At Whole Foods Market, all employees, managers, and executives know what everyone else’s pay is at the company, including hourly wages earned, salaries, and bonuses. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods keeps its employees as informed as possible, even when it comes to pay. The open compensation policy is designed to both encourage conversations about salary among staff members and to promote competition within the company. Whole Foods co-CEO John Mackey introduced the policy in 1986, just six years after he co-founded the company; the policy is part of the company’s culture.

Whole Foods believes that when employees understand why some people are paid more than others, when workers understood what types of performance and achievement earned certain people more money, folks are more motivated and successful. John Mackey says: “I’m challenged on salaries all the time. How come you are paying this regional president this much, and I’m only making this much?’ I have to say, ‘because that person is more valuable. If you accomplish what this person has accomplished, I’ll pay you that, too.'”

Whole Foods’ policy is for all its managers to post their store’s sales data each day and regional sales data each week. The company believes that a culture of shared information helps create a sense of a “shared fate” among employees. Mackey says: “If you’re trying to create a high-trust organization, an organization where people are all-for-one and one-for-all, you can’t have secrets.” The bottom line for Whole Foods is that its workforce has high-level access to the company’s financial data, and therefore a greater stake in the business, and this culture has resulted in outstanding customer service and a highly-motivated workforce.