The Value of Transparency in Salary Negotiations

One subject that comes up often amongst my clients is that of protocol for salary negotiations. In particular, advice on exactly how, and when, they should bring up the topic of money during the interview process.

Let me begin by stressing the importance of preparation. Procurement people love to negotiate, after all. It is literally what they do for a living and many will, rightly or wrongly, use the salary negotiation as an opportunity to show what they can do for you once you’ve hired them. So come prepared. But how exactly?

First of all, don’t leave this conversation entirely in the hands of the HR function. Allow HR input into the conversation but take control of the discussion yourself. Secondly, and the focus of the article, is to be transparent. Transparency implies openness, communication, and accountability, and the reason it is essential is logical: Transparency breeds trust between the two parties. Without trust, you cannot build rapport.

Simply put: People want to know—and trust—that they got what was fair and consistent with other internal staff and with the going market rate. In fact, it’s been my experience that making sure that no money was left on the table, and that knowing you as a company tried your best when putting the offer together, is actually more important to a lot of people than hitting a specific salary number. Consider this an opportunity when it comes to attracting top tier talent, even when your employer doesn’t have the deepest pockets.

Transparency also reveals a level of respect. You have to realize that what you are offering as a hiring manager directly shows (at least from a candidate’s perspective) how much you value them as a potential hire. Now is not the time to pinch pennies.

In terms of when to bring this up, I advise hiring managers to get the conversation going early on, being fully transparent and straightforward in what you are looking for in a candidate and what you can offer— certainly well before you’ve whittled the initial candidate pool down to a shortlist.

Similarly, as a candidate, you must be ready to voice your expectations and needs—in a professional manner, of course—from the moment you walk in the door. I’ve frequently found that those candidates who anchor the salary conversation up front end up agreeing on a much higher number than those who simply wait to see what the company would end up offering, and then try to negotiate them up. So be bold, be specific and make sure your ask can be backed up with solid data.