your competitors for talent are paying for the job. Use the salary survey data.

Step 2: Determine how much the candidate is worth by listening as you interview them. Look at what other employees are earning to ensure you are maintaining your commitment to fair pay and internal equity.

Step 3: Make the offer. The candidate will accept if you listened earlier.

I like the phrase, “There is no such thing as a stupid question.” But don’t ask how much someone is earning during the interview process. That is a stupid question.

#compensation #rewards #humanresources #payequity #paytransparency #salaryincrease