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At Payscale, we get excited when we see real-world examples of pay transparency in job postings. One example that stands out comes from Alexis Ohanian Sr., founder of 776 and co-founder of Reddit, who shared a LinkedIn job opening for Head of Content & Communications.
As one of his followers noted, the post was truly original – absent of clichés and jargon. Notably gracious. Ohanian also included the $140,000 salary as part of “the deets” for the role.
Not everyone thought this salary was sufficient. “This salary is too low for this role. Bump it up,” a commenter posted in response.
For some founders, managers, HR leaders, CEOs, and recruiters, this comment might have made them want to run for the hills. But not Ohanian. He continued to embrace pay transparency and openly explained the background and process used to determine the salary for the role:
“Thanks for your thoughts here (conversations like this are one of the reasons why I personally LOVE being transparent about everything, including comp, in a job application). We think this compensation is fair for a few reasons:
1- we benchmark our compensation against other VCs with similar assets under management (AUM) and differentiate comp based on job function; this is where the data/comp landed based on our firms’ compensation philosophy
2- we are targeting a senior manager // mid-level IC for this role, someone with a ton of potential that can think strategically but isn’t afraid to do the heavy lifting – with that being said, we are open to meeting candidates with a wide range of experience and if someone’s should be leveled higher than our targeted level and compensation, and they are truly the right person for the job, we would make the adjustment to our targeted comp for that candidate and level up our expectations and
3- this person will be a team of one for the foreseeable future
4- also this role has a cash bonus with accelerators, making the total target cash higher than salary. This role also has carry, a great long-term incentive for employees that work at a VC firm.”
Ohanian received a reply from the person who originally had an issue with the salary.
“That makes much more sense, thanks for adding the detail,” she wrote.
Read Ohanian’s full LinkedIn post and the responses here.
Takeaways from Alex Ohanian’s compensation example
One key takeaway from this exchange is that top-performing companies and founders like Ohanian understand the role compensation plays in engaging employees and candidates.
Of course, getting to this level of compensation maturity and pay transparency takes time, effort, and consideration. But examples like this illustrate that it is possible.
The transparency Ohanian demonstrated is becoming increasingly important as more states and localities around the globe implement pay transparency legislation. At this pivotal point, it’s more important than ever that HR and business leaders understand not only the fundamentals of compensation management, but also how to communicate the reasoning behind their pay decisions.
More than sharing numbers
In Ohanian’s exchange, the salary itself sparked criticism, but the explanation changed the conversation. By sharing how the role was benchmarked, the experience level the company was targeting, and how additional compensation factored into the offer, he gave candidates the context they needed to better understand the decision.
As pay transparency laws expand and employees gain greater access to salary information, organizations are facing more questions about how compensation is determined and whether it’s fair.
And simply making pay information available doesn’t necessarily build trust.
According to Payscale’s 2026 Compensation Best Practices Report, 40% of organizations say misinformation or unverified data sources contribute to employees perceiving pay as unfair. Another 33% point to pay compression between newer and longer-tenured employees.
These findings highlight a growing challenge for compensation teams: Employees have more access to pay information than ever, but they don’t always have the context needed to interpret it.
For employers, that means transparency can’t stop at the job posting. It also requires consistent job leveling, reliable market data, clear pay practices, and managers who can explain why employees are paid what they are.
The goal isn’t to eliminate every question about compensation. It’s to ensure organizations have credible answers when those questions come up.
Eliminate arbitrary compensation decisions
Compensation issues can arise even in the most organized and people-oriented companies. Even the smallest inconsistency or conflict can affect employee enthusiasm and motivation across the entire organization. Some of the most pressing issues faced by HR leaders, founders, and CEOs are compensation-related.
As Ohanian’s response to the salary question shows, there are many factors to consider when it comes to compensation. Having a clear, consistent approach to pay helps organizations make decisions they can explain and defend, rather than relying on arbitrary judgments.
“A clear compensation strategy can eliminate arbitrary salary decisions and ensure employees are fairly compensated and valued. Additionally, a quarterly review of compensation can make sure there aren’t major discrepancies,” according to Forbes HR Council member Ray Ocon.
Ohanian’s example shows that candidates respond to context: how a role was benchmarked, where it sits in the structure, and what else makes up the total pay, and organizations that can explain their decisions this way can build more trust than those that simply publish a range.
To see how other organizations are handling employee perceptions of fairness, pay compression, and the data behind their decisions, check out Payscale’s 2026 Compensation Best Practices Report.
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