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I would like to start this thread off by saying thanks in advance for any feedback and replies. I would also like to state I plan on researching and drafting up a proposal. I'm not planning on putting my team under the bus or discussing that I have knowledge about what they make at the company.
I've been working with this public medical company for about 3 years. I work with a team of 3 people. We all have the same level of education and I've been working with the company longer than them.
They have been working in this particular medical field for a little bit longer (as they re all older than I am).
The company wants the team to have about 107% efficiency so they can make a profit. Anything of 100% or below would affect their profit margin and the pricing of their products. Raising the price of the product is an option but this can force the buyers to purchase from competitors. Due to this fact the company tends to stay away from this option as far as possible which is understandable.
About a little bit over a year ago we(team) were making our efficiency goal. I was picking up more than my share on the team to pull the team up which resulted in the efficiency of 135% and up on a daily. The other workers waste time and stall when they don t want to do something.
I got sick of pulling the weight while the members of the team just did as little as they could. I don't mind pulling for the team because that's what a team is for. I do have a problem with the team sitting back and thinking I most do majority of the work ALL the time.
I stopped doing it and started doing my share. This caused the efficiency to drop to about 60%-92% a day which means the company was spending more money making the product than what they were selling it for. The team has been at this mark since I stopped doing the most work. The problem is that the members are capable of doing the easy assignments but the harder assignments they struggle and on top of it they tend to waste time. For an example I can do an assignment in about an hour and a half while the other members would take about 4 to 4 and half hours doing the same job.
For the past 2 days I've been doing the hard work which placed the team at 140% and 135% efficiency for those 2 days.
The team discussed with me an idea that they will do the easy work and I will do the hard work. This is basically the way it was before I stopped. I don't have a problem with this but I don't think I should be doing it on the pay I'm currently working at.
When I am working like crazy the team is capability of running it with 3 people rather than 4 people. The other worker can help in other areas of the department which would mean freeing up resources in this area and adding resources to another area which can use the help.
The workers are paid between $11.75 and $12.50 mark while I'm below $11 mark. Asking for a 37%raise will push me up to a $15 mark which I believe is far.
Do you think I am being unreasonable? I do understand that asking for such a big raise can be difficult in a big public company due to the possible hurdles and hoops management would have to jump through for the approval. Someone suggested me of asking for a different title which would be easier to justify and approve for a pay increase because it would be considered a "salary adjustment".
Thanks for the feedback and response in advance.
Last edited by ScotPeter; 06-13-2015 at 11:00 AM..
I am not going to lie, it's going to be next to impossible to get this.
Making $11/hour or so is entry level, production line work. Most companies view workers at this level as interchangeable cogs in the machine. The whole idea is to maintain profitability by controlling wages, replacing workers with another body who can learn the job given a few hours of training.
I know that sounds condescending and dismissive, and I am sorry for that. I am trying to describe a very common attitude.
If you go to your boss requesting a relatively huge pay raise, I would bet it gets turned down without any real thought or discussion. First, s/he probably doesn't have the authority to give a pay jump of this nature. Second, your numbers will not be believed. Third, if they are, the response will be that it sets a bad precedent for other workers.
What you need to do is turn your efficiency into a promotion to a higher level, which will come with better pay. Try for a promotion to team leader, shift supervisor, quality control and efficiency guru, or something similar. Tell your boss that because of your experience and knowledge, you can get your team to 108%, and train other teams to this level as well.
Even if you have the data to back up your claims there's not a chance in Hell you'll get a raise that big.
Nowadays the only way to get large raises and/or promotions is to change jobs. If that is an option for you I would start looking.
If the change in production is that great AFTER you leave they will ask for you to return possibly with a promotion and pay raise. Assuming your data is correct if you're not there the business is not profitable, so what choice do they have?
I think you are over estimating your worth and being played by the other "senior" employees.
I think it is fair if if they do the "easy" work and you do the "hard" work if there are more easy work than hard work.
IE they do 10 easy jobs and you do 5 hard jobs... if everyone is busy during the work hours, it shouldn't matter to much. I prefer to do the hard work where I can concentrate on something and not break focus because I turn out too many "easy" things that don't require as much concentration. I just hate pushing paper, which the easy jobs do.
