Australian Employers Are Losing Potential Candidates by Leaving Salaries Out of Job Ads
Synopsis
More than two-thirds of Australian companies surveyed say they have lost a potential top candidate because salary expectations did not align, while 51% still exclude pay information from job advertisements.
Key Highlights
- One in two Australian organisations do not disclose salary expectations in job ads.
- 70% of hiring managers reported that, at least once, they lost a candidate for any job because salary expectations did not match up.
- Over 90% of the firms that publish salaries reported increased application quality.
More than two-thirds of Australian companies have lost a top candidate due to the lack of salary information in the job ad. The research by Robert Half, which surveyed 5,000 hiring managers in Australia, showed that 51% of organisations continue to avoid including salary expectations.
Fewer than 70% of respondents claimed they have lost a candidate because their salary expectations did not match, after no pay information was included in an advertisement.
Push for Greater Pay Transparency
Australian businesses are not required to include salary in a job advertisement.
The UK government recently revealed plans to make it compulsory for employers to publish salary information in job adverts and is consulting on whether firms should give an exact pay rate, or a rate as a benchmark against similar roles.
As for the 51% of Australian organisations that do publish salary information, many cite the need to improve transparency, enhance trust with candidates and attract better quality talent. More than nine in ten organisations that publish salaries say it enhances the applications they receive.
Nicole Gorton, director at Robert Half said salary transparency acts as a natural filter by aligning expectations early, reducing friction later in the hiring process”
Pay Transparency and Recruitment
The research revealed candidates are becoming increasingly financially literate in light of continued cost-of-living pressures.
Organisations that wait until later in the hiring process to discuss pay are bringing potential hires through multiple stages only to lose them due to salary expectations. While employers can keep salary information confidential in job applications, they cannot force workers to keep their own salaries secret.
But the federal government passed legislation in 2023 preventing employers from asking workers to keep their salaries private as part of wider efforts to close the gender pay gap. In addition, the law prohibits job advertisements from advertising pay rates that are below a minimum rate in breach of the Fair Work Act or an applicable award or enterprise agreement.
The drive for more transparency comes in the light of employers facing skill mismatch in the technology sector. New research revealed that tech job seekers are much more likely than workers in other industries to be overqualified. Another survey showed that two-thirds of Australians involved in the job market are going through three interviews at once.
Source: Information Age
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