Are you paid in compliments instead of raises?

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(MoneyWatch) Dear Evil HR Lady,

My reviews are glowing, my progress non-existent. I feel like I am getting paid in compliments and not in salary and/or title. I have been with this company for two years and have always gone above and beyond. I even faced an angry employee who had just been fired -- sent in by the head of HR with little warning (I understand that she was scared) -- and calmed him down. This is just one example.

My reward so far keeps getting pushed farther and farther into the future.

When it was made clear to me that my department had little growth, I applied for another position. The formal explanation for why I did not get it was that the position was reviewed and that a more junior person was needed. Except I saw the acceptance letter left out by the fax machine. This junior person is getting paid $7,000 more than me and has a much better title. And a career path.

I have asked for a salary review and only received verbal responses. Praise. Praise. Praise.

I would like to bring up the fax that I saw to HR. It was just left there. I am not sure that I can, or how. I am not in a position to be unemployed.

I do my work conscientiously and go above and beyond my call of duty. I continue to do all sorts of favors and tasks for HR and the department that did not hire me. I am loyal to my boss of two years and never speak ill of a person whom many people jeer at.

At this point I see little recourse other than to look for another job, but I feel sick at two years that I see as wasted. And if I were a bad employee, I would understand why. Is there anything that I can do that I have not thought of?

Many, many companies are scared to death of having anyone know anyone else's salary. (I am actually in favor of a much more open salary policy.) And sometimes people become irrational and defensive about it. There's about a 50 percent chance that if you went to the HR person and said, "I saw this fax," that you'd be blamed for violating the privacy of whomever it was. The other possibility (which is more rational) is for the HR person to blame whoever sent a confidential fax to a non-confidential fax machine. (And really, people. Why are we faxing? Scan and email!)

But you ask an excellent question, and there are three realistic possibilities:

1. You are not as fabulous as everyone tells you. Some managers cannot give negative feedback. It's really hard to do! Especially if you like the person. Some managers will smile and give out praise all day long and then silently curse their incompetent employees.

2. You may be fabulous at what you do, but lack other critical skills. One of the biggest mistakes made in promoting people is taking the best doer and putting that person in as the manager of the doers. Doing is different than managing. Being an expert at task A does not necessarily translate into being an expert in unrelated task B. Also critical are the "soft" skills that tend to be difficult to even articulate. You may grate on people's nerves when you run a meeting. Or you may be a sloppy dresser and the powers that be don't want you in a higher role.

3. You may be so fabulous that your manager doesn't want to lose you. This is actually a common enough experience. It's hard to find good employees, so a particular manager may want to keep you. It's generally pretty easy for a manager to keep a particular employee from getting promoted. It can either be a direct request: "Please don't take Jane. I can't live without her!" Or a casual mention of, "Gee, I'm not sure Jane would be fit for your department." You've shown a lot of loyalty, and sometimes that can actually hurt you. Your boss assumes that you will never leave her, so why reward you?

Whatever the reason for your lack of progress, you can address it head on. You need to speak with your boss. While it's all well and good to meet with HR, HR isn't the decision maker when it comes down to promotions or raises. They can say no (and be overridden by management), but they cannot say yes. That has to be done by the manager.

You need to tell your manager that you are interested in furthering your career. I realize that this seems obvious, but it's really not. There are plenty of people who are content to stay doing what they are doing.

Ask which three skills would help you the most. Do not let your manager brush off this question. "Oh, you just need more experience," is not an answer. By using a number, it should push a real answer out. It also prevents a flood of 50 things you stink at. While there may be 50 things you need to improve in, no one can work on that many areas at once.

Ask what for the real reason you weren't given the other job. You know it wasn't because they wanted someone more junior. You don't need to bring up salary, but you can bring up title, which is generally public information. Explain that you know the other reason was false, but don't be accusatory. Rather, express that you really want to know what skill you were lacking.

Two years is not wasted time. Two years is not a long time to become an expert at whatever it is you were doing. Generally, you need 10,000 hours to master something, which is about 5 years of work. While you started the job with some of these skills, don't freak out if you haven't moved on in two years.

Realize that not every company has growth potential for every employee. In many small companies you must move out to move up. There's really no other way to do it. You need to gain skills for the jump between where you are and where you want to be, and they aren't readily available at the current job. You may need to move out.