So if they do the easy work, and you do the hard work but the work is even, there not much room to say you need a pay raise... you are still being paid for 8 hours of work, not paid by the number of things you can complete.
That say, you could argue that since you are good enough to do the hard work, that means you have picked up the skills to do the job at a higher level of responsibility so you can ask for a raise based on your skill level being higher than when you were hired. I'd ask for $15, it isn't that much, don't expect it but ask for $15 and you might get $13.
I wouldn't tie the raise to a "turn around"/efficiency rate... because anytime it drops for any reason (IE someone else not pulling through), that means you get blamed for it. IE: Why are we paying you 37% more when your team isn't pulling 140% ALL the time? Even if you have no control over the rest of them? So base it off of your own skills improving because that's the only thing you can control. You can tell them that because you have better skills, you are willing to take on all the hard work, (what they already proposed and what you are doing now, just make it official). Use the increased efficiency as argument for why your team is doing better when you do the hard jobs. But don't let the efficiency itself be the reason you get a raise.
it's the same argument, but framed to focus on your skill levels and not the team as a collective.
Another thing you should consider is in the working world it is NEVER good to compare yourself to other employees as a basis for a raise or promotion. Focus on yourself and what you have done and/or can provide. I still don't think that you have a chance in hell though.
Even if you have the data to back up your claims there's not a chance in Hell you'll get a raise that big.
Nowadays the only way to get large raises and/or promotions is to change jobs. If that is an option for you I would start looking.
If the change in production is that great AFTER you leave they will ask for you to return possibly with a promotion and pay raise. Assuming your data is correct if you're not there the business is not profitable, so what choice do they have?
I think you are over estimating your worth and being played by the other "senior" employees.
I think it is fair if if they do the "easy" work and you do the "hard" work if there are more easy work than hard work.
I would say that there is about 65%-70% of the harder assignments compared to the easier ones. You're post was very informative which made me re-think this and might consider saying at my current pay and just doing my fair share of the contribution to the team and leave management to figure out the problem. Thanks eyeb
Another thing you should consider is in the working world it is NEVER good to compare yourself to other employees as a basis for a raise or promotion. Focus on yourself and what you have done and/or can provide. I still don't think that you have a chance in hell though.
I clearly stated (of not placing my team under the bus) in the beginning of the post that I didn't plan on doing such thing but thanks for pointing that out to me.
I would say that there is about 65%-70% of the harder assignments compared to the easier ones. You're post was very informative which made me re-think this and might consider saying at my current pay and just doing my fair share of the contribution to the team and leave management to figure out the problem. Thanks eyeb
another thing you could do is make it known to your management that you are looking for more challenging work (and a raise, don't forget this part). And if there is an opening for a role that you can fill in the future, to consider you. so offer your own ideas to management for the problems by way of you taking on the problems yourself (if it isn't too big, you want to find "problems" that are small enough that you can complete but big enough that causes them a pain if not completed, you want to pull out the thorn and not replant the garden)
Do the "fair" share of the work (or even a few extra of the hard work (maybe you do 80% of the hard work, then they can do the last 20% split between them, and you can do some easy too so you don't burn yourself out, mostly to keep your skills up) and in the "free" time (since you aren't doing all the hard work), ask for 1 or two extra projects (tell them you are done with your share of the work and ask if you can do an additional project). It lets you gain skills outside of current work duties and it gets you working closer to management. If at a later date, they decide they don't want you for a promotion/raise, you can stop the projects because they weren't paying you for it so they won't fire you for not doing them either. You might rub them the wrong way at that time, but if you learned those skills first, you could always switch jobs too.
pretty much just play the office politics game, you want to gain skills but you have to offer something, in this case your labor. Once you get the skills, make them recognize it and when they do, they will move you up so you don't go "wasted" or you can take skills and leave. Learn to "play ball" with current team too, learning to keep enough people happy so the boat isn't rocked is a good skill. In this case, you might have to take on a bit more of the work (not all of it, don't let them slack) so the team can look good. They will feel happy to be on a good performing team, which means the entire group gets noticed. Which means if you helped them out, they help you out at that time too and puts in a good word when you ask for one.
Last edited by MLSFan; 06-13-2015 at 12:23 PM..
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