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KristineS
08-09-2008, 11:12 PM
I work for a family owned corporation. They handle raises and reviews like nowhere else I've ever worked. I've been there 2 1/2 years and have never had a review. When I get a raise, it just suddenly shows up in my paycheck and it never shows up at the same time of year. No one ever tells me I got a raise either, my paycheck is just suddenly bigger.

I'm wondering if this sort of haphazard management is typical of a lot of small and family owned businesses, or if the company for which I work is just run in a very odd way.

If you're a business owner, how do you handle reviews and raises. If you work for someone else, how do they handle reviews and raises?

Steve B
08-10-2008, 07:44 AM
I had an 18 year career in Human Resouces (with large corporations) and could give you a huge list of the textbook responses as to why they are crazy in their approach (or lack thereof) to reviews and raises.

BUT, since I'm out of that corporate world I can give you my true opinion - and this is actually based on a LOT of thought over the years. I think your company has the right idea! I hear a lot of people tell me they "appreciate" the feedback they get during a review and use it to make themselves better employess - blah blah blah. But, if you can get them to tell you the truth (perhaps with the use of a couple beers) it seems universal that everyone hates getting reviewed. If it is an honest review, it will have some criticism (or what the Dilbertsville world may refer to as "opportunities"). And, nobody likes being criticized. It seems most ignore the criticism and essentially get the same thing mentioned year in and year out, or they focus so much on the criticism that they overlook other aspects of their performance. My opinion is that discussions should be happening so frequently about performance that they are hardly noticed and there is no reason to summarize them at the end of the year in a tension generating process.

Now, regarding the raises. I think randomly timed raises are the best way to go also. Let's face it - if you know you are going to get a raise of 2%-5% every year - there is absolutely no motivation factor remaining when it finally arrives. You have already mentally spent the money and feel you deserve it. The other problem is that we all think we are above average - so anything less than the higher end of the raise scale is a dissapointment at best, or a huge letdown and cause for resentment at worse.

They need to give you raises so they remain competitively placed in the market place, and having them show up at random times eliminates the entitlement mentality that was universal in the structured organizations that I worked in.

The only thing I would have done differently than your company would be to at least tell you it was going to be in your check before you opened it. Something simple like, "hey, we were able to increase your salary recently thanks to your performance and the performance of the company".

Kristine - thanks for giving me a chance to get this off my chest!

KristineS
08-10-2008, 09:32 AM
I agree with you about reviews Steve B, I've been on both sides as the one doing the reviewing and the one being reviewed and the whole process feels artificial no matter which side of the process you're on. Plus, when I've been the reviewer I've always been told I must find something to criticize, so even if I think someone is doing stellar work I still have to ding them for small things. I think that's silly.

As for the raises, I would definitely like to be told I'd gotten one. I always feel like such a dork asking our CFO why my check is bigger.

orion_joel
08-11-2008, 01:09 AM
I think Steve's answer sums this up really well. It is to bad that all companies do not follow this sort of approach. I have worked for companies that very much of different opinions, some had the point of view, your wage is your wage it doesn't get questioned, while others if they thought you were at a suitable level of work were more then happy to bump it up a little.

Then others that are not willing to reward extra work, and performing additional responsibilities because it may set a precedent they do not want to set on the level of wages in the role.

Paul Elliott
08-11-2008, 09:58 PM
They need to give you raises so they remain competitively placed in the market place, and having them show up at random times eliminates the entitlement mentality that was universal in the structured organizations that I worked in.

The only thing I would have done differently than your company would be to at least tell you it was going to be in your check before you opened it. Something simple like, "hey, we were able to increase your salary recently thanks to your performance and the performance of the company".

I've done it in the classical fashion in my previous life only because I thought that was the way things should be done.

I like the random approach since it gets rid of the entitlement element. Perhaps this tied with the "One Minute Manager" sort of ongoing review would be a good combination. I found the OMM approach was very productive to correct and to praise.

Paul

orion_joel
08-12-2008, 02:26 AM
One far to common thing i am seeing is how so many hourly paided employees expect pay raises of 5 to 10% per year by default weather they have improved their performance or not. It is something that many employee rights groups or unions try and push for. Which while i think that some sort of raise to maybe the level of inflation may be needed, excessive pay raises for no other reason then they are expected is not right.

I think that while all employee's should be receive the minimum inflation rate as a raise each year to cover this, there is a need to do any further adjustments to pays based on performance. Especially in businesses that are very much performance based. As an example A company that makes widgets and packs them has two employees one that packs at a rate of 50 boxes per hour, and one that packs at 30 boxes per hour. Do these two employees deserve to be paid the same rate, maybe if the slower packer continually improves and reaches 50 boxes an hour, however what if the other packer improves at the same rate.

While i understand it is difficult to accurately track and monitor every employees performance, against others and pay accordingly there are some industries that have a much bigger difference then as above, where some people are working at speeds anything up to 90% less then the top performers in the company, how can it be seen as fair that they are on the same levels of pay.

Aaron Hats
08-12-2008, 04:26 PM
I haven't got a raise in years...who do I complain to? :D

Blessed
08-12-2008, 09:08 PM
@Kristine - the way you get raises is exactly how the company I used to work for gave raises. Except that we always got our raises a week after our service anniversary... it seemed strange to me too. I only got a 2% raise or so unless I looked for another job and got an offer then they would give me a good raise and tell me that I was doing good work and they didn't want to loose me - that aggravated me, if I'm doing good work reward me - don't make me find another job before you'll give me a raise.

The company I worked at before that was awesome. We didn't have "reviews" but once or twice a year the owner would call us into his office, give whatever criticism there was to give and then praise us and give us a raise. I worked a lot harder for them than I ever did for company #2.

KristineS
08-12-2008, 09:22 PM
That's the part about how the company for which I work now handles raises and reviews that is the stupidest, at least in my opinion. The raise doesn't seem to be tied to anything, and we don't get reviewed so we never hear the good or the bad. I don't think I've ever once been told to my face that I'm doing a good job. I hear from other people that our President or COO praised me, but I never hear it from them.

It isn't necessarily that I need to be praised to know I'm doing a good job, it's more that I want to be assured that they know I'm doing a good job.