The Successful Hybrid Team

5Pillar II: Build Extreme Transparency

Figure 5.1 Pillar II – Build extreme transparency.

Introduction

In November 2013, after several months of internal salary transparency, social media company Buffer took its employee salary information public for the first time.¹ At the time, Buffer's Chief Happiness Officer Carolyn Kopprash admitted she felt scared. ‘There were so many unknowns,’ said Kopprash. ‘We kept going down this rabbit hole of “what ifs”.’² After the public release of the salaries, Kopprash started seeing the positive impact it created on the organization. ‘Our transparent salaries and formula removed the potential for any discrimination’ commented Kopprash. ‘Your value is your value, no matter your ability to negotiate.’ Since releasing their salaries publicly, Buffer received 229% more job applicants. Buffer also saw the quality of their candidates rise after becoming more transparent on their salaries.³ At the time of writing this book, the company is worth US$60 million and enjoys healthy growth rates. Buffer's CEO Joel Gascoigne shared that the company's employees embraced the transition to salary transparency because they liked having a culture of transparency.⁴ As a result, conflicts about compensation are rare. Another benefit of being more transparent about salaries, according to Gascoigne, is that the company now attracts the type of person who is ...