Incentive that won't effect payroll budget?

My last company wouldn't give me an annual increase of what I thought was fair. Instead they upped the percentage they paid towards my benefits.

When I started wth them I paid 25% of my health insurance costs. For the last 3 years I was with them they paid 100%.

With most benefits like that it's to the employee's advantage to have the company pay more instead of getting teh equivelent cash. No income taxes on the benefit in the U.S.. Many times it's worth more than the salary increase would be.

You could tweak the numbers if you have something in place already. If you currently pay 50% you could up it to 55% or 60%.

Well....I don't see how we could do that for an individual....

The company I work for is huge, thousands of people nationwide. Insurance benefits are negotiated at a totally different level.

Anyway, even if we could pay a little more for this one persons insurance...word would quickly spread, and there would be a line of people asking "then pay more for MY insurance as well"

I'm trying to think of something that would benefit her, but wouldn't single her out as receiving special treatment.

It's tricky.

Who knows though, if the manager says "well, you now drive 10 miles to work, and you're only a mile from us" she might think "hey, you're right, I can wait a year for an increase", which, if she's that good, will be higher than average. Performance is rewarded in terms in increases, and bonuses for meeting and exceeding clincial goals.

What was the amount of the signing bonus she was looking for?

My definition of a signing bonus is when a big-ticket employee is being attracted to work for a company and the company offers a signing bonus on condition that employee agrees to stay there for a certain period of time. For example, a signing bonus of $5,000 to stay for a minimum of two years. If the employee leaves before the two years are up, they have to return a piece of that $5,000 (negotiated at time of hiring).

If a signing bonus was not discussed initially, then I would explain to her that this is not a company practice and that the rate of $14.65 an hour was already agreed with her. The time to bring up the signing bonus issue was there and then, when discussing salary.

If it is a big deal to her, and you really want her, well is it worth it to lose her?

If you really cannot do the cash-money thing, negotiate paying for a class she may want to take.

I was looking for a raise and was yet again disappointed. My boss negotiated a class at MIT for me and I was very pleased. It didn't effect any other co-workers since we all take classes all the time and no-one thought anything of it. The fact that very few people get to take classes at MIT wasn't noticed and I was kept happy with a new thing to add to my resume.

Find out if there is some class she would like to do, that may be slightly outside of the norm that your company would normally pay for, in the course of business. Or offer to reimburse her some of the cost of taking a class that you would not otherwise reimburse an employee for.

This would have the effect of being similar to a signing bonus in that it is a one-off payment - it doesn't continue on and on (like an increased salary amount) - and she would need to keep her trap shut about it as this would be a special situation.

If other co-workers are going to squabble about every little thing that one gets and another doesn't, then I don't envy you working there. Yikes!

BTW, if a company quibbled over a little thing like this with me, I wouldn't accept the offer.

I agree with the first few paragraphs. She should have brought it up at the meeting before she accepted the position. I also wouldn't expect anyone who only makes $14.65 per hour to even think about a signing bonus. Of course, we may be different up here, but that is not a lot of money. Cooks in some restaurants make that, and more, and that's not even "trained" cooks.

The last paragraph I disagree with because of what you said earlier - she should have brought it up during salary discussions.



