Attitudes Surrounding Pay Are Shifting; How Franchisors and Franchisees Can Adjust Accordingly

LinkedIn has published the results of a survey of over 23,000 LinkedIn users conducted earlier this summer. Thoughts on pay and pay transparency continue to shift.

According to the data, there is a noticeable split between women's and men's perceptions regarding their pay and how this compensation data can be used. On average, 49% of people agree that they feel well compensated for their work. However, among men, this number sits at 52%, and only 47% of women share the sentiment.

Just 39% of men report feeling anxious about sharing pay information, while 43% of women do. On the other hand, 53% of women feel that sharing their pay information will lead to better equality in pay. Among men, this number is only 42%.

LinkedIn Senior Editor George Anders wrote, “The common factor in all these surveys: people in greater positions of authority are more comfortable with opaque approaches to pay. By contrast, people with less clout hope that pay transparency could improve their lot.”

While there are many factors at play, Anders seems clear that pay transparency is increasingly popular among younger generations and employees who view themselves as lower on the ladder. With this in mind, as franchisors look to the future and continued growth of their concepts, pay is certainly something that should be addressed.

Though franchisees must meet legal minimum wage requirements, they often have substantial freedom in setting wages. Employees of franchisees are already further down in the hierarchy compared to the individual franchisee, not to mention the entire franchisor’s corporate team. If this isn’t enough, many franchisees will soon be hiring younger generations, even if that is for no reason other than who is available to work.

Suppose franchisors will not mandate pay rates for each franchisee to follow. In that case, franchisees must recognize that compensation will be a critical factor in their business success and devote the time and thought necessary to establish adequate pay practices. Employees are becoming less and less shy about discussing wages and more confident in the power of these conversations to shed light and shift compensation practices. 

For franchise owners who are not willing or able to handle all of their business’s needs personally, a healthy pay structure and company culture surrounding compensation are critical.