Transparent hiring: a fairer, more competitive approach

At the start of my recruitment career, transparency wasn’t a hot topic. Now, it’s one of the main reasons people apply for a role. As part of the Talent Acquisition team at Octopus Deploy, I’ve seen how being open about compensation, interview processes, and company values changes the experience for candidates and our hiring teams.

It’s no longer a nice-to-have; people expect transparency.

What’s driving the shift

Over the past few years, I’ve noticed a growing appetite for honesty and clarity, particularly for early-career job seekers. Adobe’s 2023 Future Workforce Study backs this up, with 85% of new graduates saying they’re less likely to apply for a role if the salary range isn’t listed. Several candidates have told me they applied for jobs because they saw a salary range listed and appreciated the transparency in our public Handbook.

Part of a much broader cultural shift, people are looking for more than just a job title, which has only accelerated in a post-pandemic world. They want to understand who they’re working for, how they work, and whether their values are shared. This has pushed employers to adapt their hiring strategies.

How we approach transparency at Octopus

At Octopus Deploy, we remove the guesswork early on. We’ve found that when people have more information up front, the process is smoother, expectations are clearer, and trust is easier to build.

Here’s what that looks like:

• We include salary bands in our job ads
• Candidates can access our public handbook, which outlines how we work
• We share an overview of the interview process so they know what to expect
• We answer questions openly and authentically

This approach establishes alignment early and saves time for hiring managers by preventing awkward surprises later in the process.

A deeper dive

In addition to what I’ve outlined above, we continue to raise the bar in our approach to compensation clarity and inclusive hiring practices.

Compensation, often a taboo subject, is vital to Octopus Deploy’s overall picture of transparency, fairness, and equity. We address this through our compensation philosophy and an internal website, Octo-comp, where all Octonauts can access the salary tables for each job family. Our career maps provide clear expectations, enabling more productive conversations around performance and career progression.

Beyond compensation transparency, we strive to build diverse candidate pipelines and reduce bias in our hiring processes. A genuine effort is made to:

• Assemble diverse interview panels
• Create interview processes to suit all populations
• Look for how someone ‘adds’ instead of ‘fits’ our culture
• Building an inclusive culture so diverse Octonauts can thrive

Is it worth it?

It took time and effort to create our Handbook and adapt our hiring processes to the current state. However, the return on investment has been excellent, as we continue to attract exceptional candidates and have had over 90% of our offers accepted. Considering the time it takes to get one candidate to the offer stage, every offer accepted has a significant impact.

A final thought

In a market where top candidates have more choice than ever, transparency isn’t just a competitive edge; it’s becoming a baseline expectation.

Continue the conversation

How do you practice transparent recruitment, and have you seen a shift in what candidates expect?

If you’re curious about how we do things at Octopus Deploy, check out our Careers page to see our current opportunities and learn more.

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