3 ms·

Couldn't the same information be used by companies to signal each other and collude on price setting. For example they may start paying the same just based on

Couldn't the same information be used by companies to signal each other and collude on price setting. For example they may start paying the same just based on a job class, which isn't a favorable outcome.

gigatexal 5y ago
No. Because companies are already doing this. At least for my employer they’ve told us that they talk to their “peers” in the industry to set prices for labor. So more a yes and a no. BUT if candidates were able to know what the bands are they could move wages to a more fair equilibrium. Here’s how I think it would play out. There are two scenarios. If radical transparency were to be enacted AND all companies share the numbers before hand putting all their equivalent roles at the same salary levels then not much would change since I think this is already happening at least in Europe and specifically in Berlin. But if companies started publishing this data over time say over months such that all information about salaries and compensation outside of wages was revealed in say 18 months (giving the market time to adjust I.e folks to leave to go to higher wage paying firms) then workers could readjust their wages to a more fair market rate. This is how I think things would play out — or so I hope when in reality it’ll likely just be the former case. People will fight for salary transparency and the firms will give it to them but they will have shared salary information already because a Python engineer is a Python engineer whether they’re at a mid level company or a FAANG company. And then nothing will change other than folks will likely all try to cluster around the top end of their now disclosed salary bands — more folks will get marginal raises I guess but it’s not the large shift or readjustment of entire sectors and employees I had hoped for.

3 ms·

Couldn't the same information be used by companies to signal each other and collude on price setting. For example they may start paying the same just based on

by denismenace 5y ago

gigatexal 5y ago
No. Because companies are already doing this. At least for my employer they’ve told us that they talk to their “peers” in the industry to set prices for labor. So more a yes and a no. BUT if candidates were able to know what the bands are they could move wages to a more fair equilibrium. Here’s how I think it would play out. There are two scenarios. If radical transparency were to be enacted AND all companies share the numbers before hand putting all their equivalent roles at the same salary levels then not much would change since I think this is already happening at least in Europe and specifically in Berlin. But if companies started publishing this data over time say over months such that all information about salaries and compensation outside of wages was revealed in say 18 months (giving the market time to adjust I.e folks to leave to go to higher wage paying firms) then workers could readjust their wages to a more fair market rate. This is how I think things would play out — or so I hope when in reality it’ll likely just be the former case. People will fight for salary transparency and the firms will give it to them but they will have shared salary information already because a Python engineer is a Python engineer whether they’re at a mid level company or a FAANG company. And then nothing will change other than folks will likely all try to cluster around the top end of their now disclosed salary bands — more folks will get marginal raises I guess but it’s not the large shift or readjustment of entire sectors and employees I had hoped for.