How can I convince my boss(es) to let me post the salary for our open jobs?

I work in a newer company (founded in 2016, I started in 2022). I’m an HR Generalist but I do a lot of recruiting as we are growing. I try to stay on top of best practices, and I know that we will get better results and just be more fair to candidates if we include salary ranges on our job postings, but my bosses (both my direct manager and the CFO, who she reports to) are against it. The CFO in particular has said that we need to have flexibility to negotiate and that it’s financially irresponsible to basically not try to lowball candidates when making an offer. Both bosses have expressed an interest in DEI and trying to make the company better overall, but I haven’t gotten through to them on this. Can you help me with the major reasons why salary transparency is a good thing these days?

- Knows Better but Can’t Do Better

UGH. How is it 2022 and employers are still posting open jobs without salary ranges? Your CFO sounds like someone who has a vague idea that they’d like to “do DEI” but no clue what actually improves or creates equity.

Here’s the thing: we all make choices, every day. If you are a leader in your organization (from the top or not), it’s likely your entire workday is wall-to-wall decision-making. When talking to your leadership, it can be helpful to frame equity work as the practice of equitable decision-making.

With every choice your org leadership makes, they have the opportunity to elevate equity principles or elevate something else. If your managers require you to post a job and say the salary is “commensurate with experience,” your managers are choosing employer power over leveling the salary negotiation playing field for folks who have typically been shut out of those “clubs” where privileged folks learn how to play the game.

So, friend, here’s my message for your bosses:

POST THE SALARY. Now. In the initial job posting. Don’t say “call for details” or “salary will be discussed in the interview” and please, for the love of god, don’t say “commensurate with experience.” Let’s break this down.

• Why not ask people to wait until the interview? Thanks for asking! HERE’S WHY NOT:

  • Because people who have not been raised by parents in the dominant (white, white collar, professional/office) culture are automatically disfavored. People who lack the power in the room are disadvantaged in negotiations—or won’t negotiate at all—and this leads to BIPOC folks, disabled folks, queer folks, and those from working class backgrounds to being paid less than their worth.

• Why not say “commensurate with experience” if you’re willing to pay more for a few more years in the field? Thanks again for asking! HERE’S WHY NOT:

  • First of all, are you really willing to pay more? I would bet you have a budgeted range for the position, and while you might give $1 more per hour to a slam-dunk winning candidate, you’re not fooling anyone that you’re just totally wide open on the salary.

  • Second, look again at what you are choosing to value here. If you elevate a few extra years’ experience in determining the salary you’re willing to offer one candidate v. another qualified candidate, you are telling candidates that a) you value years in the field over all the other wonderful (diverse!) things someone can bring to the position and b) you are cool with paying people with traditional backgrounds more than people with non-traditional backgrounds.

• Waiting to discuss salary just wastes people’s time. People have bills to pay and, as much as they love the mission, they can’t pay the rent with love. If you waste people’s time by requiring them to jump through hoops before they know if a job might work for their circumstances, you are clearly communicating how little you value them and their time. (Note: you’re wasting your own time, too!)

If you have basic job requirements and a budget for the position, you’ve already determined what is required for someone to be successful. There’s no sense in hiding the ball from people who self-select to apply, especially when it just serves to thwart your equity goals.

I hope that helps, KBBCDB. I leave it to you to frame that in a way your bosses can hear it.

Readers, any other advice I missed? Comment below!

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