Need advice. I work for a small family-owned manufacturing company. Business very good. Benefits very limited. Have been here 13 years. Owner and wife get new luxury (company) cars almost every year. Daughter now works here, gets paid a lot, new cars, etc. I make pretty good money, but think I derserve more. When salary talk comes up, he’s fairly tight. Now, I don’t begrudge him and his family’s good fortune, but it’s obvious they can afford to pay me more. Is there a tactful way to introduce this into salary negotiations? He’s a pretty good guy.
What they can afford to pay you is not all that relevant. What matters is (a) what your work-product is worth to them, (b) what you could get from another employer, and © what they would have to pay to get a replacement for you.
What the daughter (or the father or the mother) gets is irrelevant unless your job is very comparable to one of theirs. It would probably be a mistake to introduce this factor into the discussion at all; it might offend him and, even if it doesn’t, it won’t help you unless, as I say, there’s a very clear comparison between your job and that of the family member you compare yourself with.
What they can afford to pay you is not all that relevant. What matters is (a) what your work-product is worth to them, (b) what you could get from another employer, and © what they would have to pay to get a replacement for you.
What the daughter (or the father or the mother) gets is irrelevant unless your job is very comparable to one of theirs. It would probably be a mistake to introduce this factor into the discussion at all; it might offend him and, even if it doesn’t, it won’t help you unless, as I say, there’s a very clear comparison between your job and that of the family member you compare yourself with.
You have some good points - especially in your second post;-)
You’re right, just because they can afford to is not enough reason to pay me more. I just don’t buy that they can’t. Think I’ll let discretion be the order of the day unless some other poster comes up with some idea just zany enough to work.
Try comparing your job (taking into account seniority) with other similar ones. You’ll probably find they cover a range of salaries and, if you’re firmly pegged to the upper end, it’s probably not going to be productive to ask for a raise. Judge your performance against this scale and, objectively, ask for what’s realistic.
You could also try asking not for more cash but for other benefits. Maybe try for a couple of extra days holiday a year or something similar that might increase the net worth of the job rather than just the salary.
Perhaps as a tactical move you should seduce their daughter? A pay rise may be automatic for sons in law.
This is like any other negotiation.
Pay is basically, “What would it cost to have this person replaced?” In other words, how much will it cost to get someone else to do this job.
Seal: He’re a bit of advice: If the Money is just slightly above “Ok”, but the job has no advancement, either leave, or take up a lucrative hobby…
(That’s what I did…)