Of course, in your employees’ eyes, anytime is the right time for a pay raise! However, the timeliness of the raise has repercussions that should always be thought through. Some questions to consider are:
- Is the pay of my good employees keeping up with inflation?
- The pay of a certain employee may have been competitive years ago when they were hired, they don’t complain, and they don’t do anything so exceptional as to deserve a big raise. Are they worth retaining? If so, look into a cost of living increase
- Does my annual scheduled raise incidentally reward for bad behavior?
- Don’t let mandated annual pay raises cloud good management. This is the perfect time to consider, is this person worth retaining?
- Does the positive benefit of the raise justify the cost of the raise?
- When it’s truly time to award a raise; don’t think of it as an expense, but as an investment. For example; by rewarding the profitable work efforts of your employee, you will reap further profitable behavior.
- If profits are up, do your employees feel it?
- As most employees are not part of a profit sharing program, the executives may experience a windfall but your lower level employees don’t even feel a breeze. Look into finding a creative way to let your employees benefit from your gains by granting a bonus, a party, or even a pay raise.
However you go about it, keep in mind that your employees are your most important resource. If you need assistance with your staffing needs, please give us a call or send us a message via our website. We’ll handle all the recruiting, interviewing, and payroll so you can focus on what you do best!