But, I Need A Raise!

We've all seen the comic strip cartoon where an employee gets themselves pumped up to ask the boss for a raise.  It's often good humor, and always at the expense of the bumbling employee.  They always seem to get it wrong, and we the reader have a good chuckle as the payoff.

But how often do we look at that same scenario from the manager's perspective?  Not much humor there, I'm afraid.  An awkward conversation with an employee rarely is.

In reality most companies of any size have a regularly scheduled performance review for their employees, where past performance would be assessed and a likely pay increase granted.  Usually the two are connected.

When an employee request for a pay raise comes between the review cycles, a common response is to tell the employee to wait until the scheduled review. That's why a review is scheduled in the first place, to make sure an assessment of performance and pay does take place for all the employees.  Everyone gets treated the same.  If that wasn't happening, everyone would be asking for the same special consideration and the company's annual review cycle would be thrown out the window.

So much for the easy part.  However, the greater challenge is when such an off-cycle request comes in the form of a disgruntled employee who feels that they are being short-changed in some way, taken for granted or otherwise being (in their minds) grossly underpaid.

Handling the angry employee

In this case telling them to wait won't do; you have to deal with the emotion of anger, as well as the growing cynicism that the company has been talking advantage of them, for pay purposes, for some time.

And you can be certain other employees will have their eyes and ears out for what is happening - and the respect you show for the employee.

While each conversation with an employee can be a unique experience for both parties, consider several pointers that might help you and the unhappy worker.

• Remind the employee that there is a process.  Always start with the reminder that the company does review performance and pay levels, that there is a process.  No one is being forgotten.

• Get them to talk about their qualifications.  You still need to let the employee have their say, but try to steer the conversation toward the employee's own capabilities, background and experience. 

• Do not address emotional issues like need.  That's a slippery slope that pulls the conversation away from business and into the grey area of personalities, home life and pressures from outside the work environment.

• Keep the conversation about the employee, no one else.  While you're willing to discuss how the employee facing you is being treated, you should not open the conversation as to how other employees are being treated.  There are too many variables at play here, but perhaps most important is that it isn't any of the employee's business - as long as they themselves are treated correctly.

• Show an open mind.  Never give the impression that you're only going through the motions, offering only a "courtesy" meeting.  You need to genuinely listen, ask questions and show the employee that you're prepared to listen and consider.

• Don't get defensive.  Avoid being trapped into defending the company's pay programs against the employee's "research" into market pay.   Company pay programs are typically developed by professionals (again, in companies of any size), and it's likely that the employees is using biased and simplistic figures.

• Don't get into an argument.  No one wins here, but you'll likely lose more because the court of employee opinion likely gave you one or two stikers before you came to bat.

• Don't make promises, especially if you're not authorized.  And don't use throw away phrases like "I'll look into it" or "let me talk to HR", unless you mean it.  Unless you are actually going to take up the employee's issues and run with it.  Because that will obligate you to report back to the employee, thus initiating another awkward conversation.

At the end of the day, your prime goal should be to come away from the discussion where the employee has had an opportunity to have their say, you've had an opportunity to listen without pre-judgment and the points raised by both parties can be further considered.  It doesn't mean that you have to agree, but that effective communications has taken place.  Meanwhile the employee should come away with a better understanding of the company's pay programs, where they stand and how they can improve themselves.

Note:  if perchance the employee has a point, and can make a case for improper treatment, don't be a stickler for the "rules" but immediately raise the matter with higher ups and those in a position to further review and institute changes.

Chuck Csizmar CCP is founder and Principal of CMC Compensation Group, providing global compensation consulting services to a wide variety of industries and non-profit organizations.  He is also associated with several HR Consulting firms as a contributing consultant.  With over 30 years Rewards experience Chuck is a broad based subject matter expert with a specialty in international and expatriate compensation.  He lives in Central Florida (near The Mouse) and enjoys growing fruit and managing (?) a brood of cats. 

Thanks to Compensation Café
http://www.compensationcafe.com/2011/06/but-i-need-a-raise.html