Transparency and Compensation

Transparency of something that is important for an individual or an organization’s growth up to a desired level indicates the credibility of the team and openness to consideration and negotiation if any. It is understandable that many organizations may defer to being transparent for all work processes, however there are certain areas one cannot be totally discreet, especially things related to capital and money matters. Yet we may still find some where compensation & benefits always seem to be that part of the asset which cannot bare transparency at any levels. So much so, even when new recruits join for a particular position all they are aware of is the job responsibility, designation and the CTC involved. It may make sense if during process of selection; one may not want to disclose the salary components; however once when somebody is sent an offer letter for acceptance, then the prospective employee has all rights to understand the break up of the salary assigned to him. It cannot be something that can be passed as ambiguity and the employee realises the components only when he receives the first pay slip.

This kind of an issue is dealt by and large by small size and mid size industries, where it is hard to tap upon good resource and retain them for a long time. Chanced upon prospective employee who may prove to be assets need to be pulled in and engaged so that he doesn’t get swayed by competitor industries. It may sound foolish not knowing one’s salary components before joining, yet there are people who do not inquire and yet there are some who wish to gain an understanding however organizations refuse to quote. For fresh graduates it may not be of much concern as then they are just beginning the process of finding a footboard to stand upon, however for somebody making a career change it can prove to be disastrous and could well be a plunge in the career graph if he decides to blindly hop into one. There was this one person I came across sometime back, who had good experience and understanding of the industry he belonged to. Naturally his talent got recognised in the Organization he thought could lift his career. In the interview rounds a CTC was discussed, negotiated and finalised upon. However due to internal constraints the finalised amount was not given and a lesser CTC was zeroed upon. An effective communication could have taken place, yet the prospective employee was kept in the dark. Nor did the employee consider inquiring about the components and discuss on the plans. When he went for accepting the offer and casually got to know of a lowered CTC, he was in a dilemma whether to accept or reject. He did reject, but at a personal loss. Before joining he resigned from his present workplace and that left him unemployed till he would be in a position to convert one. He wouldn’t be in a dearth of one for long for sure, however a mere communication and transparency could have saved a lot many hassles.

Compensation is always a sensitive issue and those who handle it know of its ups and downs. Those who plan to get into an organization too need to understand the importance of asking for one, before making a decision. Yet it still lies as a major responsibility for an organization and non disclosure or reluctance of sharing one shouldn’t deter anybody from asking what he is destined to be paid.