Pros and cons of salary information in job profiles

As far as salary transparency is concerned, there is anything but open communication. While applicants are usually expected to make a concrete statement about salary expectations at an early stage, employers like to keep a low profile until the end. But is that really the best approach, or are companies only harming themselves in the end?

The others do it

Not stating the salary initially seems to be the more convenient way. After all, many entrepreneurs fear internal conflicts if existing employees feel financially disadvantaged compared to applicants. To make matters worse, many small and medium-sized companies are often unable to compete with the salaries of large corporations and therefore do not want to disclose the salary – in the hope not to scare off promising candidates from the outset with too little compensation.

Four good reasons for salary information in the job advertisement

 #1 Interaction at eye level

Without the salary information in the job profile, employers have a certain information advantage over applicants, which can lead to an imbalance in communication during the application process. Salary transparency, on the other hand, not only creates the common basis for open communication between both sides, but also conveys trust and appreciation because it prevents applicants from being financially disadvantaged.

#2 Equality begins with expectations

Market research by the Stepstone job portal has shown that women usually start their careers with lower salary expectations than men. However, it is elementary for equal pay that applicants of any gender can enter into salary negotiations with comparable expectations. Salary information in job profiles enables exactly that and thus actively ensures that the gender pay gap is reduced.

#3 Salary information increases the attractiveness of the job advertisement

Surveys by the job exchange Adzuna have shown that 60 percent of potential applicants would prefer a job advertisement with salary details to an identical advertisement without details. So even if the advertised position is not an option for a small proportion of applicants due to the salary, the job advertisement is still more attractive for more than half of the job seekers than without salary information.

#4 Better decision making reduces abandonment rates

Wages and salaries continue to play a key role for many candidates when looking for a job. If applicants can check right from the start whether the salary offered matches their financial needs, this ensures a lower dropout rate during the application process and thus enormous time and cost savings for the company.

This is how it works with salary transparency in job profiles

Highlight additional services

What smaller companies may lack in financial resources, they make up for in other individual assets. These should be emphasized in job profiles. Play to your strengths and, in addition to the salary information, also clearly highlight additional benefits such as flexible working hours or opportunities for further training in your job advertisements.

State minimum salary instead of salary range

When giving a salary range, applicants are not usually satisfied with the lower end of the range. It’s understandable when you see from the start what the ideal maximum salary is. By formulating a minimum salary, you elegantly avoid this problem and still retain a certain amount of leeway to be able to react to higher salary requests from top candidates.

Talking about money – especially internally

Ideally, salary transparency does not begin with recruiting, but with open communication within the company. Your employees will be more comfortable with their own financial position in the company if they don’t feel they are being secretly taken advantage of. Transparent and coherent salary structures can prevent bad blood and are also a good basis for the salary information in your job advertisements.

Conclusion: openness wins

Some employers are farsighted and are increasingly integrating salary information into their job advertisements. A necessary step if you want to remain competitive in an applicant market and convince promising talent. Because that works a lot better if you talk to each other openly and at eye level – also or especially about money.