Proper way to ask for better compensation?

[MotF Bane]

You got a decent raise recently, and in this economy, sorry to say, I think you should sit quiet for a while. Your boss has shown he'll go to bat for you, so that's not the problem, don't bother him about it.

 

[Eli]

It sounds like upper management only wanted to give you 13.6% total for your new position but was trying to wait as long as possible to do it. Your boss did you a favor by getting it for you in July rather than February. If he hadn't pushed for you to get it earlier I would bet you wouldn't be seeing any more than you have now, and quite possible less because they may have not thrown in that extra 3% at the time of your review.

Again, if you got over 16% percent in one year when most other people have gotten nothing it's going to be much harder to argue for more. If you've got a good relationship with your boss you can go talk to him about it but I wouldn't demand anything because he's probably had to tell quite a few good workers that they aren't getting anything extra this year. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if you can't get more unless you have another offer in hand.

I understand this, and it is a good point. I must not be being clear, though.

The 13.6% raise was for the first promotion. Between the 13.6% and the 3% raise, I was promoted again. My responsibilities went through the roof. The place would crumble without me. They fired the person that had been in Shipping and Receiving for 7 years and put me in there because they thought I could do it better. For this, I get a 3% raise.

I am quite sure that I'm getting paid less than she was, even though I do more work and have more [computer] skills than she ever did.

I can't help but feel like a sucker.

I am not making very much money.. I don't want to sound greedy... This genuinely has me upset. I am trying to pay off debts, save for a downpayment on a house and make a life for myself in this town, and they are making it very difficult both to do this, and to want to stay with this company. I just wish it were easier to find another job, or it would be a no-brainer.

 

[wiredspider]

If the place would really crumble, tell them you are leaving because you can make XX elsewhere. I did this without actually having another job lined up and got a raise.

YMMV

 

[TruePaige]

What you could do is tell them the amount of responsibilities you have, how your skills outpace the person before you (make note of how that person made more as well!) and say that you could take a similar position for more but don't really want to leave the area.

That way you are not quitting but letting them know you very well may. Puts a bit of fear in the cost of finding someone comparable to you and the cost of errors and productivity slowdowns that may occur in your absence.

If they did by some chance decide to just get rid of you at least you'd get unemployment.

 

[Koing]

The issue is taking on new responsiblities / a role without a pay rise. This was your first issue for the 2nd promotion. DO NOT TAKE IT WITHOUT A PAY RISE. Then they either pay you more or find someone else to off load the work to. You have to be cut throat. Do not let the company f0ck you over.

At my last company when they gave me a pay rise it wasn't the same as a few of my peers. I was okay with it as I wasn't doing certain bits of work that they were. Thats fine with me. I do less tasks, pay me less. Then they had me do the same tasks after my lower pay rise. I showed them that I could do the same tasks for 4-6 weeks then I sent an email to my boss to ask for a meeting. Got talking about a pay review. The company was taking their sweet f0cking time on it, and I said f0ck this sh!t. Got on to recruiters and got another job +83% pay and much better benefits.

Bonuses are in 6 weeks and I'll ask for a pay review at my current company also. We'll see what I can get. Just ask for a pay review. You have been there xxx, you do this xxx, you have saved the company money xxx, I'm paid 20-25% under market rate. Your not greedy but you want a 'fair' market rate. See what they say. If t hey don't budge then your only option is to look for another job elsewhere. If you can't get a job elsewhere then the market is right and you are wrong. Tell them that you may be forced to look for a job elsewhere to be paid market rate.

Good luck and take it to The Man!

Koing

 

[alkemyst]

not sure where to go with this...being you are Shipping and Receiving that is going to be a lot of work...being you got both 10%+ recently and another 3% raise (which is very good in today's economy, I have had no adjustment for 3 years and many management have had 10-15% reductions + no bonus)...

Also you can't cry about the possibility of future work being pawned off on you...and in reality it's not really your Boss off-loading anyway. If your volume is down, then you have more time. Your time to do the work is less valuable than his to do other things.

If you feel you are under-compensated you better be willing to move to the job that will compensate you properly. I am thinking you are going to find yourself surprisingly adequately paid.

 

[dabuddha]

Tell them that hookers and blow don't pay for themselves.

 

[3chordcharlie]

You keep it to yourself, and be happy to be working.

And exactly how long should this attitude persist?

 

[Bignate603]

And exactly how long should this attitude persist?

Until you can find a better paying job elsewhere. If you can't walk out of your current job into a new one you've got no leverage and it's unlikely you're going to be able to argue for much more than what you're already getting.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Until you can find a better paying job elsewhere. If you can't walk out of your current job into a new one you've got no leverage and it's unlikely you're going to be able to argue for much more than what you're already getting.

Well yes, there's that answer, which is alright, I suppose.

It ignores ever being compensated for value that you bring which is specific to your current employer.

 

[Mike Gayner]

They fired the person that had been in Shipping and Receiving for 7 years and put me in there because they thought I could do it better.

I fixed that for j00. And they were right, apparently.

 

[alkemyst]

employers have stopped that practice more or less. Hence the whole asking for salary history that's out there now.

They don't want value, they want cheap labor.

 

[Mike Gayner]

FFS stupid mobile version not allowing me to edit my post. Quote should have read:

They fired the person that had been in Shipping and Receiving for 7 years and put me in there because they thought I could do it cheaper.

 

[BoberFett]

Nowadays, recession or otherwise, you get paid more for promotions or jumping companies. Keeping your same job and just accepting more work is a good way to get used by your company until you're burnt out.

So ask for a promotion or find a new company.

