How do we show the salary? A Q&A with Laura Lefeuvre of AEG Europe

As a founding partner of the We Show the Salary campaign, AEG Europe include salary details on every job ad and encourages other employers to follow suit. We spoke with Laura Lefeuvre, Head of Recruitment, to learn more about their commitment to salary transparency in recruitment.

Why is being transparent about salaries on job ads important to AEG Europe?

Salary transparency is one of the key features of our Diverse Recruitment Charter which we launched in 2021. We wanted to make sure our recruitment process was fair, inclusive and built trust with candidates externally and employees internally.

Publishing salary bands is about being honest and open with candidates, removes hidden barriers for applicants, reduces the advantage that experienced negotiators have over people who are less confident or who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, and shows that AEG value pay equity.

What approach do you take to showing salary info, and why does this approach work well for you?

We have created salary bands for all of our roles at AEG (these are externally benchmarked by an external organisation). We ensure the bands are visible on job adverts. Pairing salary bands with anonymised applications and structured selection processes (diverse interview panels and consistent assessment criteria) means we not only attract the right applicants but also reduce bias during shortlisting and interviewing.

Publishing salary bands is about being honest and open with candidates, removes hidden barriers for applicants, reduces the advantage that experienced negotiators have over people who are less confident or who come from disadvantaged backgrounds

This combination works because it sets honest expectations up front, reduces wasted applications from people whose pay expectations don’t match the role, and makes conversations about progression and pay more constructive later.

How does showing salary info on job ads help widen access to careers and support diversity across your sector?

Showing salary bands on our adverts, both internally and externally, has increased the number of women we have hired across the board since 2021. When salary bands are visible candidates from underrepresented groups can assess roles fairly and apply without fear of being unintentionally undersold or screened out early. We are currently the only entertainment provider who have signed up to We Show the Salary – we are paving the way for other organisations in our sector to join us and start being more transparent.

Has showing salaries on job ads had an impact on the organisational culture at AEG Europe?

Introducing salary ranges on our job ads has had a positive impact on our organisational culture. It’s encouraged more open and constructive conversations about pay and progression, helping to remove ambiguity and build trust across teams. By being transparent about compensation from the outset, we’ve reinforced our commitment to openness, fairness, and inclusion – principles that sit at the heart of AEG Europe’s culture.

Introducing salary ranges on our job ads has had a positive impact on our organisational culture. It’s encouraged more open and constructive conversations about pay and progression, helping to remove ambiguity and build trust across teams.

And how about the recruitment process – what impact does it have on your recruitment team and on people who apply for a role at AEG Europe?

For applicants: clearer expectations from the outset mean fewer mismatched applications, quicker decision-making on whether a role is right for them, and a better candidate experience. For me as Head of Recruitment: transparency speeds up screening, reduces time spent negotiating, and improves quality of shortlists because applicants who apply are more likely to be aligned to the role and band. For any applicant who says they are looking for something higher than the top of the salary band, we remind them of the banding before progressing their application further. Some do withdraw at that point but then it saves us wasting each other’s time later in the process.

What advice would you give to employers who aren’t yet showing salary info on their job ads?

Look at creating job families (eg IT, Legal, Finance, Marketing) where you group similar roles together. Then audit existing pay across the business so publishing bands doesn’t create surprises — fix clear inequities and document how you’ll manage progression and pay reviews.

Transparency speeds up screening, reduces time spent negotiating, and improves quality of shortlists because applicants who apply are more likely to be aligned to the role and band.

Get an external organisation to assist with benchmarking externally against similar organisations/sectors and use that salary data and your organisations to create salary bands for the roles within each job family. Creating salary bands rather than precise salaries give flexibility while being transparent.

Ensure you are using structured job descriptions, structured and consistent interviews/assessments, and diverse interview panels so that transparency actually reduces bias in hiring decisions.

Salary transparency is a culture change: get senior leadership, HR, finance and hiring managers aligned. At AEG our President and CEO backed advertising salary bands when we first discussed our Diverse Recruitment Charter with him. Getting senior buy in is crucial.

Track application quality, diversity metrics, and candidate feedback before and after introducing salary bands. Use this data to tweak any parts of the process that aren’t giving your organisation their desired outcomes.