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Salary report from placement agency says i am being underpaid!!
Dr. Frenchenstein
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So i got a report from robert half recently that shows positions in my industry and the national average of salary. i actually recognized it from my boss showing it to me when we posted the position for my employee, so she and the management team have definitely seen it. Suffice to say, the range for my position is a good bit above what i am making. obviously, i'd like to be making that. Reviews are coming up in a few months, and apparently everyone knows and has been complaining that our salary ranges are getting less and less competitive.
What's the best way to bring this up to my boss? on one hand, it's not like one report from a temp agency is indisputable evidence that the company doesn't pay enough. On the other, even though i was promoted recently (albeit, not with a huge pay bump) and am definitely not in a position to write my own ticket at this point, i am a pretty vital member of the team, and she is constantly checking on me to make sure i'm doing ok and happy. i tend to get left out on an island a lot because she has a lot of other stuff to oversee, and i'm pretty self sufficient. while it can be annoying not to get much "attention" i do like the autonomy it affords me.
What's the best way to bring this up to my boss? on one hand, it's not like one report from a temp agency is indisputable evidence that the company doesn't pay enough. On the other, even though i was promoted recently (albeit, not with a huge pay bump) and am definitely not in a position to write my own ticket at this point, i am a pretty vital member of the team, and she is constantly checking on me to make sure i'm doing ok and happy. i tend to get left out on an island a lot because she has a lot of other stuff to oversee, and i'm pretty self sufficient. while it can be annoying not to get much "attention" i do like the autonomy it affords me.
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You can frame it like in the view that if someone jumps ship, they'd have to bring their salary up to par to get a good candidate in the door anyways, why run the risk of a bad fit or having to train someone when you've got the people here already?
There's no easy way to broach salary at a job, especially when you're asking for 10%+ raise over what you make.
Also robert-half-your-paycheck sends that shit out so you get in the door with them, I'd knock a good 5% off those numbers.
You go to your boss with the report plus your recent accomplishments and tell them what you expect your salary to be, same as all times asking for a raise.
And then they don't give it to you.
And then you decide whether you want to go to another company to get it.
"Every few years I try to sit down and think about where I am and where I'm going from a professional sense. In the course of my research I've found that my current comp is below industry for my title and experience. I feel like I've been a strong member of the team for x and y reasons and I think my salary should reflect that."
Then see what they say. If they're not going to raise you, leave.
Maybe after i get this certification, i'll have a meeting with my boss about this.
I use reviews to ask questions about how the company is doing, are we growing revenue, are we projected to grow it, are we making investments, upgrading, bringing in new hires? I want to know if we're bringing in money and if we're spending it, and then I want them to know I'd be happier if they were spending more of that money on me to bring me closer to market comp.
If the report includes things like estimated benefits, 401k match, that kind of thing without line item-ing it, it can be eye-popping compared to your post-tax, post all your other deduction actual paycheck. They're counting on that sticker shock to get you to look at their offers for head hunting/placement/temping.
Not that you're probably not underpaid. Basically everyone who isn't hourly is underpaid in these united states
I host a podcast about movies.
This comes up with my employees at least once a year as we work for a global company. Some of my employees think they should be making what a counterpart in a major metropolitan area should be making - with no accounting for cost of living, etc.
The reality might be that your job is where it is because of what the local COL is.
Do it now. Give him the chance to sell it to upper management along with your cert, as it gives them a way to give you a raise without having to re-examine everyone. Raise conversations are always easier for both parties if you can tie it to tangible milestones, as then if you don't achieve them, you both know the score.
Also, it says specifically at the beginning of the report that their number is salary only, and doesn't include benefits/bonus/etc. that's what made it catch my eye, tbh.
What will sound perfectly reasonable to an IT company in Texas with 500 employees might get you tossed out the door of a law firm in Maryland and vice versa, and the least part of the equation is definitely not whether the person in charge of making that decision is having a terrible day.
Just know that a lot of this advice may need to be adjusted to reflect your exact circumstances.
According to BLS for my area of the country the median is $22.57 and I am in the bottom 20%. I was than explained about how I am to uneducated and most people with my title have Master's Degrees. Even though I was only asking for $1/2 not $10... The government website should at least cut out cost of living when comparing small urban city to San Fran.
Edit: To find your job title
PaD id - 346,240,298
Marvel FF - Lil bill12
There's always the possibility that your boss either can't or won't pay you more. If that's the case you'll have to look for another job that pays what you want.
One of the most critical things is: are you happy where you are? If so, then consider whether it's worth leaving for a bigger paycheck because there are some perks which are not quantifiable.
