Transitioning to Salary Transparency When Hiring: How Attest Did This

At online consumer research company Attest, a strong Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) strategy is a priority goal. Part of this strategy has been a move to make their hiring processes more transparent and equitable - which is why they investigated salary transparency.

Research by Welcome to the Jungle shows that salary transparency is top-of-the-list for potential applicants. Plus, adding salaries to job postings helps promote equal pay. This makes it a great place to start for businesses who want to make changes that candidates really care about.

For Attest, the road to salary transparency began with deciding it was a change worth committing to.

The Ask Gap

“Every Attester who heard about the Ask Gap (where women from minority racial backgrounds ask for 40% less than their white male counterparts) was shocked. We realised that by not being part of the solution, we were part of the problem. This made the argument for salary transparency all the more powerful," admits Emily Meiklejohn, Talent Acquisition and Employer Brand Lead at Attest

To get everyone on the same page, research was shared with the Executive team. As the business was already committed to DEI, the only question was whether salary transparency could help Attest to reach their hiring goals.

“We explained why we thought salary transparency was the right thing to do, walking through the benefits and potential risks. As this aligned closely with our DEI strategy there was great buy in,“ Emily continued. 

Tackling challenges head-on

Attest made the ambitious decision to aim to include salary ranges across all their jobs when hiring. But, they wanted to make sure it was done in an intentional and effective way. “Growth without guesswork” is key to Attest, so they started by researching the approaches that other organisations had taken.
 
Then, the People team put together a proposal of what this goal meant in practice, and an implementation plan on how they could make the change. They shared this with senior leadership, hosting a session where they could ask any questions. It didn’t take much discussion before everyone was on board.

Of course, the team did face some concerns.

For example:

• By advertising the top end of the salary bracket, would they always end up paying the top of the range (since candidates would know what that was)?

• Would candidates who received an offer below the top end of the bracket be less likely to accept?

• Would introducing salary transparency increase the diversity of candidates applying to, and being hired into, roles at Attest?

The solution to these concerns revolved around transparency and objectivity. 

Building on solid foundations

Luckily, Attest had already built a strong foundation that would support salary transparency when hiring. By using objective hiring processes based on role-relevant criteria, they could present candidates with offers based on their performance in the interview process, rather than solely on what they were asking for.

Because this foundation existed, Attest could build on it. They used their well-defined criteria to communicate with candidates about how they were performing throughout the hiring process. They also made it clear what this meant from a salary perspective, so candidates could make an informed decision about continuing with the interview process. Also, if offered, they would understand why the offer looked how it did.

Another concern from many of Attest’s leaders was how their teams would feel about the change. Afterall, they had been hired without salary transparency, and internal transparency is an ongoing journey at Attest.

To be mindful of this, there was a clear communication strategy announcing the changes across the organisations. The aim was to be fully transparent, to listen to questions and concerns and  ensure that all Attesters felt heard. It was also an opportunity to ensure that everyone understood why salary transparency when hiring was important, and what the benefits could be. When new roles were needed, managers had conversations about the salary ranges with team members before the roles were posted - so teams were aware ahead of external candidates.

Learnings

Since introducing salary transparency when hiring, neither of the initial concerns raised have come to pass. Attest has not paid all hired candidates at the top end of the salary bracket, or seen a higher rate of declined offers. However, they have seen an increase in the diversity of candidates applying and the diversity of candidates who have been hired. This is something that Attest will continue to monitor, but initial signs are very promising. 

All in all, the key takeaways from the rollout of the programme were to be as open and honest as possible, and to involve leadership as early as possible. Anything to do with reward is really emotive, and as soon as people hear salary transparency they can feel worried or concerned. So, it is important to get everyone involved and informed from the start.

Including salary ranges is just one element of how Attest have leveraged transparency to create a better, more inclusive candidate experience. They share details about their inclusive benefits directly on job posts. They also send a detailed candidate pack at the point of application, and bespoke hiring packs for candidates as they progress through the process.

In these, Attest communicates next steps and what to expect from that step in the process. They also proactively offer candidates any adjustments that they may need to bring their whole selves.

They also share what it’s like to work at Attest in the Life at Attest blog so that candidates can make an informed decision before applying. It introduces candidates to Attesters, what they have been up to, alongside an honest look into some of their key benefits.

Whilst it’s too early to have a quantitative understanding of how the roll out of salary transparency has affected hiring at Attest, the business believes that being more open about the company culture, benefits, mission, challenges and pay bands has led to stronger inbound applications.

If you'd like to see how Attest uses Welcome to the Jungle to attract more diverse talent, including a recent Marketing Director hire, check out their case study.

Ready to take on salary transparency?

At Welcome to the Jungle, we’re extremely passionate about salary transparency for creating a better candidate experience and reducing gender and ethnicity pay inequities.

If your organisation could benefit from introducing salary transparency or other inclusive people practices, we’re happy to discuss how companies of all sizes have tested similar programmes, starting with their hiring process.