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Editor’s Note: Emilie Shumway is the editor of HR Dive. This column explores how our personal lives intersect with our workplaces.she can be reached at [email protected]
User experience writer and poet Kimberly Nguyen didn’t set out to be the Poet Laureate of Compensation Transparency. recently tweetedBut her March 7 tweetstorm detailing that she stumbled upon a job posting from her employer on LinkedIn was nerve-wracking. The post covered her position, her required qualifications and set of responsibilities.
“So I applied,” she said.
Beyond New Applicants
Nguyen is a contract to full-time UX writer at Photon, a technology consulting and services company based in New York City. She is currently under contract with Citibank, she told her HR Dive.
My company just posted a job posting on LinkedIn for the job I’m currently doing (which is why they’re hiring another UX writer), but thanks to the Pay Transparency Act, this person has $32,000 They are paying me now, so I applied.
— Kimberly Nguyen (@knguyenpoetry) March 7, 2023
Nguyen’s Twitter thread has gone viral, with the first tweet garnering over 220,000 likes to date and over 12 million views according to Twitter analytics.
She explained, “We’ve been discussing pay inequality for months.” Payment Transparency Law She revealed the difference between her own salary and what other UX writers inside and outside the company might be earning. “I was appalled,” she told HR Dive.
Nguyen’s manager at Citi directed her back to Photon, which determined her salary. Photon told her they needed a review of her performance, but she’s still waiting for it. Photon did not respond to HR Dive’s request for comment.
The job Nguyen applied for closed, but “But LinkedIn recommended me a second job for the same position,” she said. “But the link was broken. I’m not sure what was going on.”
Nguyen’s story shows that the recently passed Payroll Transparency Act will affect more than applicants want. Employees can now see their soon-to-be colleagues and compare their salaries in real time.
“Mysterious Shroud” disappeared
“The law is working as intended,” Kate Bischoff, an employment law attorney and consultant, told HR Dive. “It’s meant to show what the range is and get people asking questions about what we’re making.”
In the past, Mr. Bischoff said the “covering of mystery” around salary information has benefited employers. In this situation, employees lacked information to negotiate, resulting in a less cautious approach to payments and a wider range of salaries.
It is not uncommon for employers to expand wage bands in response to changes in the labor market. This is especially true when there is a shortage of manpower available. And many people expect a raise when they change employers.A Conference Board study last year found that nearly a third of workers who changed jobs during the pandemic saw a 30% raise.
But as Nguyen’s story underscores, it’s not just applicants who are looking. “It’s not an uncommon situation, it’s one that all employers struggle with,” Bischoff said. “Because if you try to do good [compensation], the rising tide raises all wages. And it’s hard to budget for that. It’s hard to find talent in what people are already making. ”
In other words, employers are trying to strike a balance by keeping their employees happy while maintaining broader market appeal — and considering the salary increases these goals demand. I’m trying to make sure I have a budget.
What Can Employers Do?
As Bischoff pointed out, the goal of wage transparency is primarily to promote pay equity.Expert Proposed Companies set policies that dictate how raises are earned, set salary ranges, and provide checks and balances. Employees need to understand how their salaries are set and how they can make more money.Compensation processes may be required as the market changes Continuous analysis and work, research suggests.
Skeptical employers may need to consider potential legal threats, if not to be fooled by the heightened expectations of applicants and the embarrassment on social media. For example, suppose a white male applicant applied and was offered the same job as a current worker with a different background — $50,000. It will open the door,” Bischoff said.
