Didn’t Get That Raise? Why Not?

As a predominant staffing company in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, I get this question or concern from many people that are seeking employment. Usually, that is the reason that they are meeting with us in the first place. They are wondering why they did not receive a pay increase. Of course I have no idea what to tell them mainly because I was not present at their previous or current job. However, there are some things that I know it could be. Not always, but sometimes, the reason is found in either what the individual did or did not do over the past year that is the key to answering the question “Why did I not get a raise?” I will address some common things that could be reasons. You perform your responsibilities only. Most of us have worked with people like this in the past that they never want to see passed their own nose. They are competent at doing their job, but they don’t put much effort into helping anyone else out if it is ever within their scope or ability to do so. Usually they will keep to themselves and not really be a team player and have a “me” not “we” attitude. It takes some honesty to assess yourself, but if this has been you over the past year and you are wondering where your raise went to, it may have been a conscious decision from your supervisor. You didn’t earn it. Many employees do just enough to get by. I hate to say it, but I would venture out and say that most employees do this. Many business owners category their employees as: A players, B players and C players. Which one do you think that you are? I’ll bet your manager, or business owner could tell you immediately who their top players are. They always stand out. They are the kind of people that you could give them anything and they would do everything in their power to get the job done. In my experience, A players do the job better than I could have done it myself. I know that it is not something that many people want to hear, but answer to why you didn’t get a raise could be your overall value to the company and your performance. If you know that you are not working at your full ability. Change that. Make some changes this year and make yourself extremely valued not because of “who you are” but because you just do the right thing and work hard and do your best. You did not let your boss know of your accomplishments. Are you the type of person that doesn’t want to bring attention to yourself and so you just don’t mention what you do or have done lately? As a manager I would like to give you a quick piece of advice: Don’t do that! Toot your own horn! Most managers and decision makers have so much on their plate and so many people that they are responsible for that they just don’t have the ability to focus on what you are doing every day. It is greatly appreciated when you send them a quick e-mail to let them know that a project has been completed, or let them know the wins that you have had over the past year. The sad thing is that there are many great employees that did some great things for their companies and the manager or decision maker simply does not know about it. Over this next year, I want to encourage you to become irreplaceable and make sure that you let someone know about your successes and wins. Managers love hearing the wins that their team has. The reality is that usually when someone comes to the manager it is when something has gone wrong that requires some level of advice or approval to do something different and try to improve a process or situation. Hearing about the great things that have happened are great and help positivity on your team. Don’t get to the point that you overly brag about what you do, but a healthy dose of sharing wins encourages everyone.