Sarika Lamont
Vice President of People and Culture
Vidyard
Episode 377
Building Trust and Equity: The Imperative of Pay Transparency
Current chapter: Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built By PeopleDecember 16, 2024 · 19:42
Thesis
“Pay transparency, underpinned by a solid compensation philosophy and clear job architecture, is a non-negotiable for fostering trust, engagement, and equity within an organization, regardless of its size or stage of growth.”
Show notes
Employees are already talking about pay. Generation Z grew up sharing salary data on Reddit and LinkedIn. Gen X never did. That generational shift has made pay secrecy not just ineffective but actively counterproductive—and Sarika Lamont, VP of People and Culture at Vidyard, has been building the infrastructure to respond to it for years.
Lamont's approach to compensation strategy starts from a foundational conviction: compensation has to be rooted in the strategy of the business, not just benchmarked against the market. She builds job architecture early—she recommends startups start from day one—because clarity about levels, roles, and career paths creates fiscal discipline and prevents the expensive retrofitting that happens when organizations try to install structure after they've already grown. She's seen large enterprises still struggling to reconcile ad-hoc title systems across international jurisdictions, and the cost in legal exposure (especially in Canada, where job change without proper process can trigger constructive dismissal claims) is real.
On pay transparency, she's clear that full public disclosure isn't the only version of transparency—and may not be right for every organization. What she advocates for is a phased, intentional approach that defines where on the spectrum of transparency the organization actually wants to land, then brings employees and managers along through education rather than surprise. The fear that transparency will generate anger is usually unfounded. What actually generates anger is the sense that the system is opaque and arbitrary. Transparency, done right, is a trust accelerant.
- Compensation strategy anchored to business strategy—not just market benchmarking
- Why job architecture should start at company founding, not at 200 employees
- Pay transparency as a spectrum: how to define the right level for your organization and implement it in phases
- Bringing managers and employees along through education—the change management component that most pay transparency rollouts skip
- International compliance risks when job architecture is absent: what Canadian employment law reveals about the true cost of improvised compensation structures
- Generational shift in pay conversation norms: why "don't talk about salary" is no longer a viable organizational stance
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What you'll take away
- 1Compensation strategy must be intrinsically linked to the business's overall growth strategy and core values.
- 2Implement a compensation philosophy and a robust job architecture early in a company's lifecycle to ensure fiscal responsibility and provide clear career progression paths.
- 3Effective pay transparency, supported by employee education and a thoughtful change management plan, is critical for building trust, engagement, and equitable practices.
- 4Adopt a phased approach to pay transparency, clearly communicating the organization's goals and boundaries to proactively address concerns and diffuse potential angst.
- 5HR professionals should proactively acquire expertise in pay transparency and job architecture, as these areas are increasingly regulated and vital for organizational health.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Many companies, including large enterprises, often neglect foundational job architecture, leading to complex and costly retrofitting challenges, especially across international jurisdictions.
- •The fear among executives that pay transparency will lead to employee anger or demands is often unfounded; employees are already discussing pay, and transparency, when handled correctly, builds trust rather than resentment.
- •Full public disclosure of individual salaries is not the only or necessarily the best form of pay transparency; organizations should define their own 'palpable' level of transparency on a spectrum that respects individual privacy while still fostering equity.
In Sarika's words
“I love to nerd out on compensation. It's my favorite discipline within people and HR. I think when you think about compensation, you, it has to be rooted in the strategy of the business first.”
This quote highlights the foundational importance of aligning compensation with overall business strategy.
“No, start it now. Start it from the beginning because I find that it allows you to be much more fiscally responsible in HR when you build those levels because A, you're very clear on these are the roles that we have, these are the levels that we need, here are the career paths that we're gonna be able to build for people so people understand how they're gonna grow their career.”
Sarika emphasizes the critical need for early implementation of job architecture for both financial health and employee development.
“Here's the thing, people are already talking about pay. It's a very different generation. There's a lot of different generations in the workforce today. In my time as a geriatric millennial, I can say that about myself. We didn't talk about pay. You never talked about pay. It was like this like taboo thing. That's not the world we live in anymore, nor should we be telling our employees not to talk about pay.”
This quote challenges outdated views on pay secrecy, acknowledging the generational shift towards open dialogue about compensation.
“You have to decide for your own organization where you are, what your internal challenges are, how you're growing, your whole strategy to determine what level of pay transparency is palpable for the organization. And how do you go about doing that in a phased approach?”
Sarika advocates for a tailored, strategic, and phased approach to pay transparency rather than a generic one-size-fits-all model.
“Don't wait to start thinking about, at least just start thinking about a compensation philosophy and really prioritize bringing your employees and your managers along on this journey. Don't, don't hide behind curtains.”
This closing advice powerfully stresses proactivity and transparency in compensation practices as a way to build a healthier organizational culture.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Companies lacking a compensation philosophy and job architecture often face challenges with inconsistent pay, overpaying/underpaying, and difficulties in retrofitting roles during growth.
- •Navigating complex international employment laws (e.g., constructive dismissal in Canada) becomes problematic without established job architecture and clear communication, risking legal issues and severance costs.
- •Executive and senior leader resistance to implementing pay transparency due to fears of employee discontent or increased salary demands, despite employees already discussing pay.
- •Employee distrust and perception of 'shady' practices when compensation details are hidden, potentially leading to disengagement and turnover.
- •Difficulty in providing clear career growth paths and setting employee expectations without a defined job architecture, leading to confusion and dissatisfaction.
In this episode
Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built by People
Sarika Leman is Vice President of People and Culture at Vidyard
built by people: Sarika Leman's journey
How do you approach compensation strategy within your organization
Employee Compensation: Building Trust and Engagement
You asked about pay transparency. Education is so critical in the context of pay transparency
Top Executives: Pay Transparency and Compensation
What are some of the key benefits and challenges in implementing a transparent pay structure
WSJDLive: Pay Transparency
Sarika, could you walk us through your process for building job architectures
Employee Experience: Building Job Architecture
Any parting advice that you'd like to share with our audience related to this topic
Beyond Pay Transparency: Arka On The Process
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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