Employee Unhappy with Salary Raise: How Would You Handle Persistent Demands?

Hi there, recently, we increased the salary of one of our employees after evaluating her overall performance. However, she is not satisfied with the raise and is now expecting more. Every day, she approaches us and reminds us to further raise her salary. Please advise on how to handle this situation.

Thank you.

Dear Kavita, assuming that you have disbursed the hike judiciously, I assert that meeting an employee's expectations is an ideal situation, which is not a regular affair. The perceived hike will remain a few grands away from the actual hike.

The compensation is an offering for what an employee serves the organization. It may not take much for an organization to budge into the tactics as presented by the employee in question. However, you may take my word, one such behavior will reinforce the same in many.

Dissatisfaction is a combination of factors beyond the tangibles. Please find the areas of interest other than monetary benefits. Focus on the employee's growth for training and other leadership opportunities. You may offer her shadowing with a leader where she may get to learn several other areas and add on to her competencies.

Please share a little more about the background of this employee and probable areas for growth and learning. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Regards

Dear Kavita,

Assuming that you have disbursed the hike judiciously, I assert that meeting an employee's expectation is an ideal situation, which is not a regular affair. The perceived hike will remain a few grands away from the actual hike. The compensation is an offering for what an employee serves the organization. It may not take much for an organization to budge into the tactics as presented by the employee in question. However, you may take my word, one such behavior will reinforce the same in many. Dissatisfaction is a combination of factors beyond the tangibles.

Areas of Interest Beyond Monetary Benefits

Please find the areas of interest other than monetary benefits. Focus on the employee's growth for training and other leadership opportunities. You may offer her shadowing with a leader where she may get to learn several other areas and add on to her competencies. Please share a little more about the background of this employee and probable areas for growth and learning. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks for the response.

She is working as an HR in our organization, and she tells us that she has reaped many benefits for the company, so she is expecting more than what we offered her. It is not in line with her expectations. Now, I want to make it clear to her that this kind of attitude will not be acceptable, as she is coming and reminding the management to increase her salary.

What do you suggest?

Regards,
Kavita

Dear Kavita, if you have offered her the best compensation, please remain firm. If she insists on her contribution to the organization, please sign her up for grooming for a higher-level role. Offer her an opportunity to work with the leaders and shadow in different roles. If she is contribution-oriented, she would have a higher propensity for growth.

Areas for Growth

What are the different areas for growth for this employee? I would not suggest offering any monetary benefit. However, if you have any budget, please enroll her in any course relevant to the current or future requirements in the job. It would offer her long-term benefits.

Negotiating tactics become the order of the day post-appraisal. Henceforth, I suggest you prewire any such reaction with suitable offerings.

Regards

Thank you for the reply. As she is already handling HR activities and is burdened with responsibilities, she may not be able to handle more responsibilities. Do you suggest it is fair to repeatedly ask your management about this? Doing so may send the wrong message to other employees—that if you don't receive your expected salary, you should keep asking the management.

Regards,
Kavita

Dear Kavita, this looks like a cul-de-sac situation. Please firmly communicate to the employee that no further hike will be considered until the next appraisal. The worst-case scenario would be the employee leaving the organization for another job. How much would the loss amount to then? What is the training period required to bring a new employee up to speed? Weigh the odds and take your stand. You cannot reconsider the hike unless it is a dire situation where you will not find anyone to deliver the tasks or escalate the cost of training.

However, all my suggestions are based on the assumption that the employee has been treated judiciously.

I endorse (Cite Contribution)'s views. If the performance appraisal system is robust and valid, and the rewards are comparable across functions and levels, then it would not be wise to consider or accede to an employee's request or dissatisfaction. This would be unfair to other employees and send a wrong message across the organization.

Moreover, as far as employee satisfaction is concerned, as (Cite Contribution) has suggested, there are ample avenues for enhancing it, other than monetary compensation. Regarding "happiness," it is an internal state of mind and soul and cannot be brought about by any amount of salary enhancement, aside from a momentary fleeting experience of joy.

