Transparency is still a challenge for Polish companies, and therefore it’s rare to disclose earnings in job advertisements. Let’s see what is the reason for this approach?
Let us imagine a certain – quite common – situation. Someone is looking for a job, so they browse portals with advertisements. Another offer attracts their attention. It meets all the requirements, including those that aren’t mandatory. In addition, the position seems to be highly developmental, and the company’s headquarters is close!
With a flushed face, the candidate scrolls the page looking for key information. He sees fruit Thursdays, health care, information about a well-coordinated team, a playroom … but, unfortunately, not a word about possible earnings. Here we go again!
Disclosure of earnings in advertisements – the problem of the labor market
According to one of our research, as many as 87% of candidates from the IT industry mainly look for information on salaries in job offers. However, 72% of them drew attention to their lack in the advertisements. However, according to the report of the Specialist Labor Market: The first half of 2022 prepared by Pracuj.pl, only 12% of offers on this largest Polish industry-wide recruitment portal contained information about the salary range. Many companies still don’t think that salary ranges are necessary.
Nevertheless, they are losing valuable applications from people who would be perfect for the job, but don’t intend to respond to advertisements without salary ranges. Why? Because hiding key information may not only raise suspicion towards future employers, but also be perceived as disrespectful. So what explanations do companies give for their non-transparent activities in the recruitment process?
Because without salary ranges, I can find a “cheaper” candidacy
And here the term “financial expectations” shows up. You can get shivers from it – playing guessing games in your free time is entertaining, but in the recruitment process (did I suggest too much? too little? what’s the company’s budget?) it’s rather a lot of stress and pressure. Indeed, from the company’s perspective, it may be more beneficial to first know the expectations of the candidates in order to be able to choose the one who… let’s call it straightforward: valued their work the lowest.
However, is it fair to shift the burden of valuation of the work potentially performed from the firm to the unit? Especially when we aren’t talking about the execution of the assignment, but about employing a person to perform specific duties and tasks. Please note that employer branding starts with the publication of an advertisement.
Because the competition will know!
So, in spite of the competition, you can become … more competitive for it. Just revealing your earnings in advertisements will make your business stand out. According to a survey conducted this year by Pracuj.pl, as many as 71% of people admitted that job offers containing information about salary encourage them to apply more effectively than others.
In addition, if you are looking for a really good specialist who can help in the development of the organization and optimization of various processes, it will be a miracle to find such a person while offering the minimum wage. It’s therefore worth checking the market rates for a given position – and in addition to the benefits package, offer promising salary ranges.
Because already employed people will want raises…
… especially when they find out that someone in their position earns a lot more. To overcome this fear, you need to start working from the inside – by introducing a salary grid, i.e. a list indicating the salary ranges for specific positions in the company. In this case, transparency means not only knowledge of the possibilities, understanding and clarity of the situation for employees, but also good internal organization.
In addition, by taking control over pay information and its circulation – you also gain peace of mind. Secretiveness is associated with stress in management, while transparency is associated with its minimization.
Because there will be disagreements inside the company
If, until now, salary ranges were taboo, and after their disclosure, it turned out that the wage differences are too large, then working people can actually start sharpening keyboards and making shields from documents. It will only be the result of the current unequal policy of the organization. Change is not easy – but in a world of galloping inflation and the struggle for skilled workers, it turns out to be necessary.
Also think about the fact that a company which is afraid of disclosing earnings in advertisements not only actually hides an issue that is important in the recruitment process, but also communicates externally that it’s hiding something. Concealment is viewed as a negative practice. Transparency is its opposite – it allows you to build trust and a sense of security between the employee and the employer.
Because less qualified people will be tempted…
… and the mailbox will probably be full of non-compliant applications. However, is this actually a real problem? Even if there are many applications for an advertisement with an attractive rate, the recruiting sieve will take care of them. On the other hand, the indication of the salary ranges will increase the chance of an ideal candidate appearing in this sea of files. Better to get one valuable application than none corresponding to the advertisement. This is what shortens the recruitment process and reduces its costs.
Revealing your earnings in advertisements is… saving
Time is a precious currency. So it’s a pity to waste it on preparing a CV, cover letter and job interview in a company that doesn’t inform you what budget it allocates for a given position. It’s also a pity to waste it on the recruitment process with a person whose financial expectations don’t match what the company can offer. In this way, both parties waste their time.
If the pay rate had been stated in the job advertisement, the selection would have been made at this level. After all, it isn’t about dissatisfaction at the end of the recruitment path, but to meet at the right center that suits both sides.
Translated by: Agnieszka Szostakowska