The most important thing here, though, is to talk with your boss. You'll never find out where you're lacking if you wait around for someone else to promote you.

Have an workplace dilemma? Send your questions to [e-mail].

[ice444]

2 years isn't a long time, however if you have mastered your position it might be time to move on.

It's obvious that your not valued as highly as other employees (btw it's very rarely about how hard you work, it's usually about how well liked you are/how much you play the game!) and while you are good at what you do now, they might not see you as "management material".

I've been in this exact situation and here is what I did:

1 - Talked to my manager about other opportunities - I was told that there wasn't any for me as I was "too good at my job" - my manager didn't want to lose me but was also standing in the way of me progressing.

2 - Applied for a few other positions outside the company (as there wasn't any chance of getting promoted), received a position doing something more suitable to my skills and on a lot more money.

3 - Accepted the position, put my resignation in. My manager was quite upset about this/went on about loyalty etc. (after 3 years of no pay rises and horrendous turn over I don't know what they expected).

4 - 2 years later I couldn't be any happier.

Moral of the story - if the company isn't showing you loyalty/at least willing to put your best interests at heart, you should move on.

It sounds like your manager doesn't want to lose you, but they may also not want you to progress.

[hypnotoad72]

Here's a relevant tangent:

http://now.msn.com/money/0419-money-and-happiness.aspx

I agree by and large with the comment I'm going to except, given that the cost of living is going up (I've posted those links plenty of times around here so these new ones only hook into those to strengthen those aforementioned points...), whoever came up with the stats in that article wasn't employing very much three-dimensional thought, which in turn makes some people think it is propaganda and nothing more:


***
"Geez - Who's propaganda is this? Happiness? Bliss? Bliss?!?!? Sounds like "someone's" attempts to keep us down. $25k suggestion - Really? There's no way for a family of four to survivie, save for their retirement/security of the future, have all the insurance coverage, etc etc

Treasuring and enjoying family and friends and considering them the most important elements of our lives, Sure! Comfort & happiness in religion, sure! Happy with that! Blissful with that! No matter the income.

But financially secure and happy is a whole other story. And this story is a farce. Get ready for a rude awakening when you approach the "Golden" years - they WON'T be so golden!!!"

[formerlyluvnut]

It all comes down to; are you a local native? Are you "one of the boys"? Did you go go to school with "the boys"? Thats all it is. ESPECIALLY in the south. The south LOVES western & northern workers because they are faster & smarter but they won't pay them as much as the slower, dumber home boys. Thats a fact. Thats the way it is.

[hypnotoad72]

Life is what we make of it.

So why do we make it this way?

[stellzbellz10]

It's hard to give exact advice without knowing your company, role or department, etc. EHRL gives a great list of reasons why you many not be promoted. (I am an internal corporate recruiter and we deal with employees who apply to every promotion and seem to never get one).

First, as suggested, you need to reach out to the person who interviewed you (or reviewed your application) for some honest feedback. Just tell them you are looking to grow your career here at company XYZ but it is impossible to do if you don't know why you were passed over for this (referring to the title) promotion.

Next, I would schedule a one on one meeting with your manager and explain that while you love working for your company and under them, you are looking for some growth before you reach a point of burn out in your current role. Instead of being upset or angry, just ask for advice about what other departments you could look at moving to or what other roles would allow you to still work with your current boss (so they don't feel like you're just trying to get away from him/her). They may not know that you aren't content to stay where you are forever (believe or not, like EHRL states above, a lot of people are happy to stay in the same role where they are good at their work and feel secure forever)

But, like EHRL says, a lot of times you need to move out to move up (especially if you are dealing with positions in/related to HR).

[jumkey]

And now for the real answer: your company isn't invested in your future and you shouldn't be contributing to theirs.

You need to find a new job and not look back.

[hypnotoad72]

What happens if every company acts the same?

Especially as more people say "A lot of people are dying to do your job", et cetera...

Work isn't valued anymore and that's the choice those who are running our society seem to be making.

[kbbpll]

Competence and work ethic are hard to come by, but employers will always pretend that there are people lined up to take your job. The company this person works for needs them to stay right where they are. This person needs to start looking around, get a solid better offer from another company, and be prepared to accept it. Nothing else will motivate this company. And since they clearly lied to the employee's face about the reason they didn't get the other position, why would you want to continue working for them? You cannot trust anything they tell you in similar situations later.

[hypnotoad72]

It's all about control.