So most of you know that I am a manufacturing supervisor. What most don't know is the company is a smaller specialty foods manufacturer. Our crackers took 6 out of the top 10 spots including 1-4 in the specialty cracker market. The company has been growing at a rate of 34% a year for the past 6 years. I've been with the company 18 months now and during that time have seen 5 other supervisors come and go. I've covered 2nd shift for 8 of those 18 months and covered 3rd for 2 of those also. I have taken the first shift team from not being able to function at all without me and running at a 40% yield to developing and cross training them so they can run without me every day if need be and a year to date yield of 84%. I have also written 95% of our procedures and changed the lay out of the production floor to be more efficient. So, now that I'm done bragging, here is where my question comes in to play. I was hired in as a line lead and soon realized it was much more. I was responsible for the entire shift of production. The owner came to visit and asked me what my duties were and when I told him, his words were "You are a supervisor, not a line lead". It took 8 months of "your raise is coming" to finally get it. One my fellow supervisors quit and during his last day shared with me his salary and from what he said was the same as mine. He lied. I honestly thought they were being hired in at the same rate until my boss informed me that the rate was actually 22%-28% higher than what I make. Upset, to say the least, I tried to hide it and asked if there was anything in my future financially. He stated he was trying to get me a raise. This was over a month ago. I took the job as a line lead because I had been unemployed for 15 months. Had I known what I was getting into, I would not have accepted the position and if unemployment benefits wouldn't have ended due to the offer, I wouldn't have accepted. The growth of the company continues and so do opportunities but, as it stands right now I'm making 28% less than the other supervisor and 33% less than the average in the area. As of right now, I'm in line to become the Operations manager when we put a new line in next year I not before. From what I'm seeing that will be nothing more than a title with more responsibility and maybe slightly higher pay. Good for a resume yes but, not sure it's worth it. So in this situation, what would you do?
Yup you sir are getting hosed. I would bet addressing my concerns to the GM, you appear to have made yourself an asset. They will either recognize that and pay you accordingly or its time to start shopping your resume. Good luck
Yep, I would stay in your position for the time being but definitely start looking around for other jobs. If you get an offer but enjoy your current job and the people you work with, I would just give them an ultimatum and tell them you'd like a raise to reflect your hard work and progress in your current title or that you're going to jump ship and go elsewhere. I would think that if they're growing that quickly every year and enjoying such success that they should be able to reward some of the individuals that were responsible for it rather than pad their own salaries. I know with growth they're probably investing a good bit of it back into the company but if you're an asset they should be willing to work with you.
Sticks, first prayers for you in this situation moving forward. I agree, I think you've decided in your head and heart what your next steps need to be, now it's just deciding when and how. Be honest but don't appear weak in whatever way, shape or form you present your issue with management. If you're a praying man, go to Him for a few days and truly seek His guidance.
(hint) start updated that resume !! My daughter is in the same position at a major bank. She was hired about 12 years ago, found out that the new hires are getting about 15-20% more money than she is getting paid right now....and she has to train them !!!! Be Careful tho.....nobody is indispensible......stick your finger in a bucket of water, pull it out and see how big of a hole you left.
If you're really that valuable to the company and threaten to leave, they will pay you. But would you accept? In my old job, I was in a similar situation. Kids straight out of college were being hired on making as much as me while I was having to train them. That didn't sit well with me, so I started looking around. When I received the offer for my current job, my old boss tried to counter, but I took that as more of an insult and left anyways.
Sounds like you've done a hell of a lot for this company and made them quite a bit of $ in the process. I would recommend the following... Make a list of the things you've accomplished since you've been there. Make sure you can back up every thing you feel you've improved with evidence. Show what the situation was before you came in as opposed to the current state of affairs. Get a hard copy of your job description, and put that with your list, so you can show how far above and beyond you've gone. It sounds like you've already done some research into what you're getting paid vs the going rate in your field and area, but make sure you can verify and confirm the #'s to a 3rd party without doing anything unethical or questionable. You want to be able to show verifiable HARD facts that give a picture of the difference you've made for this company. You also want to be able to show what the "standard" compensation for someone in your position is. Your bosses already know all this, but you need them to know that YOU know it as well. Start taking this package up the chain until you get what you're after. Be respectful and humble, but by all means, be confident. You know how much you're worth, but it's up to you to show them that. Don't step on any toes you don't have to, but don't settle for less than you've earned. You should absolutely update your resume, but don't hold that over their heads. The last thing you want to do is threaten to leave if you don't get your way. Trust me, they KNOW it's in the back of your mind, but the first time you say it, plan on being invited to do just that. You want to show that you know the value of your work and that you feel you deserve a fair deal. At the same time, you also want to let them know that you're proud of the fact that you've helped this company grow, and that you want to continue to help make this company stronger. That loyalty will make you stand out quite a bit higher than you already do. Whatever happens, best of luck. Also, if you use my plan and get what you're after, I'm a big fan of cracked pepper water crackers... Also those chik n biskit things. Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using Tapatalk 2
Sell yourself to them and get what you are worth. I would put it all in writing. If they don't come through, start looking.
Before approaching management, make sure you have all the facts straight and don't compare apples to oranges (i.e. don't compare yourself to someone as equally qualified who has been working for them longer). Although I do not necessarily agree with longevity as a reason for a raise over merit, many employers and employees do and you could not only rock the boat with management but also alienate yourself with co-workers.
I've been there, done that. I was working in a sales position. I was the #1 salesperson in the district and number 3 in the region and we were in a smaller market. Town of only about 70,000. I was very good at what I was doing and would train all the new people that came in to do the same job as me. One day, one of the newer people that I had trained left her 90 day review on her desk right side up. One of the other people happened to notice it saw she was making more than them. Told me how much and I went to see for sure. I was furious because she was making a lot more than me and was nowhere near as capable to do the job as I was. It talked to my supervisor and he didn't believe me, so he went into HR and looked at the records and I was right. He called me in and apologized and said he would see what he could do. The store manager just blew it off and said he wasn't going to do anything about it. So I told them "that's fine, I'll continue to do my job, but the first opportunity I have, I'm out the door." I did just that, in about 2 weeks I had interview and accepted a job. I took a pay cut to leave, but it was worth it. In a couple years time I had already eclipsed what I was making in the previous job and I've been with this company for 8 year. Sometimes you just have to move on!
