Being transparent about pay transparency

Abstract

Purpose

Conceptually, pay transparency is in its infancy. But it is highly likely to stay – and organisations need to get their head around it before they are caught on the back foot. This study will advise organisations on their approach to total compensation and performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study specifically focused on the following: There are many positives, not least saving time and effort, plus creating synchronicity between expectations from the moment a role is advertised to the moment someone leaves. The difficulty is the current cost of living crisis – for some employees, full pay transparency will show that they are already well paid, whereas others will feel frustrated with their pay, as well as any pay freezes. Transparency also needs to go deeper than the pay itself and should factor total compensation and “life” at the organisation. It needs to show flexible working, supporting employees as people – the employee value proposition.

Findings

Pay transparency is harder to unpick and reshape than it is to implement from the start. So, it is more common for start-ups than those with decades of legacy processes across countries, sites, entities or linked, perhaps, to length of service. However, that is out of line with the expectations of many in the modern workforce. Many organisations are being challenged, plus there is a risk that they are seemingly hiding something. There are, too, significant variations between industries, which creates complexities.

Originality/value

This paper is written exclusively for strategic HR review.

Citation

Kirby, C. (2023), "Being transparent about pay transparency", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 22 No. 6, pp. 205-208. https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-10-2023-0053