I got my first annual raise today (employment, percentage, profit)

[Hemlock140]

I got 4.5%, the maximum allowed this year. It was based on my performance review. Most people got 2-3%. In order to get 10% or more requires getting promoted, but after two in the last 8 years I’m satisfied with where I am now, and my boss is about the same age so not likely to go before me.

[RamenAddict]

Originally Posted by Left-handed

Yeah, if you make at or above the median pay for the position, they give you 1%. Otherwise it’s 2%. We have over 35% attrition rate and they can’t figure out why.

That’s still better than some government jobs. At my last job, in the 6.5 years I was there, they gave employees who made under a certain amount a $1400 raise and everyone over it a $1000 raise. Once. They wondered why young people typically stayed a couple of years and moved on. Some units in my office were actually hiring with lower starting salaries than they hired people on with 30 years ago, which made the no raise situation even worse in terms of hiring and retaining people. Most of the people we got near the end lasted about 6-12 months max.

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by Hopelesscause

It was a whopping 2%. I did a lot this last year, but also struggled at first when I first came on. My director always says good things about me, but 2%?!! The most that I ever received when I last worked for a company was 4- 4.5% back in the mid-90s. My manager at that time told me that was higher than normal. The Director let me know by phone since she is out of state. I so wanted to ask her how I could get a higher rating next time, but time ran short since she had to call my counterpart to announce a reorganization before it was common knowledge by e-mail.
What is a typical rate increase for you out there who work for a large company? In my case, it’s a health insurance company.

Let's take the phone company as an example since we have a quarter of a million employees. Fortune 10.

For merit increases, or standard general increases: 2, 4 percent is typical on a good year - all laid out in the bargaining contract. Management usually gets the same thing.

2018 EXAMPLE, in part:

• Retroactive wage increases back to Feb. 12, 2017, and a $1,000 lump sum, if the agreement is ratified by Jan. 12, 2018.
  
• General wage increases of 2.25% effective Feb. 12, 2017; 3% effective Feb. 11, 2018; 2.25% effective Feb. 10, 2019; and 2.25% effective Feb. 9, 2020.
  
• Compounded wage increase over the four-year term of the offer will be over 10%, and employees in wage progression may see an even greater total increase over the term of the offer.
  
• For retail sales consultants, $2,500 moved from commissions that are at-risk to base pay that is not.

snip

That doesn't include special bonus or profit sharing, COLA etc.

Some years you forego a raise in lieu of benefit improvements or saves.

"Saying good things about me" is a dumb way for a company to operate.

You should be getting continuous feedback on your performance and projects. For phone company union employees this is MONTHLY.

You should KNOW exactly what your accomplishments are in measurable way.

You should be documenting them, and providing them to your supervisor at the end of the year.

You should be told if the merit increases are standard across the board or individual.

You should be told the wage progression for new and existing employees

You should be told the criteria.

You should be told the criteria for someone wanting to get on a career path.

Finally, you should realize who your internal competition is, if the raises are individual, ie who in your various management groups are together competing for the pot of money....and assume there is some ranking and rating going on, and MAKE SURE that you are competitive with that person/s.

That means for example, taking on and succeeding at high risk projects and high profile projects, being a good manager of people and getting them to meet their individual metrics, making SURE your customers are delighted with your services, and making sure everyone in your Rank and Rate Pool knows it. Especially the other managers of people competing with you for those bonus dollars. Having ownership for some THING. Having your project be something they actually NEED or CARE ABOUT.

Your boss's job is to MAKE SURE you are bullet proof against any of your competitors and that YOU win the #1 slot in the rank and rate sessions.

Of course much of this may be a secret or inapplicable in the new snowflake era in some companies.

I'll never forget my first year in management, as a first level manager supervising a group, when my boss called me in and said:

"OK your raise is $xxxx.xx so your new salary is $xxxxx.xx."

"And you're receiving a $10,000 performance bonus, so congratulations thanks for a great job this year".

This was in 1987.

O M G. I didn't even know there was such a thing.

I was screaming jumping up and down and people thought I got fired or something hahahaha.

GO FOR IT.

And please adjust your attitude. WHY would you think you deserved more? Even Social Security people only got 2%. You admit to struggling in the beginning and you're new there. WHY were you struggling? WHY weren't you a rock star?

Was this a COLA increase?

Do you even KNOW how it works were you work?

PROTIP: You're SUPPOSED TO "DO A LOT". If you didn't, I'd be telling you how to improve or be on a PIP. Performance Improvement Plan. And I'd be giving you written weekly feedback and coaching until you got where you needed to be to succeed.

[HokieFan]

2%-3% is typical for us. One year, we did receive 4%.

My husband's employer caps their raises at 3%.

[Girl]

Most of my raises at my old company were in the 1.5-2% range, and I was considered an exceptional employee (my scores were typically 3.5+ out of 4). My big pay jumps there were due to promotions (three in 9 years) and small bonuses paid out throughout the year.

I left that company in December and started at a new place in January, and was able to land an 11% raise in pay AND a sign-on bonus that basically meant I got a 15% increase for the year.

I don't know what the pay raises are at the new company - I won't know until the end of the year, obviously. But I do already know the year-end bonuses are higher, which will be nice come Christmastime.

[CGab]

My DH never gets more than 2-3%. The company gives each department an amount and they have to allocate it, so even if he has a stellar year, he’s not getting more than 3%. However, he does receive an annual bonus that’s based 50% on what the company did in way of profits and 50% based on his goal. This bonus is anywhere from 5-15% of his annual salary which is a huge amount and he has consistently received at least 7% for the last 18 years. There was only one year that he received a crappy annual raise.

So due to the annual bonus we don’t worry to much about the crappy raises and just negotiate a higher percentage on his bonus, but I think 2-4% is the normal in today’s workplace and many managers have no control over that. Many say it’s better to job hop to get s raise, but you have to also look at the overall compensation as well such as benefits. You might be able to get s higher pay elsewhere but do the benefits cost more or are they bad in general compared to the current company. All needs to be evaluated.

[MattMN]

My company this year averaged 2%, which means some got more, some got less. Often it depends on the industry, your current salary as compared to both industry counterparts and company range for your position, and performance.

For example, I got below 2% this year, but I also negotiated a higher starting salary when I started just 18 months ago. So while I wasn't excited about my low raise, I knew (a) overall company average was low and (b) I essentially negotiated a pretty decent starting point not long ago. Hopefully things will tick upward next year.

[ovi8]

Large company - billions in revenue every single year, haven't gotten a raise in years. Don't even ask about a bonus, they'll just laugh at you. I got a promotion once almost 10 years ago and that was my largest raise, but nothing has come close since. No raise even when I was rated top performer. Matter of fact, we've been threatened with layoffs every quarter for the last decade. Literally half my dept. was let go a few years back.

Public company who answer to shareholders so the profit number is paramount. But hey, we get to work from home.

If you can help it, don't work for a publicly-traded company, especially those in competitive markets. My wife in the private sector gets an astronomical bonus every year more than most people's salaries - not doing anything special, but just for working there. Shows you how it matters what company you work for.

[J'aimeDesVilles]

What's a raise?

[mortgageboss]

Thats why I have always gravitated to straight comission or tipped jobs like bartending. You create your own raises.

Don't like what you're making? Then go make another sale!

You'll never get what you feel you are worth in corporate America. The difference between what you are paid and the value of your work is their profit. To survive, you better be creating more value than you cost any company.

Self employment, commissioned sales or even bartending will give you more control of your compensation.

Dont get discouraged, use it as a reason to create your own raises. Best of luck.