Employee asking for a 3 dollar raise
idougs
1 Post
I hired a secretary to do run my office. When she got her feet on the ground she did not have the skills I was paying her for. She is a really hard and dedicated worked so I paid to have her trained on the job. One year later she askes for a 3 dollar raise. Business just picked up after a dismall 08 and I have not drawn a pay check for 6 months. I am insulted by her asking for so much but I do value her. The average wage for her duties is around 12-14 dollars an hour. We pay her 14 now. How do I communicate to her that she is asking to be paid more for what I paid to treach her and that I think she is just now earning her wage? I have no problem with a annual raise but she is out of line for asking for so much.
I would like to explain to her that times are very tough and I can replace her for less money, but do it ia non demeaning way.
Comments
The first thing I would do is decouple all my personal feelings from an employment situation that is, on the face of it, about money, not feelings. This is one of the many reasons why employers do not like to pay for general training (training that can be used at other places of employment): she could leave for a $0.25 raise somewhere else and take whatever specific knowledge she has with her.
The second thing I'd do is really make sure I understood exactly what it is that she does and think about exactly what people pay to have that done. Don't look at the job title. Look at the set of duties. Does it even mesh well with a common job title that can easily be replaced? How good are her communication skills compared to what you think you can get for the same cost? Getting someone who knows how to use a fax but is drab on the phone and writes like a 5 year old usually isn't an upgrade.
When I had those facts lined up, with knowledge and preparation on my side, I'd either give her some sort of raise or have a conversation with her about which of her KSAs are desirable and compensable and what the market is paying for that. I wouldn't say "I could replace you for X" but I would say, "Look, here are the things that you do for the Company..." (Don't say "...do for me...") "This is what my research shows people who do those things get paid..." You're at the top of the range. I value you, but I can't give you over a 20% raise for the exact same job duties when your pay is already quite good.
Be prepared for the possibility of learning about things she does that you aren't aware of.
Think about ways that you can offer that will allow her to hit her target compensation.