Traditional British reticence has been fighting a losing battle with American candidness for decades, but encouraging us to openly reveal our salaries is surely a step too far.

A flurry of press coverage last week suggested that the great British art of salary back chat, envy and speculation is about to be put to an end with the UK launch of an American website that allows users to go online and view the salary details of thousands of employees.

In fact, glassdoor.com relies on anonymity and a quid pro quo; you have to put your salary details on first, in a faceless ‘I’ll show you mine’ kind of way. The site is arranged by company and job title, allowing users to gauge how much people at a similar level are earning in their own firm and at rival companies. Since its launch in the states two months ago, it has proved very popular, with more than 50,000 company reviews and salary reports already online, so it will be interesting to see if it has a similar impact here.

Before you start fretting about a mob of disgruntled employees beating down your door, it’s worth noting that the site is currently aimed squarely at the employees of blue chips, so it’s unlikely to be of direct relevance to your firm. For the more angst prone among you, its probably just as well; there’s also a ‘rate your CEO’ function and an opportunity for employees to review their company.

Here’s an entertaining look behind the scenes at Google from a disgruntled employee: “Google pushes a highly ‘googley’ atmosphere, which is something akin to what the Brady Bunch would be like if they lived in communist Russia. Everything from the carpet to the bathroom tiles incorporate the Google colors into its design. People are encouraged to have googley attitudes, wear plastic smiles, and not to question the infallible nature of the executive management group.”

Diverting, yes. Groundbreaking? Hardly. However, following the Equality Bill White Paper that outlined measures to ban gagging clauses that prevent employees from discussing their salaries with each other, the site’s migration to the UK does represent another step towards wage transparency. In this context, it’s interesting to imagine how it would work for growth firms - or rather, how it wouldn’t. "People don't talk enough about how they can be more valuable. This should help them. Knowledge is power," said Robert Hohman, chief executive of the website. Fair enough, but if a fast growth entrepreneurial firm is doing what it should be, it will probably be impossible for employees to compare like for like with a similar position at a rival firm. Because no similar position will exist.

Smaller companies won’t be able to compete with the big boys on salary alone, but when they’re growing quickly, they can offer something unique to their employees. Unlike their corporate counterparts, your employees should see the impact of their work in a tangible way, have wider roles and responsibilities and might even get a greater share of the spoils if the firm goes on to greater things. That’s not to say that entrepreneurs have an excuse not to pay fairly, but they’re probably already working hard to ensure that key staff are engaged by more than their pay cheque.

© Crimson Business Ltd. 2008