If you answered: “I’m not sure” or “Who Knows!?!” is it because you are not discussing salary and compensation with the right people or utilizing the best resources? Glassdoor.com recently surveyed more than 1,300 employed adults about whether they are comfortable sharing their salary, and if so, who they share that information with. Almost one in five (17 percent) say they are not comfortable discussing their current compensation with anyone, which is up from 11 percent in May 2008. Of those who are comfortable sharing salary, we found they may not be discussing the details with the people who actually matter. For example, employees report they are more comfortable talking salary with their best friend (33%) than HR (18%) or their boss (25%) – two key bodies that could influence pay or at the very least, shed some light on current pay ranges.
Despite the fact a growing number of people are sharing intimate details of their lives in social networks, what we make still remains largely taboo in our culture – and it could be costing us in more ways than one. In a recent debate over the consequences of being uninformed about your salary, Rusty Rueff, Glassdoor’s career and workplace expert, comments, “we are like retailers selling a product and letting someone else set the price and we negotiate back with little to no knowledge and then we take the deal…We shouldn’t allow our talents, services and experience to be bought like we are on the table at a garage sale.”
Rusty also suggests that the reason salary and compensation has become a conversation don’t is because there is a fear associated with not being able to measure up to your peers or colleagues. What most people don’t realize is many of their colleagues have also had their compensation cut.
According to our Q4 Employment Confidence Survey, more than one-fourth of employees report their compensation was reduced in the past six months, which is supported by Glassdoor salary data that shows the average salary reported on the site was down more than 6 percent in the last six months of 2009 versus the first six months. Yet people seem to have lost sight of the fact that companies are not planning on restoring what was lost any time soon and 2010 salary budgets are expected to increase less than 3 percent — the lowest in more than 25 years, according to Mercer.
With all the rules changing, how do people evaluate their worth? We looked to the Glassdoor community for insight. Linda Konstan, a human resources consultant with LMK Associates, suggests companies be more open with company financials. “When the financials of a firm are part of internal company knowledge, employees have a better idea about what factors raises and/or bonuses have been based on or why they won’t occur. A lot of my clients have gone to Open Book Management so all employees understand the exact financials of the firm.”
Konstan adds, “We have found that when employees understand the month-to-month financials, they buy in more quickly in assisting with expense reductions and revenue production. In fact, that’s part of the process – having employees continuously come up with ideas.”
The challenge we face is most companies do not openly share all financial data and are not transparent about compensation plans yet people are hungry for it. In fact, 70% of employees (and 75% of those not employed but looking) say it would be helpful to have more detailed information about current salaries and cultures at specific companies than what has previously been available, given the current state of the economy and job market. (Harris Interactive/Glassdoor poll of 2,257 employed and unemployed adults, September 2009).
Without easily available information, we run the risk of gaps between employee expectations and company plans. If your company isn’t opening up about the business’s financial health and offering hints at how that may impact your wallet, here are a few tips from Glassdoor and our career and workplace expert panel:
- Stop Guessing About Your Job: Rusty Rueff suggests find out what it really takes to get promoted. He advises that you sit down with a manager or your HR Leader, and ask for the specifics on what it takes to get to the next level in the company. Rusty adds, “don’t be satisfied with the rote answers of high-performance and experience. Also ask about the cultural norms and practices that lead to being accepted and promoted within the organization. If it helps you, bring in the career specifics of someone who you aspire to be like and ask what it was about this person that got them moved up, and then ask if your career arc can be the same? If you get an affirmative, then ask for help in mapping out your plan.”
- Don’t Wait To Broach The Salary Topic: When it comes to the interview salary negotiation phase, Liz Ryan suggests asking about compensation during the second face-to-face interview, or when an email message or phone call arrives to invite you for a second interview. That’s when you can say “That’s great – I’d love to come back and meet more of the XYZ team members. Just so that we’re not wasting anyone’s time, shall we synch up on compensation now?” When we open the topic, we can expect a screener or hiring manager to come back with “So, what were you earning on your last job?” We don’t have to share our last salary level – although if that number suits you and is in line with what you believe this new job should pay, feel free to spit it out. Lots of people don’t want to share their past salary, usually because it wasn’t representative of the salary trajectory they’d been following up to that point. Maybe they worked for a not-for-profit, or were simply working for a cheapskate employer or manager who didn’t pay them their market value. In that case, we can say “I’m focusing on positions in the $X range.” We can share a salary target, rather than a past salary.
- Do Your Salary Research: Behind-the-scenes looks at salaries for specific jobs in specific locations at specific employers is just part of why Glassdoor is here for you (not to mention the hundreds of thousands of company reviews, as well as interview questions and reviews). Research your job position, desired or current employer and/or geographic location and find out what others earn in a similar situation. For example, are you considering a job at Deloitte Consulting as an Audit Senior? Did you know that based among employees with this title at this company, the average salary can range between $51,000 and $80,000? Bottom line is it pays to do your home work and know the range for your job at a specific company based on your years of experience and location.
At Glassdoor, we fundamentally believe it shouldn’t be so hard to find out information about pay and companies. We invite you to join the effort to peel back the layers of secrecy around salary. By sharing your pay – anonymously (hey, we can all take baby steps) – via Glassdoor.com you can help employees, jobseekers and the next workforce generation – and earn good career Karma merit. So how about it? – can you spare a few minutes to anonymously share your salary secret?
