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How can I say that:

  • as a senior employee I get next to no benefits compared to recent hires and,
  • the gap between my pay and junior employees' (developers) is much smaller when compared with the amount of work done and quality of the work percentage

I would like to say discuss it with my manager in a straightforward way but feel like there are better words out there to express my opinion.

Marv Mills
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Change
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    You tried talking to your manager about it yet? – Magisch Dec 09 '15 at 08:23
  • @Magisch I want to talk about it but I need better words :) – Change Dec 09 '15 at 08:29
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    A similar question here – BiscuitBoy Dec 09 '15 at 08:53
  • @BiscuitBoy I am not asking what to do, I am asking what to say, like in words, so link to simliar question is irrelevant – Change Dec 09 '15 at 09:13
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    Hi, I edited your question to remove typos and improve readability, but the second point ("the gap...") does not make any sense to me so I haven't reworded it as I don't know what you mean. Can you clarify that please? Also, feel free to re-edit if I have substantially changed your meaning. – Marv Mills Dec 09 '15 at 10:28
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    @MarvMills I assume the OP means that while he is much more valuable to the company than junior employees, the relative difference in pay between the two isn't in proportion (e.g. he generates 200% more value but is only paid 50% more) – Lilienthal Dec 09 '15 at 11:04
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    As for @Change: I can write a script on how to make this argument, but have you considered that the argument you want to make is what you are worth to the company, rather than how much more you are worth compared to your colleagues, junior or not? – Lilienthal Dec 09 '15 at 11:05

2 Answers2

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I've always found there are two ways to ask this:

  • Compare your income (and benefits) to the market "going rate" for the position and ask politely to be adjusted to that rate.

In this case, you do market research of the rate of pay for your position in your local area. Be careful of national statistics or using statistics based on a different geographical area - jobs are valued by the availability of the skills in that area and the competition between companies for those skills. This is the approach I used when working for large corporate clients as they like to pay competitively in the market I am in.

  • Compare your worth as a value of the income generated by what you do for the company.

This is a trickier one but essential to use if you are with a small to medium-sized company or a large corporate in a distressed industry i.e. oil, gas & mining at the moment - the type of company that is counting the pennies to make sure they are getting best "bang for their buck". This is simply a case of showing (if you can) that the income you generate is worth the salary increase you are asking for. I've found that these types of companies can be inflexible in their ability to adjust pay due to cost constraints, but if you have the numbers to show that your business unit is performing ahead of expectations, you might be able to negotiate a bonus or an increase in salary.

In general though:

  • Always be polite.

  • Never make statements you are not prepared to follow-up on with action.

  • Don't be subservient (i.e. beg) - it's business, not a master-servant relationship.

  • It's not personal if they say no - it's business.

  • In a lot of places, it is considered impolite to discuss remuneration and benefits with your colleagues, so be careful of doing that.

toadflakz
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There's no better way to express yourself than to express your true opinion. I worked in a situation similar to yours where new company policies allow new employees to gain benefits that taken me years to get. Also my pay gap was in the margin of maybe 5-10% of what a new person would get. The company wants to attract new recruits but at the same time you have to remember they want their senior staff to leave on their own since they know they'll feel "justified" in getting something more than a new person would. They basically want to spend the least amount of money while keeping everyone happy: they know senior staff train new people, senior staff gets upset about pay gap and benefits, new staff knows the system, old staff leaves, new staff is now "senior." So your manager's hands may be tied in that respect.

Dan
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