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You’re taking a lot of flak for this so I’ll try and back you up a bit. Not all workers are equivalent, and not all roles that seem the same even in the same t
by simonh 5y ago
You’re taking a lot of flak for this so I’ll try and back you up a bit.
Not all workers are equivalent, and not all roles that seem the same even in the same team, actually are. Let’s say we have a team of 10 people, each with slightly different experience and skills. One of them finds another job with higher pay and asks for it to be matched. What do you do?
It’s quite possible this other role actually matches their skills better than the one with you does. Maybe they are actually worth more to this other company than they are to you. Maybe they had other reasons for looking for a job aside from pay, maybe they’re tired of the job or want a fresh challenge. Maybe it’s a combination of all sorts of factors. Pay is only one.
If you do increase their salary, what about the rest of the team, do you pay them more too? Do they all have the attributes this other company valued in the person they made the offer to? Would they have all got the same offer? Probably not, but now you’ve upped the going rate for a member of your team. They will want the same.
It’s just a really messy situation to get into. If staff retention and recruitment is a problem or you don’t want it to become a problem then sure, of course you should make sure your compensation rates are fair. Of course under paying your team will cause problems. But one person getting one job offer doesn’t necessarily mean anything, except for them.
- morgante 5y agoYou're starting from the false assumption that everyone on the team is paid the same. It's not like everyone performs at the same level or gets the same pay in almost any team I've seen. If someone gets a job offer, you should consider it a new data point. Some teams don't aim to retain top talent and if that's the case absolutely encourage them to move on. But if you want a high-performing team, you need to pay top of market and a job offer is new signal about the market price. > Probably not, but now you’ve upped the going rate for a member of your team. They will want the same. I have never once wanted to be paid the same as everyone on my team. Some people are more experienced than me and should be paid more. Others are less skilled and should be paid less.
- simonh 5y ago> You're starting from the false assumption that everyone on the team is paid the same. It doesn’t matter. Even if they are different, one person getting a raise changes the relative dynamic. Maybe I was being paid more than this team member and now we’re the same, and maybe I still think I’m worth more. It elevates the basis of comparison. Also, to expand on my post, it creates the impression in the team that the way to get a raise is to get a competing offer. It says that person was being under paid. Maybe that means you are too? It’s just bad all round.