Salary transparency can be good for the employee, but it is worse for the company. If salaries are private, the company has a lot more freedom in how they get a

Salary transparency can be good for the employee, but it is worse for the company. If salaries are private, the company has a lot more freedom in how they get and keep their staff. You can offer big bucks for a key position without raising salaries across the board. You can offer targeted bonuses without making people jealous. Some say this is a corrupt conspiracy, but I think it's just how things are traditionally done, and I don't think it's much different from not making your price lists public knowledge, etc. It's just business. That said, it's in the employees' interest to arm themselves with the going rate for their job duties, and to aggressively push to get a fair rate. It's hard to say if one approach is "better," because every company is different, and you can't easily switch models. If you decide to go to public salaries, you may be pressured to "correct" a lot of people, some downward. If you decide to go private, everyone is going to be asking why.