> I see this openness at buffer essentially being a tool for management to deny raise requests, etc... with... If we do it for you, we have to do it for everybody... which is a just a BS excuse to not face the reality that every persons value and work situation is different, and should be treated differently.
Their salary formula accounts for experience, company performance, and role. Having the openness and formula makes it easy to say no to arbitrary salary-increase requests and also makes it easy to have a fair raise in place "automatically". Sure, the formula is not perfect, but as the zen of python goes, explicit is better than implicit. Changing the formula or the parameters to it may be a wise thing for the company to do at some point, but it will likely be clear what the change is and why is it beneficial to the company. That sounds a lot better than the way that salaries are typically negotiated.
"Having the openness and formula makes it easy to say no to arbitrary salary-increase requests"
It more likely makes arbitrary excuses to deny legitimate salary increase requests.
I think this forces unnecessary arbitrary restrictions on an already difficult process. I highly suspect this is simply an excuse for management to avoid uncomfortable conversations and very difficult decisions...
I can foresee about a dozen likely HR nightmares that can surface from this transparency.
Personally, I would never want to work at a place where everyone in the room knows how much I make...especially if many can't appreciate or quantify the value I create.
Their salary formula accounts for experience, company performance, and role. Having the openness and formula makes it easy to say no to arbitrary salary-increase requests and also makes it easy to have a fair raise in place "automatically". Sure, the formula is not perfect, but as the zen of python goes, explicit is better than implicit. Changing the formula or the parameters to it may be a wise thing for the company to do at some point, but it will likely be clear what the change is and why is it beneficial to the company. That sounds a lot better than the way that salaries are typically negotiated.