Data about average salaries at a company, combined with data about average salaries at similar companies, is a huge and underutilized opportunity for any organization.

And not because one has to match or surpass the others, ensuring that they offer the top rates in the market. Quite the opposite, in fact. It is an opportunity because it gives the company the chance to start a conversation about an important piece of their culture and identity, and about how that compares with the rest of the market.

Money is but one motivator for most people, and not even the most relevant in many cases. Offering lower salaries and more of the rest can be a powerful statement and a winning strategy when done intentionally.

The alternative is what already happens in most cases: money as the main leverage in individual, secretive, transactional negotiations that leave each employee with the conviction that they can leave as soon as somebody will pay them more.

It is wasted potential.