Shortly after being promoted, I discovered that one of the employees I manage makes significantly more than I do. “Jake” is not even an outstanding performer, yet his pay is 15 percent higher than mine. Because I’m managing a department of 12 people, this makes absolutely no sense.
I don’t have access to salary data, so for all I know, other employees under my watch might also be making more than me. I haven’t mentioned Jake’s salary to management because my promotion included a nice raise and I don’t want to appear ungrateful. However, this doesn’t seem right. What do you think? Payless
Reading this query I was reminded of a post I wrote titled, Most Wanted. I agree with McIntyre that as a manager this supervisor, should politely ask their boss and/or human resources manager for an understanding of how staff are being paid, as reviews and promotions often come with a pay increase. I do think that should be the extent of her knowledge. I do not believe this supervisor should ask for curiosity purposes as McIntyre suggests, if this is a small private business, management may have never implemented a formal compensation plan. Without an organizing structure, salaries just evolve haphazardly over time, resulting in illogical discrepancies. Amazingly, some companies don’t even establish salary caps, so ongoing raises can cause pay to skyrocket well beyond the value of the job. How would you handle this issue?
