One of my favorite podcasts takes on one of my favorite topics: Planet Money on salary transparency. Check it out!
What would it be like if everyone at your office knew what everyone else earned? On today’s show, we hear about a company where salaries aren’t secret.
Source: Episode 550: When Salaries Aren’t Secret : Planet Money : NPR
Simon Ouderkirk 
You and I have chatted about this before, but this podcast inadvertently showcased what I feel is the biggest misinterpretation of the whole salary transparency debate. It’s most commonly interpreted as “List what everyone in the company makes,” but I don’t actually think anyone cares (as demonstrated by the podcast when they asked people how often they check the spreadsheet).
Employees care that they’re being rewarded fairly. Publishing a list of salaries only encourages comparison between individuals. Instead, publish a formula along with the specifics for each individual (role, seniority, location, experience, etc). If people care, they can find out what their coworker makes, but more importantly, they know why they’re being compensated as such, what they need to do to bump up, and that everyone is being compensated fairly.
Right! This is my position too – the end result is less important than a fully transparent and consistent process, which also opens the whole thing up for discussion in a fair and equitable way, with power distributed more between parties.
I’ve even written about it before 😀 – https://s12k.com/2014/12/19/buffer-and-transparency-5-reasons-why-this-is-awesome/
I think I may have inadvertently adopted the idea from your post and assumed it was my own 🙂
Everything on here is a result of conversation and debates, so you’re probably essentially a co-author anyway!