Many years ago, when I was working for a large company, annual increase time finally arrived. But, when I opened my pay advice envelope, I noticed my compensation — how the company measured my value as an employee — had not gone up.
“Hmm…” I thought. “That’s probably not a good sign.”
A few days later, my supervisor came into my office, closed my door, and said I had reached a plateau. I was “maxed out” in terms of my salary range, and there would be no more raises.
I was pretty young at the time and didn’t like what I was hearing. More importantly, I had been in human resources for a number of years and knew this was often the way a supervisor would share with an employee that he or she wasn’t adding the necessary value.
Evaluating My Value
I believed my lack of a raise was due to the latter reason. My supervisor must have perceived that I didn’t add value commensurate to my pay. But what to do?
I reevaluated my role in the company:
- “Following all policies?” Check.
- “Getting along with others?” Check.
- “Doing what my supervisor said?” Check.
- “Working hard?” Check.
- “Coming in early?” Check.
- “Leaving late?” Check.
- “Not taking all my vacation time?” Check
“Adding perceived value?”
“…adding value?”
Next Steps
I was in human resources. I was writing policies and procedures, creating and delivering training; assisting supervisors with write-ups and terminations; running the benefits area; and overseeing the payroll function. I kept coming back to “adding value,” but what wasn’t I doing?
We had a salesperson I worked with steadily over the years. He needed a lot of hand-holding and watching, because (although he was a great salesperson) he didn’t follow rules. He would run over coworkers before even thinking of the “team.”
But, not one time — never — did anyone ever come to me and say “Rex, we need to look at David and perhaps do a write-up or terminate him.”
Not one time.
David was above reproach. He brought in tens of thousands of dollars a week, and that appeared to be his cape. I never would figure out what his kryptonite was. I’m not sure there was one. When our company sold and several hundred folks lost their jobs because their roles were absorbed into another division, David just kept going. When he was accused of violating a company policy, the accuser who left the company. His cape was solid.
Our company, like many in the for profit world, was a sales-dominant culture. To add value, I needed to bring in revenue like David did.
“That’s it!” I thought, and then almost immediately after, “But I don’t ‘do’ sales.”
The following year, immediately prior to annual increases, I received the biggest increase I had ever received from this company. I hadn’t sold anything.
What Changed?
Our company had a sales-dominant culture, and although I wasn’t a salesperson, I invested heavily in all the things I touched that touched sales. All of a sudden, I wasn’t wearing a cape nearly as invincible as David’s, but I was adding perceived value.
How I got there and what I learned is a story for another post, but the lesson here was clear: every role in every organization can add value. The only question is, how?
REX CASTLE is a co-founder at friendsTED. He has over 3 decades of human resources, training, public speaking and slide design experience. He also has published 3 books:
- Selecting the Brass Ring: How to hire really happy, really smart people (and pay them really well)(the complete work),
- Why not WOW? Reaching for the spectacular presentation, and a parable of his complete work,
- The Brass Ring: How to hire really happy really smart people (and pay them really well).
His passion is working with organizations to increase ROI through creative and replicable models for everything from hiring to leadership to presentation. He is a strategic thinker, thought provoking facilitator and exceptional business partner.
Rex is employed in the technology industry where he is responsible for social media, online help systems, online training systems and assisting the sales professionals in their presentations and slide design. He also has years and years of experience in the manufacturing and finance industries. He is well-traveled and has lived in numerous areas across the United States, but calls Lubbock home and spends most of his spare time with his first grandchild, reading, and enjoys woodworking.
Source: http://www.friendsted.com/blog/friendsted-blog/the-critical-piece-adding-value-to-your-company/