Submitted by jobsth on
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Hi,
I am a long time listener to the podcast, I am committed to put more of your recommendations to practise (ooo work pretty well already, feedback is coming along, delegation a must).
One question I would like to ask:
One of my directs has asked for a raise. He is a good performer and contributes well to achieving the goals of my organisation, so I am not opposed to supporting him.
I have asked him to take on some additional responsibility PRIOR to my giving him the raise, since I would like to see how he handles the additional workload and complexity. This will also help me in the discussion with HR regarding the raise.
He has now declined that and suggested he would like to get the raise prior to him taking on new responsibility.
With a couple of days deliberation, I have come to a fairly clear conclusion, but I would like to hear how would you handle this situation?
Many thanks for your help and keep up the good work - this goes to the MT team and all the managers out there aiming to become more effective every day!
Performance always precedes the raise
If your organization is anything like mine, you have to provide supporting information when recommending someone for a raise or promotion. When a direct asks for a raise, tell them how excited you are that they're interested in moving up in the company, and what they can do to give you the justification you need to recommend it. Then they either follow the plan or they don't. If they don't want to do it, someone else certainly will.
I'm sure this direct frames the discussion very well and gives supporting info that new responsibilities should come at the same time, or after, a pay increase is given. However, he/she is sadly mistaken.
I also recommend implementing quarterly reviews along with the rest of the manager tools ideas, because during each of these quarterly meetings you can give the direct a clear picture of where they stand, and a detailed plan for how to increase in position and pay grade. Then they have 3 more months to follow that path and earn the promotion. With a plan or process in place like this, you can silently discourage the idea of the raise preceding performance. Another benefit of this style is that they should always be perfectly clear on what they can be doing to move up, so they should never need to approach you about it. If they do, you can simply remind them of what you discussed in the last quarterly review and see where they are in that plan.
Nope
In my org, you perform, you get the raise. It doesn't go the other way, EXCEPT in cases where you compete for & are given a promotion. Just because I give a direct more to do does not give them an automatic raise. I generally point out if challenged, that in the course of a year, as the manager, I took on 2 more directs and 3 significant projects without any increase in my pay. If I perform well at the new level, I expect to be compensated at the annual salary review, given organizational constraints/realities.
As I didn't change titles, location, or offices, the org doesn't recognize my increased workload with additional wages.
Having said all that, if I substantially changed my direct's job - that is, gave them the promotion without the title, I might push for the pay that comes along with it. But, I'd still want to see 3 months of results first. (We have a precedent of hire at one rate, after probation, you get a raise)