Warm regards.

Hello Kavita.82, further to what (Cite Contribution) & Raj Kumar mentioned/suggested, please confirm if you have verified/checked whether the HR person in question is taking the stand that she is taking—on a stand-alone basis or as a response to some sort of intangible/unseen comparison with someone else. Hope you get the point.

I have seen quite a few situations where even the best and most fair Review/Appraisal is not taken in the right way/spirit by the individual concerned—not because he/she doesn't agree with it, but because he/she considers/thinks another person with whom he/she has a professional rivalry got a better review. There's a phrase in Telugu which means: the wife throws a tantrum, not because the husband thrashed her, but because the neighbor-lady laughed at her. Hope you get the point and the connection.

Make a discreet inquiry to verify/eliminate this aspect before implementing the tough steps suggested by (Cite Contribution) & Raj Kumar. But if this reason does turn out to be true, then you would need to handle it in another way altogether.

I would also reiterate here what (Cite Contribution) mentioned: "all my suggestions are on the assumption that the employee has been treated judiciously."

All the Best.

Regards, TS

Evaluating Employee Expectations After a Raise

The question asked here and the answers and solutions sound a bit childish—pardon me—but this is not the way management is run. Haven't you done an appraisal with her when you decided on the raise? When the appraisal was done, wasn't she a party to it? She needs to know where she stands in terms of performance—rate her good or bad, but she will know what her ratings are. Once she knows the rating, she will know what to expect. Don't you declare the percentage of raise you would give to employees based on their ratings? Aren't you transparent in that way?

Your system sounds like the Mahabharat days when a sack full of gold was distributed to those who attended a function. You need to know what you have to give, and the employee needs to know what to expect. After giving a raise, you are asking how to address her expectations. In spite of all transparency, if she still asks for more, you need to know that, most importantly, saying no is also a management lesson.

Regards

First, tell me, are you her senior or at the same post? If you are senior, you need to provide a transparent view of management regarding the salary hike. Show her past performance and future expectations as considered by management. Assign new responsibilities if she needs an increase in salary. She is requesting a raise and is also a part of management, but make her aware that everyone has to follow the process set by senior management.

As a senior, you need to correct her perspective by saying no if necessary, or prepare someone who can convince her without causing any disruptions.

As a part of management, you have to make decisions that will not disrupt the work environment. Always remember to respect everyone who seeks your assistance. Always consider that preparing for a replacement should be the last resort. Try to retain your best-performing employee (if she is) without affecting the relationship.

Regards,
Sukhadev Sathe

Performance-Based Salary Increments

Mr. Ramamurthy N has hit the nail on the head. Salary rises cannot be based solely on one's expectations; they must be grounded in performance and the employer's capacity to pay. Simultaneously, salary increments must be consistent and fair for all within an organization.

To achieve this, an organization needs to establish a fair, transparent, and consistent Performance Management System (PMS).

Ramamurthy's comment criticizes the approach taken in managing the situation, suggesting it lacks maturity. He questions whether an appraisal was conducted prior to deciding on the raise and emphasizes the importance of involving the employee in the appraisal process. He highlights the need for transparency in communicating performance ratings and corresponding raise percentages to employees. He uses a metaphor from the Mahabharat era to illustrate the importance of clarity in expectations and the necessity of managing employee requests effectively.

Regards

Handling Salary Expectations in HR Roles

If the candidate is in an important business-related position, such as sales, marketing, technical, or production, you can consider giving them a raise. However, if they are in HR, you might also consider letting them go because if one HR employee is removed, there are typically 100 HR candidates waiting in line for the job. This is not the case for technical or core business competence roles.

Just because HR professionals handle appraisals and salary increments does not mean they should expect higher salaries. Give them a warning and terminate their employment if necessary. This is the harsh reality, whether you agree with it or not.

Regards

Handling Salary Expectations: A Delicate Approach

Very wrong approach, Mr. Ravi. You cannot and should not terminate an employee because he/she is expecting and demanding a higher salary. Just explain and justify the raise offered, and why a greater increment cannot be provided, and pacify.