Edit: Your previous "promotions" weren't promotions. How many people report to you after the promotion? None? Then you weren't promoted.

 

[rasczak]

get another job lined up that's paying better than what you are getting currently, then give your boss the offer letter and ask for a raise. if they don't beat that, then just leave and take the new job. otherwise with this economy, i wouldn't expect much from them.

 

[Bignate603]

Well yes, there's that answer, which is alright, I suppose.

It ignores ever being compensated for value that you bring which is specific to your current employer.

The whole idea is that if you bring more value than you are being paid for you can find a better paying job. If you can't find one apparently your value isn't worth more than you're getting.

 

[Eli]

Nowadays, recession or otherwise, you get paid more for promotions or jumping companies. Keeping your same job and just accepting more work is a good way to get used by your company until you're burnt out.

So ask for a promotion or find a new company.

Edit: Your previous "promotions" weren't promotions. How many people report to you after the promotion? None? Then you weren't promoted.

??

How do you figure? Just because nobody reports to me means I wasn't promoted? Huh?

At the very least, I was promoted from Quality Control to Shipping and Receiving. The first "promotion" didn't have a title associated with it because it was new, yet it gave me a 13.6% pay increase.

 

[JMapleton]

If you live in an area with high unemployment, don't say a word, I would do what I'm told.

If you live in a very low unemployment area where you could easily find another job like I do, I would walk in there like they owed it to me.

This is what I would do, I'm not recommending you do it, but just my personal opinion.

 

[Paul Ma]

You really need an alternative job offer as a bargaining chip. Otherwise they can safely ignore you.

 

[Eli]

You really need an alternative job offer as a bargaining chip. Otherwise they can safely ignore you.

Not if I walk out!!!!!! muwhahahaha!!!

 

[3chordcharlie]

The whole idea is that if you bring more value than you are being paid for you can find a better paying job. If you can't find one apparently your value isn't worth more than you're getting.

That's not 'the whole idea' at all. It's part of the idea. You lack leverage if you cannot easily replace or improve your pay elsewhere. However, you also have a value to your place of employment which is not specifically related to 'what you could make elsewhere'.

You implicitly acknowledge this by suggesting that more money is available at a current job, if someone else is also offering.

This job-specific value is 'in play' for salary negotiations, but easier to push for if your not afraid to walk.

 

[RaistlinZ]

I sense epic failure coming if you don't even have another job offer to use as a bargaining chip.

Eli: "I want a raise."
Mgmt: "We already gave you two."
Eli: "I know, but I deserve more."
Mgmt: "Sorry, no."
Eli: "Then, I quit!"
Mgmt: "Um, ok. We'll hire one of these 50 applicants have here."

 

[Bignate603]

That's not 'the whole idea' at all. It's part of the idea. You lack leverage if you cannot easily replace or improve your pay elsewhere. However, you also have a value to your place of employment which is not specifically related to 'what you could make elsewhere'.

You implicitly acknowledge this by suggesting that more money is available at a current job, if someone else is also offering.

This job-specific value is 'in play' for salary negotiations, but easier to push for if your not afraid to walk.

If you're not willing to walk out why would they pay you more? If the job is good enough as is that can't find something better they have no reason to pay you more.

Also, your pay isn't necessarily tied to the value you bring, it's tied to how much it would cost to find somebody that would bring the same value. If there's plenty of people out there looking for work with the same set of skills that you have they aren't going to want to pay you that much.

 

[3chordcharlie]

If you're not willing to walk out why would they pay you more? If the job is good enough as is that can't find something better they have no reason to pay you more.

Also, your pay isn't necessarily tied to the value you bring, it's tied to how much it would cost to find somebody that would bring the same value. If there's plenty of people out there looking for work with the same set of skills that you have they aren't going to want to pay you that much.

Ok boss, just keep basing all your decisions on half the story You're severely over-simplifying in a number of ways.

For example: How much it would cost to replace you includes a lot more than the wage of your replacement.

 

[Eli]

I talked to my old boss about my concerns. The boss I was under before I was promoted to Shipping.

She feels my pain, and was pretty aghast when I told her how much I was making. She didn't get any raise at all, though her partner did. When she inquired about it, managements response was "You two make a lot of money.". How fucked up is that? It's really none of their business that they're living together and combine income.

Talking to her did make me feel a bit better, though. They axed some very important positions, and now a couple of our accounts are severely understaffed, and it's starting to show. They're way behind on some critical work, and people are both scrambling and have way too high a workload. Company morale is low, and people are getting burned out. Some things will change in the next few months, she's pretty sure.

After talking with her, it sounds like they're going to have to make some new positions. She is hoping that they will hire in-house first. Product Design needs people with computer skills, so I'm hopeful.

See, the thing is that.. when I first started here, I got the impression that the company was very employee oriented. That they cared about their employees. We were constantly having potlucks(and didn't have to clock out if eating at work), they would buy catering if we had a good month, we have Flex Shift(can stroll in anywhere between 8-9am), etc. Our Vice President of Global Operations, who started about 4mo before I did, is a bean counter. When I started in late '08, they were hoping for 30mil in '09. That didn't happen, and was actually 2mil short of their '08 number(28mil).

That's really the reason behind all of this. He's trying to maximize profits at the expense of employees. Apparently this guy used to work for QVC.. lol. I hope it bites him in the ass hard.

I'm still going to keep looking. She encouraged me, completely agreeing that I have to look out for myself. It still grinds my gears that I could literally be making the same amount at Starbucks(10$/hr+tips, averages out to about 13$/hr). And I would get free coffee to boot.