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      08-16-2018, 03:45 PM   #86
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Quote:
Originally Posted by atmosphericM View Post
I'm curious, then. How do you feel one should come to you in order to convince you they deserve more for what they're doing (yes, that situation exists!). Others here have shot down the salary data approach, and you're shooting down the harder approach. I'm curious how you would do it.
Both are bad approaches, in my opinion and experience. Salary data is always backward looking: Mercer, for example, can’t really even give us 2017 data yet. But the market for some jobs is moving fast, so I talk to my peers (if you haven’t started developing a network, get on that), and look at our recent hires and those who have left for other jobs and reported their new comp. Just trying to get as current, and complete data as I can. What you bring in from Salary.com or other sites is going to be dated and likely inferior to what I already have. So, as others have already commented, a manager is likely to discount or dismiss it.

What I respond to and respect is an employee who keeps me informed on what s/he is working on, thus building a frequency of communication and trust (I meet weekly with each of my direct reports to give them this opportunity - the time is theirs to decide how best to use it). From that base, the best approach is to ask what I’m working on, or worrying about, or has me concerned about the company or department. Then they offer to help solve the problem(s), almost like an interview. “Well, I’ve been working on these things for you already and maybe if we tried A, B or C it might help”. “Could I jump in on that and maybe dig up some research or talk to other companies to see what they’ve done...”. This will show me that you can think beyond your current job duties (however broadened they may already be) and that you are interested in the company’s future and success, not just your paycheck. Then it is an easy step to talk title and salary. TL,DR: Keep it all about the employer’s needs and not your own.

In my case, if you do as I just described, I’ll get to your salary before you ask. I try to be proactive about that with my employees - they are all excellent performers who work hard and go beyond normal expectations (I never expect long hours or weekend work). I reward them at every opportunity both financially and with positive comments, etc. Since I have the salary data, I can easily determine what you are now worth with your added responsibilities, and I know what it costs to hire and train a replacement for your tasks (but you’ve become so much more than a task fulfilled to me). So it is rare that my direct reports get out of sync to the extent you are.

Funny thing is, in my observation the more toxic the work environment, the more you have to pay to retain employees. My employees might be fine with lower pay, but I’m not taking that risk.

You wrote quite a bit about managers, work, etc. I applaud your efforts to figure this crazy work world out and make some sense of it. My advice would be to frame your statements as hypotheses and continue to test them. Some may be false, some may be specific to your situation/company, others may be generally or widely true.

You sound as if you have already given up on your current employer. If so, then what is holding you back likely is fear. Pretend you just got fired and get off your ass and go get a better job! But don’t burn bridges, networks have a surprising way of showing up to help at just the right moment.
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