But Alan Johnson, managing director at Johnson Associates, a New York-based compensation-consulting firm, says he’s “leery” of including a salary range in job postings. He’s more open to the idea of companies publishing a data point—like a minimum salary—instead of a range because it’s all about managing expectations.
“If you hire someone but their salary is not at the top of the range,” he says, “then they are going to be disappointed, and that’s not a great place to start working.”
The comp-range approach could also prove beneficial for some companies, Johnson adds.
“If the range for a job is $60,000 to $90,000,” he says, “there may be a few people who would have been turned off at 60k, but you might get a few more candidates at 90k. You may get a few more people into the funnel because they are turned on by the top part of the range.”
Johnson says he expects to see more companies adopting the comp-range approach in the coming years.
“I think, with all the work on income equality and diversity, it’s going to increase in usage,” he says. “The perception is that adding comp ranges will help us treat groups more fairly. Whether that’s a good idea or not, we can debate. But it’s certainly a trend that’s going to increase.”
Human Resource Executive / September 24, 2019