Over the past few years though, the balance has been shifting. Employees have wanted to gain more control over the situation, demanding that employers provide more information about salaries in their job descriptions. Until now, those demands have been met with varying degrees of success.

Relevant, talented candidates are more attracted to job vacancies when the adverts state clear salaries on offer. And as this has become evident, more companies are revising their policies to attract those candidates. It’s a competitive advantage

What’s with all the hidden salary expectations?

Companies hide exact salaries from job adverts for a number of reasons. For starters, it’s a bit of a cultural issue. In some countries, like the UK, the topic of money has always been culturally sensitive – job ads and office floors included.

From a more practical perspective, keeping salaries hidden allows companies to attract and then hire from a bigger initial pool of applicants. Later in the process, many will drop out when the salaries fail to meet expectations.

It also gives companies the upper hand in negotiation, revealing information late in a process when people feel like they have already invested their time and effort into this company.

Not revealing salary can also feel like it creates less internal friction. Companies can pay varying amounts to different people on the same team based on experience or negotiation. When people don’t talk to each other about salaries, companies can over and underpay individuals – often those from underrepresented backgrounds are most affected by being underpaid.

Pay transparency as a competitive advantage

Sharing information openly about salary means you have to start internally first with fair salary bands for every job within your company. Philosophically, you are then paying people for the job they are doing, not how well they negotiated. In the hiring process, it means you are only interviewing candidates that have self selected into that salary band, and you aren’t losing candidates at the final stage when the salary doesn’t meet their expectation.

Companies that do publicise salaries stand out enough from the crowd to attract better candidates, even when the employer’s brand itself is unknown. Welcome to the Jungle's data from jobs published on our platform in 2024 shows that jobs with clearly stated salaries received at least 60% more applications than those without. Companies publishing salaries are getting more qualified, better suited candidates

For startups growing their teams for the first time, this can offer an excellent advantage. They can use market data to set initial salary bands that they recruit for and can adjust based on the experience levels they receive applications from.

Startups are still building their brands, and starting out as a business that values transparency goes a long way with building trust with candidates who become future employees and/or advocates.

Implementing a policy of transparency requires clear communication

So how can you implement a policy for transparency while protecting your brand and business?

Research is critical. Before doing anything, you should research industry standards and create internal compensation guidelines. These should be based on a variety of sources, including industry and location specific salary benchmarks, market insights, and conversations with peers. We share industry benchmarks from jobs on our platform here. Clear salary bands will help you to maintain internal equity, while also allowing for flexibility and growth.

When creating compensation packages, it’s important to account for everything beyond the salary too. If you offer other benefits and perks that differentiate you from competitors, highlight these! Some perks and benefits can make or break an offer for a candidate, e.g. parental leave, private health care, a shorter/flexible/remote working policy etc. Candidates have personal needs, responsibilities, and lifestyle choices that often hold greater value than salary alone.

At Welcome to the Jungle, we’ve experienced the importance of the full compensation package firsthand. We have a hybrid model with 2 days in the office that provides employees the flexibility they need to do their best work and connect in meaningful ways while in the office. Since June 2024, we’ve run a 4-day work week without reducing compensation – a benefit that has enhanced our ability to attract and retain top talent. Having an excellent, gender neutral parental leave policy is also something that many candidates say makes our company stand out against others.

Full transparency might not be the right choice for every organisation. But for many, it could help them to attract candidates better suited to their businesses. Clear communication throughout is non-negotiable. The goal shouldn’t just be to recruit someone, but to initiate a fair relationship based on aligned interests. With this approach, your startup won’t only be able to attract better candidates, but also to earn the trust of employees, partners and brand advocates.