One of your team members asks for a compensation raise. What do you do?
If you work in a structured, corporate environment, you will likely encounter 'review season' where compensation increases and promotion requests are expected. If you aren't expecting a promotion request or compensation raise request from your team member, it's easy to be caught off guard. Being unarmed and without a plan can result in committing to something unintentionally or reacting in a way that damages your relationship with your team member.
When a team member asks for a compensation raise or a promotion, there are many factors to consider before giving a definitive response. The interviewer wants to know that you would respect your team member while also considering company processes and policies. For instance, there may be a pay band, or the employee may not be eligible because of low performance. If you have faced this situation in the past, lean on your experiences when forming a response. If you have not been in this situation, describe what you believe to be the best course of action.
"First, I would thank the person for coming to me with their request. I would ask for specific details on their expectations and then give myself time to perform due diligence. For example, I might say, 'Thank you for bringing this to me. What do you believe would be an appropriate increase?' Once I have the details of their expectations, I would say, 'Please give me some time to review your request. Let's meet in one week, at this time, to discuss your request in detail.' Then, I would take time to review the company's policies on promotions and raises. Next, I would review my employee's performance and benchmark against other employees to ensure fairness. Either way, the conversation will be one that I am very well prepared for. I view compensation raise and promotion requests as an excellent opportunity to have one of two conversations. The first, and my favorite, is a conversation surrounding my team members' exceptional performance where I can complement their work and grant them the raise or promotion. On the flip side, the request may be unfounded. In that case, I would have a conversation focused on helping the team member grow into the compensation range or job title that they desire."
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