02 May 2023
It is always controversial between potential employers and job seekers when salary information isn’t published upfront. Recruiters maintain that they want to speak to as many talented people as possible and can adjust the salary within reason, depending on the skills brought to the table. Applicants tend to have a somewhat less charitable view of why this is done, and some believe they will get lowballed during the interview process.
Why Publish Salary Information?
You’ll find that many public-sector employers like the Civil Service, Local Authorities and the NHS publish their salary information when advertising for new staff. This is partly because they have agreed to very structured salary bands, with little or no discretion to pay outside of those limitations. This also applies to some larger private employers, where they are open about how they reward their staff.
The Benefits of Publishing Salary Information
Potential candidates can see precisely what they will be paid if they get the job and can work out whether the career move is financially worth it from their perspective.
Employers who reward staff more generously than their competition will also want potential applicants to see that to entice them away from existing employers.
Recruiters won’t (or shouldn’t) have applicants unsuitable for the job. If there is no salary published, people may assume it is for an entry-level position when the salary band is much higher, leading to a waste of time for the recruiters, having to sift them out. The common-sense process of self-de-selection comes into play here when the salary is published.
There will be no surprises when the offer letter arrives confirming starting pay, so once a successful candidate has been chosen, they shouldn’t drop out at this stage.
This approach also tends to imply that there is no room for negotiation outside of the pay rate or range published, again leaving no doubt in the candidate's mind of their potential reward package.
Employers want to be seen as open and transparent about their reward structures to potential candidates and their existing workforce – something that works well for a positive employee relations environment.
Why Some Employers Don’t Publish Salaries
Many think employers have something to hide when salary information isn’t published. It can put some people off applying for new positions simply because they don’t know if it’s worth going through the application process when the salary might not be enough to cover the mortgage.
There are many excellent and justifiable reasons why recruiters don’t publish salaries. We doubt any recruiter has ‘anything to hide’ but, in fact, will have the best of intentions when they make this decision.
The Benefits of Not Publishing Salary Information
Recruiters want as many quality applications for their roles as possible. Their views can be that they’ll offer a salary which is very much dependent on an individual's skills, experience and value to the company, and this is something they can’t decide until they know who they want for their job. This means that the salary range isn’t finalised yet, so it can be tailored to the individual best equipped to take on the role.
Recruiters sometimes believe that publishing a set salary figure, or even a range, could mean they lose out on those applicants who are ideal for their roles but who might demand a higher reward package. Being able to finalise the salary details once the interviews have taken place means that they can make offers based on the ability of those who apply, rather than perhaps feeling they have to employ someone who doesn’t quite meet their criteria on a higher salary range.
They might have to attract candidates from their competitors and, in cases such as these, they want to keep an open mind regarding what they will pay to get the right person for their job. Being able to dislodge talent from competitors and attract them into your own organisation is the best of both worlds, as it deprives your competitors of talent while increasing the pool available at your own company. This can be seen as a double win.
Many employers expect an element of negotiation when it comes to agreeing on reward packages. They expect their prospective employees to know their own worth and to be able to confidently ask for this when it comes to interviews. Employers may assume this is how interviewees approach the process and are prepared to give some leeway regarding how much they are willing to pay for the right person to take on the job role.
Finally, some recruiters may not want their competitors to see what salaries they offer for several reasons, but primarily to keep one step ahead. Confidentiality is a necessary component of business today. Keeping competitors guessing about the salary structures you employ makes it much harder for them to poach some of your top talents to come and work for them. In business, embracing confidentiality is sometimes the right approach to take. Many recruiters will consider that when looking to employ new staff, this is a sensible approach.
Which of These Approaches is Correct?
There’s no right or wrong answer here. Employers are all necessarily different. Some have hard and fast (internal) rules, and some don’t. All employers will have different motivations, as described above.
For us, the answer is: As long as employers make a clear statement in their listing about the rewards relating to the job, then that’s fine. Even if they explain that the reward is subject to negotiation, that’s ok. As a candidate, and even without a clearly defined and advertised salary, I’d still want to explore the opportunity to work out whether it was worthwhile and fit my own circumstances.
There are many reasons why a job may not be a good fit, and most of these will come out at a job interview. Whether it is overall company culture, the attitude toward remote or hybrid working, or when they have unrealistic expectations of their employees. Taking the interview and engaging with the company's representatives can help to bring clarity to a whole number of issues, not just whether they have advertised the potential salary for the job.
