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What Is A Pay Raise At Work?

April 20, 2021
Bill Kimball

employee raise

Introverts regularly get paid less than extroverts, yet they can be just as deserving of a raise. If you don’t, they may start looking for another job, which can get expensive for you. Replacing an employee can cost you as much as 20 percent of their annual salary. Besides helping you retain staff, employee raises will also give you a spike in productivity as morale goes up.

If market conditions require that you give new employees more pay, you’ll have to give older employees at least a little more as well. A bonus is a financial reward beyond what was expected by the recipient. Learn how companies reward employees with incentive and performance bonuses. A retention bonus is a financial incentive offered to a valuable employee to keep the employee on the job during a particularly crucial business cycle.

The best way to prepare for this possibility is to enter the meeting with as much objective information as possible about how the amount was determined and how the employee was evaluated. If a manager is doing their job, this data should not come as a surprise to the employee.

  • “For us, the market tends to dictate a lot of it,” says Chuck Fried, president and chief executive of technology staffing companyTxMQ.
  • While managers are not solely responsible for communicating about compensation with employees, they do play a significant role.
  • A one-time bonus may cost you more upfront, but it can save you money in the long run.
  • A raise is considered a positive event because it increases the employee’s take-home pay and spending power.
  • The best way to prepare for this possibility is to enter the meeting with as much objective information as possible about how the amount was determined and how the employee was evaluated.
  • When you change your agent to BizFilings, we pay the state’s change of agent filing fee.

This type of raise is subjective as the manager’s opinion is often the chief determiner of the employee’s increase. Some organizations have gone to great lengths to remove the weight of the manager’s opinion in the mix.

Here are some tips and guidelines to follow when communicating a pay raise. It’s important to regularly review so you don’t have a period of high turnover.

Analyze Pay Rates Outside Your Business

On the other hand, giving an employee a raise without telling them why can lead to an entitlement mindset. And, the employee may tell their co-workers, prompting them to want to ask for raises, too.

For performance, the raise can depend on the ROI of that performance. Others offer pay raises only when the employee has earned it based on merit or performance or some other criteria. You may find that what works best for your company is a combination of scheduled raises and random, merit- or performance-based raises. If your company has grown and revenue has increased, consider sharing that profit with your staff. Their efforts and performance contribute to how well your company does.

Sure, it’s not easy hearing constructive criticism, but delivering it isn’t something people look forward to either. You might save some money by not paying for accounting software from the start but this could cost you later on. The most successful business logos don’t just show off your brand, they also show off your message. “Having the right attitude is the first step to getting real results that will lead to a raise.” If the employee still is displeased, make sure to instruct the employee on the proper protocol for lodging any complaints through human resources.

While the standard merit increase for 2018 is around three percent, companies can give more or less depending on how much they can afford and what other perks they offer employees. For instance, a company may pay a below-market rate but have exemplary benefits, great time off and other intangibles that make it atop employerto work for. Another one may offer huge bonuses and high merit raises but not provideother perkslike flexible time or a free gym membership. While there are a variety of reasons employees leave, pay is a major factor. If employees can find better compensation elsewhere, they may seek alternative employment. Raises, especially merit or performance raises, will help them feel valued by your company.

employee raise

Salary cuts rooted in discrimination, whether direct or indirect, can be challenged through Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims. An employer cannot cut your salary based on race, color, religion, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability or genetic information. If your salary is cut and you feel it is based on your race, gender or age, discuss it with an EEOC counselor and file a claim. Discrimination also occurs if your raise is taken away based on your taking breaks for prayer or requesting a reasonable accommodation due to a disability. When a raise is given to a worker and immediately taken away, there are few options for addressing the removal of the pay increase because the raise isn’t protected by law. For example, assume your widget manufacturing rate exceeds your goal by 5 percent and your boss offers you a raise of 5 percent based on this. If he stops by your desk two weeks later to say he can’t afford the raise, you may be stuck at the lower pay rate.

Accuracy And Timeliness

Payroll software will reveal what you’re paying employees, and when they last had a raise. Modern business software can tell you a lot about the value you get from employees. You can use the information to help decide when a raise is due. It’s important that you take care of your team because your company is only as good as your best employees. When you give employees your raise request determination, give them as much information as you can.

employee raise

Some businesses give raises on an annual basis, while others give raises quarterly. Some businesses give employees raises when they feel as though the employee earned it, which can be random.

What Do You Do When Your Employee Asks For A Raise?

“For us, the market tends to dictate a lot of it,” says Chuck Fried, president and chief executive of technology staffing companyTxMQ. “The market changes so quickly and occasionally we’ll find ourselves giving out an increase a couple of times a year because the employee is getting recruited by a competitor.” If you want to give the employee a percentage raise, analyze average pay raises or cost of living adjustment. To calculate a percentage raise, multiply the employee’s old salary by your desired raise percent. For example, if you want to give an employee earning $50,000 a 4% pay raise, their new salary would be $52,000 [($50,000 X 0.04) + $50,000]. Many employers opt for paying bonuses to employees over raises.

In some cases, it might be necessary to have a human resources representative on hand to answer any questions concerning withholdings or payment logistics. After you communicate the pay raise to your employee, follow up with your Human Resource department to confirm it’s been applied. Highlight any specific contributions your employee made to the company that contributed to the increase in salary. Delivering good news to an employee can be exciting, especially when it’s time to communicate an increase in salary.

Failing to tell the employee why they are receiving the increase. Thanking the employee for their work and commitment to your company. “Only 13% of respondents reported providing a considerable level of detail when communicating the rationale for individual pay increases.” With few exceptions, maximizing your earnings over a long period of time usually means changing jobs rather than staying in place. By contrast, workers with an average performance rating can expect only a 2.7% bump in pay. Yet the amount that companies spend in their budget for so-called “variable pay”—including incentives and bonuses—dropped by its biggest margin since 2010. As a result, total cash compensation is actually expected to decline slightly next year, from 15.5% of payroll to 15.2%.

A raise is an increase in the amount of hourly pay or salary that an employee receives for work performed in an organization. Organizations provide raises for employees in a number of different ways and for a variety of reasons. A raise is considered a positive event because it increases the employee’s take-home pay and spending power. Others feel that pay for performance pits employees against one another in competition for the highest raises. That’s why some businesses give the same, across-the-board raises to all employees. It eliminates competition and ensures that the whole workforce is working toward the same goal. But, if everyone gets the same raise, there is no motivation to exceed expectations and go the extra mile in the job.

employee raise

For example, if your company’s compensation philosophy is to give an across the board pay raise annually that is tied to specific economic factors, employees need to understand this rationale. These survey results point out the unfortunate fact that organizations have positive intentions about making their pay system communication effective. For employees to fully understand any pay raise they might receive, the communication must broadly educate them about the company’s compensation and compensation philosophy as well. Finally, some organizations attempt to assign a raise to each employee based on the employee’s performance and contribution during the time period covered.

A performance bonus is a supplemental compensation that an employer offers to employees in exchange for targets met. A year-end bonus is a boost in salary or other reward given to employees at the close of the year. Year-end bonuses are usually made up of lump-sum payments used to reward the individual for hard work and dedication. “U.S. employers plan to hold the line on pay raises in 2020, Willis Towers Watson survey finds.” Accessed Sept. 27, 2019. When sizing up your wage, bear in mind that an uptick in base pay isn’t the only way that companies reward their employees.

A constant flow of employees out the door may indicate that you’re underpaying your employees. Review the benefits you’re offering when benefit contracts come up for negotiation.