What A Job Advert With No Salary Details Says To Potential Employees

From the 1st of November 2022, a new law requires all employers in New York City to disclose salary details on job adverts. With California and Washington states following suit in January 2023, we wonder how long it will take for similar legislation to roll out in the UK. We often talk with our clients about salary transparency in job adverts. In response, we ask if they consider what they think a job advert with no salary details says to potential employees. As this article explores, the message is far broader reaching than you might imagine.

It’s not just America that is forcing employers into pay transparency. Europe plans to make all employers provide salary ranges on job ads and ban them from asking questions about salary history. The European Commission expect the move to close pay gaps and stop employers from discriminating against protected characteristics.

How Important Is It To Include Salary Information on Job Ads?

Recent research shows that 98% of job applicants want to know salary details before applying for a job. It’s a no-brainer for both sides when you think about it.

Quite simply, potential employees want to be sure that they only apply for roles that will help them level up their careers. That’s why the first thing candidates look for when applying for a new job is more money.

Candidates rarely apply for a job offering less money unless they stand to gain something else by doing so. Some will accept an upgrade in working conditions for a similar salary. However, upon getting what they want, they will usually look for a salary uplift within a short time.

It should be equally important for employers to ensure that they can afford to hire any applicants who apply. Otherwise, it’s a waste of your hiring manager’s time to go through the recruitment process only for your chosen candidate to say they can’t afford to accept your company’s offer.

5 Reasons Employers Omit Salary Details From Their Adverts

Despite being aware of how important salary details are to prospective employees, many employers still wish to advertise vacancies without disclosing salary details. In fact, according to HR magazine, salary transparency is at a six-year low.

There are many reasons employers cite for not wanting to advertise salaries in their job ads, below are the most common reasons we hear. 

• They want to pay people in line with salary benchmarks for their geographical location
• It could cause friction among existing employees if they find out how much more new hires get paid
• They don’t want competing employers to know how much they pay their staff
• Advertising salary ranges can cause resentment when an employer doesn’t agree to pay a new hire the top rate
• Employers expect candidates to know the value of their skills within the current marketplace and negotiate accordingly

5 Assumptions Potential Employees Make About Employers Who Don’t List Salaries in Job Ads

Applicants are not stupid. Thanks to websites like Glassdoor and Payscale.com, anyone can easily find out the value of their skills in the current marketplace. So posting a job advert with no salary doesn’t serve your business. Instead, it encourages potential applicants to make several negative assumptions about your organisation, such as:

• The employer may hope to pay their new hire as little as they can get away with
• Existing staff may not be paid fairly
• That the company discriminates and will pay women, people of colour, disabled individuals and older people a lower wage
• The organisation is ashamed that its competition might discover how little it pays its workers
• The employer hopes that applicants don’t understand the value of their skills and won’t be brave enough to negotiate

A Few Final Thoughts on What a Job Advert With no Salary Details Says to Employees

It is understandable for employers not to want to upset their existing workforce by advertising jobs paying higher salaries than they receive. But this information is easy for current employees to find out if they really want to and in the mean time, you’re discouraging applicants by posting a job advert with no salary.

Many employees will choose to do nothing with that information if they are happy where they are. Individuals who want to leave your organisation for more money will do so regardless of whether you advertise jobs with salaries or not.

It is cheaper to retain existing talent than to advertise and train staff to repeatedly backfill the same vacancies. Similarly, one of the most obvious ways to retain existing talent is to conduct regular performance reviews with existing employees and reward them adequately.

When vacancies become available, salary benchmarking can help ensure you pitch a fair salary to match the job description. Salary benchmarking is just one of the ways an experienced IT recruitment consultant can help your business achieve its goals. If you’re struggling to fill a vacancy, why not speak to one of our team for advice before you advertise it without a salary?