Considerations Based on Role

If the candidate is in a crucial business-related role such as sales, marketing, technical, or production, you can offer a salary hike. However, if the candidate is in HR, you can consider termination because there is a vast pool of HR candidates available. This situation differs in the case of technical or core business competence positions. Merely because HR handles appraisals and increments does not imply they demand higher salaries. Provide a warning and then proceed with termination if necessary. This is a harsh reality, whether you agree with it or not. 

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I feel that a salary hike is very tricky. What I suggest is that you can scale your employees on a monthly basis so that at the end of the year, you only need to add up the monthly scores and place the scores in a range where each range corresponds to an increment percentage. The monthly scores would depend on a few parameters that you can consider, for example, responsibilities, targets, and other factors that you feel are essential for scoring. Provide the scores each month in front of the employee so that he/she can also have a say and understand your expectations. This way, at the end of the year, there may not be any tantrums. It's just a suggestion.

Dear Sir/Madam, I am working in the salon retail industry. Here, most of the candidates were not receiving ESI, PF, and other benefits from their previous company. At our company, we provide all the necessary facilities. However, they do not seem to appreciate it and always expect high salaries. Additionally, they tend to leave without serving the notice period. Kindly suggest how to handle this situation.

Regards,
Venu
R & R Salons Pvt Ltd.

Hello friends, those who shouted at me, please note the employee is coming daily and asking Kavita to increase her salary. What nonsense is this? Just because the employee is in HR, you need not be soft with him/her. HR should understand their salary and worth, and not come daily to remind us for a salary increase. What will you do if someone daily reminds you to increase their salary? Come on, people, speak sense. Just because the employee is in HR, it doesn't mean you should not consider them. Anyone who complains daily, cribs, and spreads negativity needs to be terminated immediately.

Whether an employee is from HR or any other department or function, the issue needs to be addressed in the same manner. You cannot and should not terminate an employee just because he/she is reminding you about something daily.

The reason why the employee is coming daily and reminding is that she did not receive any satisfactory and firm answer from the management. Here, the management is behaving in a very defensive manner. Once they are decisive and assertive and give a firm reply to the employee, she will not come again to remind.

The employee is not at fault for expecting more salary, and reminding about it is not a crime or misconduct. There is no justification to take very extreme and harsh steps like termination.

Addressing Salary Concerns

Hello friends, those who shouted at me, please note the employee is coming daily and asking Kavita to increase salary. What nonsense is this? Just because the employee is HR, you need not be soft with him/her. HR should understand their salary and worth, and not come daily to remind about an increase. What will you do if someone comes to you daily and reminds you to increase salary? Come on, people, speak sense! Just because the employee is HR does not mean you should not consider him/her. Anyone who comes daily, complains, cribs, and spreads negativity needs to be terminated immediately.

You have mentioned that she is handling HR and is already burdened with numerous responsibilities, making it challenging for her to take on more. While it may not be appropriate to increase her salary for the second time, you can review the salary increments given to others in the organization who are performing similar roles. If you determine that the raise they received is justifiable, you can share this data with her and discuss the matter further. If not, you might want to consider providing a lump sum amount or a non-monetary reward.

Regards,
R. Sathishan

I speak the truth. Whether an employee is from HR or any other department or function, the issue needs to be addressed in the same manner. You cannot and should not terminate an employee because he/she is reminding you about something daily.

The reason why the employee is coming daily and reminding is that she did not receive any satisfactory and firm answer from the management. Here, the management is behaving in a very defensive manner. Once they are decisive and assertive and give a firm reply to the employee, she will not come again to remind.

The employee is not at fault. Expecting more salary and reminding about it is not a crime or misconduct, and there is no case to take a very extreme and harsh step like termination.

Do you really know what really happens? Who gets a high salary? Whether they work or not? Come on, just search on the internet for harassment cases done by HR on other employees. If this was done by some other employee daily asking about PAY, HR would not have been so cool to explain but would have taken action.

Why different behavior for different people? This is discrimination.