{"id":38936,"date":"2023-10-20T14:59:48","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:59:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/why-this-startup-lets-its-employees-choose-their-own-pay-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T14:59:48","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:59:48","slug":"why-this-startup-lets-its-employees-choose-their-own-pay-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/why-this-startup-lets-its-employees-choose-their-own-pay-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Why this startup lets its employees choose their own pay – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"AbilityMate<\/div>\n

A social enterprise startup has taken pay transparency to the next level by allowing its workers to nominate what their salary should be – and letting everyone in the business know what each other is paid.<\/p>\n

AbilityMate is a purpose-driven social enterprise that began 18 months ago, creating customised assistive devices for and with people with disabilities.<\/p>\n

Currently, the startup is developing ankle and foot orthotics and is researching how to begin 3D printing the devices.<\/p>\n

Co-founder Melissa Fuller told SmartCompany<\/em>\u00a0the decision to provide pay transparency stemmed from her previous experiences in larger organisations where there was \u201ca lot of secrecy\u201d around wages.<\/p>\n

In one instance, Fuller recalls how a female colleague \u201cwent on a mission to seek out what her colleague with the same job description was being paid\u201d and after finding out this person was paid more than her, decided to share the information with others.<\/p>\n

The incident caused \u201cmajor disturbances\u201d within the company, says Fuller, and resulted in this woman breaching the \u201cgag clause\u201d in the company\u2019s employment contracts, and ultimately losing her job.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe went about it in an indirect way, never spoke to her manager or executives first,\u201d Fuller says.<\/div>\n

The experience has stayed with Fuller and she says when establishing AbilityMate, the goal was to \u201cavoid inequality within our organisation\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause we are purpose-driven, we didn\u2019t want anything that could get in the way of our ambitions,\u201d Fuller says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s better if it\u2019s out there in the open.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fuller\u2019s enterprise has six employees alongside three interns, and all workers are either contracted or employed.<\/p>\n

Roles vary from communications and marketing to production and fabrication.<\/p>\n

Fuller says AbilityMate has a \u201csmall and nimble team\u201d and in true startup fashion, each employee has a part time job outside of the business as well. The employees are paid pro rata for the days of the week they work.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The process<\/h3>\n

Fuller and her co-founder Yohan du Plessis first had a discussion about their own pay levels before approaching each of the employees.<\/p>\n

But the process involves more than just a conversation with the two founders, as the employees are required to seek advice from an expert, along with their co-workers, about what an appropriate salary would be.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe asked each of them what they think they should be paid and told them to go off and have a think about it,” she says.<\/p>\n

“They\u2019re also required to get advice from a relevant expert in the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen they talk to the team about what they think about the suggested amount.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fuller says the process went smoothly and there was no \u201cback and forth\u201d with employees.<\/p>\n

While some people may expect employees would suggest an exorbitant amount given the chance, Fuller says they experienced the opposite.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of our workers \u2026 actually went in quite low and significantly devalued herself,\u201d Fuller says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth the team and the expert suggested reconsidering the amount, as we thought she\u2019d feel undervalued.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was surprised to get a lower than expected offer, we really didn\u2019t think that would happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fuller says that after having the initial conversation with the employees, none of them felt they had to come in with a high offer, saying each came in at an \u201chonest level\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t want to come in with a really high suggestion, as the whole team knows how much each of them is being paid,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re being paid $200,000 a year, then there\u2019s a huge expectation on the amount and quality of your work, and the whole company knows it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suited to SMEs and startups<\/h3>\n

Fuller admits as the company grows, the founders will have to put in new processes to prevent overly high estimations.<\/p>\n

The company is hoping to scale up the system as they grow, perhaps with the help of a mobile application.<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently everyone\u2019s pay is on a spreadsheet,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Fuller recommends other smaller businesses and organisations adopt total pay transparency, particularly if they are not-for-profit and purpose-driven startups.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would recommend it to any business that\u2019s starting up, or smaller teams within larger organisations,” says Fuller.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s so helpful for purpose-driven startups, as you want to remove any barriers for individuals creating change.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a great experience so far, and a positive democratic process.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Fuller notes may not work for all businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not going to work for everyone, it\u2019d be really hard for a big corporate company, it would turn into World War III,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

This article was originally published on Smart Company<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em>\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0and iTunes<\/a>. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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