Compensation Transparency & Hiring

Microsoft announced that they will start including salary ranges in all job postings starting no later than January 2023, will this start a trend for more transparency in compensation?

Microsoft’s announcement last week that they will begin including salary ranges on all job postings both internal and external was largely seen as a response to a new law in Washington that requires businesses with fifteen employees or more to include that information beginning next year. Washington joined the state of Colorado and New York City with this new regulation, but several other states are considering similar legislation.

While this topic can certainly be a concern for employers as they try to navigate an already difficult job market, research shows that being transparent may actually help business attract better applicants. An article from December on www.prnewswire.com cited an American Staffing Association Workforce Monitor® online survey conducted by The Harris Poll in late October and early November 2021. They reported that “When asked what key factors were most important to them if they were looking for a new job within the next year, 63% of U.S. adults said that pay rates or salary would be among their most important decision-making factors, while 37% cited flexible work hours and 36% said benefits or perks. The ability to work remotely is important for one-quarter (25%) of U.S. adults.”

Being transparent about salary can help to ensure that your applicants understand what opportunity they have with your business and can help to ensure that you don’t exclude any applicants that are specifically focused on growing their income. This trend will most likely continue to grow and preparing now can help keep your business competitive in an exceedingly difficult labor market.