The New Dictionary of Hiring

Sameness Tax

/SAYM-NUHS TAKS/

NOUN

The Sameness Tax is the extra cost of recruiting when candidates can't see a meaningful difference between you and other employers.

MEANING

“Make an impact.” “Grow your career.” “Do meaningful work.” When every company says the same thing, those promises are no help at all.

‍

Candidates turn to what they can compare: salary, title, location and convenience. Those are expensive battlegrounds. The Sameness Tax is what you pay for failing to give people another meaningful basis for choosing you.

Defined by:
James Ellis,
Employer Brand Labs

Category:

Economics

Related Terms:

→

Employer Sameness

→

Employer Distinctiveness

→

Indifference Tax

→

Compensation Substitution

The New Dictionary of Hiring card: Sameness Tax, noun. The extra cost of recruiting when candidates can't see a meaningful difference between you and other employers. Abstract iridescent glass shape on a white background.

MAKE THE CHANGE

Instead of:

Treating generic employer messaging as merely boring.

Ask:

What are we paying because candidates can't see a meaningful difference?

EXAMPLE

Five competitors promise growth, impact and a great culture. A candidate sees no meaningful difference, so they compare salaries and commute times. The employer has helped turn its own job into a commodity.

HOW TO USE IT

Put your messaging beside the employers that compete for the same people. If the claims are interchangeable, find specific, believable differences that matter to the talent you need.

SAY IT TO LEADERSHIP

When candidates can't tell our opportunity apart, they choose on the things they can compare. Most of those things cost us money. We should stop making price our only argument.

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH

Employer Sameness: Employer Sameness is the condition; the Sameness Tax is what it costs. The Indifference Tax is broader: the total cost of not being preferred, for any reason.