Pay transparency paves the way for a loyal workforce
Money can be somewhat of a taboo subject in the UK. Discussing salary throughout an interview process is notoriously tedious and can resemble that of a Poker tournament. Evolving from interviewee to employee sees that your salary is securely under wraps with only a select few knowing the details.
Salaries dictate your lifestyle, every day choices and even how you perform in the workplace. With the latter in mind, is it wise for the workplace to encourage transparency with regards to salary? Here, we’re giving you our top 5 reasons on why every business should adopt a transparency in pay ethic.
Equality is a given
When the secrets of payroll are revealed, qualms of favouritism, unreasonableness and unfairness fade. When such openness prevails the methodology that is applied to establishing salaries also comes to light. When colleagues are aware of salaries they automatically become aware of where they sit within the workforce. This can be a great motivator and spark genuine excitement with regards to new training programmes and participating in new things.
People talk
You can’t really prevent your workforce from speaking about topics that involve salary. Yes, you can state clauses within contracts however, at the workplace socials talk will inevitably turn to salary after a few drinks. There is no real way of ensuring that employees never discuss salary. Enforcing strict rules and restrictions on topics of conversation will hint that there is secrecy for a reason and will create an air of negativity. Taking a relaxed approach to the subject of salaries will create a sense of trust between employees and senior members of staff as they will adopt the view that there is nothing to hide.
Loyalty is key
Members of staff learning each other’s wages can be toxic. It is unlikely that they will consider the previous experience that their counterparts have accumulated and automatically assume that they are hard done by. Breaking down the walls surrounding the discussion of pay can open pave the way for employees to discuss progress within their career and achievements that others have made to get to where they are. Such talk can see that employees have a sudden surge in loyalty towards the workplace with a willingness to progress.
Quantity is unveiled, as is value
It is common that the workforce complete their every day tasks as the norm and colleagues do not necessarily proclaim their achievements in the workplace. Once the boundaries of discussing salaries are broken, colleagues become a lot more transparent with both with the amount of work that they complete and the quality of it. Senior management can be surprised at the work accomplished by members of staff on a lower pay scale causing positions to shift.
A reduction in staff turnover
Payroll transparency equips staff with the tools that they need to promote themselves, entice incentive and commit to a company. Such honesty with pay is still a rarity and therefore members of staff tend to appreciate the uprightness. This tends to reduce staff turnover as staff task themselves with the mission of being promoted within the company.
