Companies and employees in the creative industry are opening up about compensation, new research from staffing firm The Creative Group shows. More than three-quarters of marketing and advertising hiring managers surveyed (77 percent) said their organization offers some level of salary transparency, with 34 percent reporting full transparency.
When asked to name the greatest advantage of instituting an open pay policy, the top response was helping close the wage gap (23 percent), followed by creating an atmosphere of trust and collaboration (21 percent).
Advertising and marketing hiring managers were asked to describe their company’s current approach to open salary policies, as well as what they think it should be:
“Salary is top of mind for most employees and job seekers, and they’re doing their research to ensure they’re being paid fairly,” said Diane Domeyer, executive director of The Creative Group, in a news release. “Companies are becoming more willing to share compensation information in an effort to demonstrate an organizational culture of fairness and trust, and boost recruitment and retention.”
Domeyer added, “Regardless of a firm’s stance on open pay policies, employers should benchmark salary trends regularly. Highly skilled workers are in strong demand and short supply, and they won’t hesitate to make a career move if a better opportunity comes along.”
Managers are OK talking about their pay
The research also reveals most creative managers are open to discussing compensation with people inside and outside their organization. Seventy percent of respondents said they’d be at least somewhat comfortable sharing their salary with coworkers if asked. And nearly an equal number said the same of professional (68 percent) and personal (69 percent) contacts outside the company. Managers were most opposed to disclosing pay details with direct reports.
The online survey was developed by The Creative Group and conducted by a leading independent research firm. It is based on responses from more than 400 advertising and marketing hiring decision makers who work full time at agencies with 20 or more employees or companies with 100 or more employees in the United States.