I then worked under dudes in the position I was supposed to be in who were woefully underqualified, and every single time that happened, I sent a report to the manager, who sent back reports saying "We'll keep that in mind and discuss it with them. We really value your feedback, we know that you know the needs of the position and know what it entails" .
Then my next contract would come up and I'd say "Hey how about that promotion", and he'd say "Nah". Then I'd take the job anyways because, well, I needed the money and the company knew I'd take a contract to be with my (at the time) girlfriend(Now fiancee). I kept getting more and more angry with the company for not properly compensating me, and then eventually decided to go onto bigger and better things, because it was obvious to me that they weren't going to do shit about the promotion that even they admitted I deserved.
The week after I sent in my resignation, they offered me a promotion and the contract of my choosing. Apparently they just thought I was trying to bargain and were totally ready to give me the promotion whenever I asked, if I had said "Fuck you" and left in the first place.
Is this what it is everywhere? no. But I learned from this experience that you absolutely have to be prepared to actually say "fuck you I'm going on to this" if you want to show you mean business.
Quit (go to another company) and come back.
Now, if that's not possible for your job/career track, then the best you can do is push for early promotion to another level or sidegrade to another position within the company. Salary negotiations for current employees aren't a thing in most places.
Just to make clear that I stand by my own statements, I just did this. Demanded a raise firmly with clear justification, etc. etc. Didn't receive it. Took another job that was the promotion/raise I wanted. Old job counter-offered, but by that time I was already moving on.
Luckily, it's turned out pretty well in the end, but it could easily have gone south pretty fast.
This is important, as if you use a job offer as leverage and you're bluffing, if they call it you have zero credibility in the company and they know they can walk all over you.
Then it's time to look for a new job if you don't trust your company to do right by you.
3 months in I told my boss that I expect a 15% raise this December, and told him it wasn't even about performance it was about the sheer number of hours I am working. I confirmed today that I will get that raise effective Jan 1. Be clear about your expectations, and if you're going to ask for something let them know exactly what you want. It also helps that I know I can find a new job paying more if I choose to leave (or if they didn't meet my salary requirements).
Not necessarily. If you're in a large organization, unless you are giving notice, it can take a few months to wind through approval channels if you're in a general promotion freeze. We do merit increases once a year, and most promotions require multiple levels of approval, which means building the business case for it, which all takes time.
god, the politics of counter offers.
"So now that I'm packing my shit and I've made the jarring decision to move on, you've magnanimously scraped up the raise, and I'm supposed to interpret this as a gift and not to mean that the whole time I worked here you were robbing me by undervaluing me?"
Usually it's better to move on. Make sure the next place tells you the criteria for raises and evals early on.
I host a podcast about movies.
I'd say this is more the norm than anything else. Giving an out of cycle raise (ie: not a merit increase or COL increase) has a lot tied to it. Justification needs to occur from both a merit and a P&L perspective. From there you start heading through all of the necessary approvals.
Granted, this is only true for the corporate world. I doubt it's the case for small scale businesses.
Eh, it depends. My wife's company is a relatively small consultancy and they only do promotions twice a year, no exceptions. I know for some of my promotions it took 2-3 months for people to get material together and get the right meetings to get it approved. If you're about to leave, you can get a priority spot on people's schedules, but that's the only exception.
For a large company, you often have to take a look at the functions and justify the position bump by comparing their duties to other people in the target position, which can take time to put together if your manager is fairly busy.
I host a podcast about movies.
But at least you were informed that it was moving. Being stuck in radio silence is what I think bothers most people
Robert Half Technology bills themselves as a placement agency, but they're more of a temp agency. They specialize in filling immediate vacancies with contracts of up to 12 months, with the key words here being "up to."
In other words, they're not looking for a forever job for you. They expect you to work for 3 or 6 months, then spend a couple of months off, then work for another 3 or 6 months, etc.
They lure you in with salary reports that presume full-time constant employment. Sure, if you're making $45/hr at 2080 hours a year, that's $93600, but your chances of actually getting that per year with them are slim.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Robert Half is... perhaps not the most reputable company when it comes to claims about salaries
Robert Half is a headhunting firm, and they will routinely charge companies basically double what it would cost to actually hire an employee full time
So it is in their interest to publish high as hell salary reports to make themselves seem like a good deal
and also *surprise* to piss professionals off, make them quit their job, and staff with Robert Half
I thought the same thing, but they only hire twice a year if they can. I wouldn't put their HR/People practices anywhere near the top of the charts, but they're out there in the real market.