This is a guest post writen for us by Anna Gibbons of the Sellick Partnership about one great taboo that remains unbroken.
Whether in your professional or personal life, to discuss your earnings is well understood to be a social faux pas. Those who dare to bring up the topic of their pay cheque can risk being seen as egotistical or even downright rude.
A recent article in the Daily Mail looked at some female friends who shared what they were earning and the impact that their varying salaries have on their relationships within their friendship group.* It casts an interesting perspective from those on both ends of the pay scale, and what issues can arise within social circles from differences of salaries.
Across the pond in America, it seems there is a clear cultural difference and that they take a much more open approach to discussing salaries, with research revealing that 83% of Americans are comfortable talking about their earnings, whereas only 37% of Brits are. Quite a difference…
Within recruitment, salary is naturally an even more contentious subject. As a sales-focussed industry, starting salaries are often negotiable dependant on experience, particularly for those consultants who have an impressive billing history. However, the vast difference between those starting out and those who have hit their commission is something that has the potential to cause friction within a team.
Many agencies have a strict policy on the discussion of pay rates both in and out of the workplace, with the threat of a disciplinary handed to anyone who breaks this code. This no tolerance approach however could have an adverse effect – employees may feel restricted and become more suspicious of what their peers are really earning, and be more inclined to find out how their salary really matches up. If poorly managed at the outset, this could also negatively impact on staff retention rates, a vital element for the success of any recruitment organisation.
Naturally there is a certain degree of common sense that needs to be employed with relation to earnings from both the employee’s and employer’s perspective. Nevertheless it is crucial that managers are aware of the issues that could arise, and that communication is key to anticipating and resolving them. Below are some top tips for managing the salary taboo within the workplace…
1) Ensure that staff are aware of your organisation’s protocol with regards to discussion of salary. If you have a zero-tolerance policy around the discussion of earnings, ensure that this is highlighted to them from the outset, along with the reasons for it being in place
2) Provide staff with regular opportunities to talk to management on a one-to-one basis, such as personal reviews or annual salary reviews. Ensure that management are trained to be approachable and open with relation to these questions so as to encourage honest feedback
3) Consider adopting a pay-band structure, particularly for entry and mid-level professionals joining the business to ensure that pay structures are fair and transparent
4) Offer employees the chance to give anonymous feedback through regular engagement surveys – this will give them the means to speak openly about any issues relating to pay and remuneration packages if they are nervous about speaking to management
5) Do not advertise a specific pay rate in your job adverts if it is negotiable – always list it as ‘dependant on experience (DOE)’ if this is the case.
Lastly, remember it is not all about the salary. Other benefits such as holidays, flexible working and career progression are becoming increasingly important to today’s generation – and employers need to be aware of this if they want to retain their top talent. If you offer an attractive benefits package to your employees, which is regularly reviewed, they are likely to be more satisfied within their roles and issues around the salary taboo will be significantly reduced.
Anna Gibbons works as Corporate Communications Manager for Sellick Partnership, a recruitment agency established in 2002, which has expanded to six offices. They offer recruitment services nationwide in the finance sector as well as the procurement and legal sectors.
The main problem is that love it or loathe it, the public sector has clear payscales. In commercial enterprise however, there’s no such thing as a payscale and as a result, you could be working in an office with ten people, each earning a different amount for doing the exact same job. I’m just glad to be out of all that political shenanigans and Chinese whispers. It could be resolved if someone were bold enough to create clear rates of pay and adjust their workforces earnings accordingly so that there was no need for backbiting or bitching about being hard done by. I guess that’s a bit too simplistic though.
I might have thought that a recruitment agency might have some vague notion of the provisions of the Equality Act 2010- this makes ‘pay secrecy’ clauses within the workplace unenforceable. All anyone has to say is ‘ I discussed pay pursuant to a possible Equal pay claim’ …. there is even support if you are treated to a detriment because of a disclosure.