In a large company you have to have standards otherwise people will be resentful. I totally see why she can't be given something that will set a precedent.

~~~

If she wants to move to your company, she'll take the job. I think your plan of telling her she stands to get all that at the end of the year if her performance checks out is a good one. 35 cents an hour is not that big a deal. What will she take home out of the $738, anyway?

We're not talking big money here.

From my perspective, I rather have a hard worker, who is diligent, never
late, and not frequently absent for $ 15./hour than someone where I don't
know their work ethics but save 35 ¢/hour in wages.

In the long run, you'll lose more with a mediocre employee than someone
who comes highly recommended and has great work ethics.

I have learned that from experience, and if a prospective employee comes
with good recommendations, I'd go for it. Contrary to popular belief -
good, hard working employees are hard to find.

Good points all...that's why this is such a difficult thing to compromise on.

To address individually...

Heeven - Yes, we do sign on bonuses, for licensed people, i.e. nurses, dietitians, social workers, etc. The amount of the sign on bonus is $5,000 and up....and I mean REALLY up, like $15,000. For this, they sign a 2 year contract, and if they leave any time before that, they are required to return in ALL...none of this pro-rated crap. If we did that, people would just say, well, I got whatever it would have been for the time I was there, so what?

As far as "she should have brought this up when negotiating salary" well, this IS where she is negotiating....when I said "later" I meant when she got to the stage of interviewing with the person who will be her direct manager.

In the interview process for my corner of the world...I'm the person who gets sent profiles by recruiting, who are BTW, nothing but glorified paper pushers. First, I read the resumes & profiles, and cull out the "no way in hells", then I contact the rest, talk to them for about 15 minutes screening out more "you've got to be kiddings" and setting up a group interview for those who satisfied me. The interview team meets 2 or 3 times a month at my office, and they interview on one day the 3, 4 or 5 people I set up.
I don't discuss money with someone, except to find out what they are looking for. The group doesn't discuss $$'s either. They are concerned with how the person will fit within our structure. Then, if they get past them, their resumes and notes are shared with the managers, who talk amongst themselves to decide who needs who...then interviews them themselves, and with the other people who work at that location. By the time the candidate is done with all this, believe it or not, they are really happy they went through all this, because they realize we only hire the cream that rises to the top.

So...she was at that stage, I'm thinking it only occured to her afterwards, perhaps when she saw an ad or something on our website to ask about a bonus.

I do not hold this against her, because, to be honest, she very much impressed me during our screening (and those who know me here know I can be a real pill and hard to impress) The group thought she was an excellent fit, and the manager had actually called me before I received her profile to tell me to watch out for her info coming to me, because he had heard glowing reports from his best people at his clinic....they are all looking forward to getting her on board.

In addition, she DOES want to work for us....it's hard to explain, because she doesn't do this in a bragging way, but she Knows she the best tech out there....she doesn't have to show off, she's the real McCoy.

Also Heeven....classes? Huh. We have full tuition reimbursement for any class they want to take that pertains to the field....We will pay to send her to RN school if she wants, and agrees to stay x amount of time after becoming licensed....In fact, her manager? When I started with the company 10 years ago, he was a tech. We paid for him to become an LVN, we paid for him to become an RN, he's now a manager of a clinic making a very, very good salary, stock options, profit sharing, etc. et. etc....AND we are currently paying for him to earn his Masters in nursing. In case no one has ever heard this, nurses are scarce....but, we only want the good nurses...nurses can be flakos like everyone else. One flako can destroy the team that has worked together a long time....

Yes, it can seem like employees are complaining about every little thing, like "why aren't I getting that too, when this new person is?" But, I can see that...these are people who work 40, 50 or more hours a week with each other, depend on each other to fall back on when things get hairy out on the floor, and have to trust each other....it's like a family. So, I see where they are coming from when they want to make sure they are treated according to their longevity, and superior service....C Jane, you don't have to tell me how hard it is to find someone good. We're employing people who are keeping your mother, husband, or daughter alive.

Mame....no $14.65 doesn't sound like a lot I suppose, but, there are all the other benefits, bonuses that go along with it. Techs work under the direction of licened personnel, who make quite a bit more.

Anyway, I know it sounds like peanuts, but when you multiple that out by how many people in an area it can affect, it adds up.

Sure, she's going to either accept the job, or not....but, I've learned people have a built in forgetter....she came to us, wanting to stay in a profession she loves, but not wanting to work for the other guy, hearing we were better, and not necessarily about pennies. If she is as intelligent as she's shown herself to be, if she's reminded of the real reason she wants to make the move, she'll comply....She may very well just be doing the smart thing, seeing how much she can negotiate for.

I just thought it would be a plus to be able to say to her "Well, you know, we can't offer you that much, but what we will do for you is (fill in the blank)", which will fulfill her in a much bigger way....it's not all about money, and I know she knows that...but, if you don't ask, you don't know how much you didn't get.

cant believe she cam to you then asked for a sign on bonus.

If she's moving jobs just for the (extra) money she will move again. Money doesn't cut it long term.

Job satisfaction, concvenience (close to home), co-workers.

but.....she's NOT coming to us for the extra money.

She has done this work, for one other company, for 6 years. Has never been absent 1 time, showed us her award for that (on top of everything else, she extrememly organized)

She chose to interview with us, because, quite frankly, we are the best company to work for in the field.

If it were about the money, she wouldn't have gotten as far in the process as she has.

but, and I guess I'm not making it clear enough, she's not a fool, and if you don't stretch to your limits, no one's going to hand you something. Both sides have said their piece, and will get together again on Friday.

I believe what she is doing is very savy.

I was thinking, to save face with her, it would be respectful to offer some other non-monetary plus for joining us....like saying "You will work well, and get bigger raises, and bigger bonuses with others, but, we too have our limits budget wise.....since that is the case, we would like to do xyz for you as a token to show we believe you be far more successful in the not too distant future.

For instance, if she was given the opportunity for more responsibly shortly after her hire. We have teams for all sorts of clinical projects, and if she was aware that something she was very good at would be her baby in let's say 3 or 6 monts, she would feel honored, and might think "You are showing you have high expectations for me, and that you are allowing me to grow into something I've wanted to do. That's better than a few cents, which will be more than coming to me anyway in the near future"

No, this isn't just a clock in, clock out type of work, you have to have a passion for it, and she does. She negotiating to have her passion in some way recognized.

Just a thought -- the amount you're talking about is very close to the total amount generated by the raises I got in my first two years where I work. Will it take her two years to get to the point where she's earning $15/hr.?

[rant]Just this year (third annual raise) the dollar amount of my rate changed - like $14.xx to $15.xx. In the past year, my fast-food worker kid has received raises that moved her dollar amount TWO digits! I'm getting a quarter an hour annually after thirty years in the industry and this kid comes home saying "They gave me another eighty-two cent raise today. That's the third one since January!" Humpf.[/rant]

No, after her first year, she'd probably get a 4% or even 5% raise. That is, if she is rated superior in her annual review.

hmmm...that's a possibility. If she was asked how much she got % wise in raises where she is, it's probably lower that what she'd get here.