Salary transparency could help startups retain talent

New research from Glassdoor reveals that 57% of UK workers believe changing employer would bring a bigger pay cheque

Salary transparency could help startups retain talent

Many business leaders have a strict taboo against employees discussing pay packages as they feel that salaries should be kept private. Yet new research from Glassdoor, the online jobs and recruitment marketplace, suggests that a lack of transparency around compensation could result in startups losing talent.

Based on a poll of 4,300 workers in seven countries, the Global Salary Transparency Survey revealed that 56% of employees believe they can only get a bigger pay cheque by swapping employers; a view shared by 57% of UK workers.

However, it seems younger members of the workforce are more prone to this way of thinking than older workers. While 57% of millennial employees and 58% of Generation X employees believed that the grass is always greener at another employer, only 32% of those over the age of 55 thought likewise.

Globally, 36% of employees said that their companies disclose salary data internally. Meanwhile, 62% of global workers and 63% of UK employees revealed that they would be willing to disclose more about their pay packages if they could do it anonymously. Overall, 70% believed that salary transparency would boost employee satisfaction.

Glassdoor’s survey went on to reveal that 69% of workers wished that they had a better understanding of how fair market compensation looks for their services. In the UK, this figure stood at 66% for men and 73% for women, compared to 71% and 67% on a global level.

“Employers need to understand that perpetuating salary-sharing taboos can ultimately impact retention,” said Dawn Lyons, vice president of corporate affairs and chief equal pay advocate at Glassdoor. “More than half of employees around the world feel that in order to get a significant raise they need to jump to a new company.”

If transparency is the key to retaining top talent, perhaps it’s a price worth paying.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Eric Johansson
Eric Johansson
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