Just vent - pay increase

[Anonymous]

I haven't had a raise in 4 years despite getting top reviews in an environment where there's a quota. I.e., they can only give out so many 5s and 4s.

Private sector. Told I'm "top of the band."

Yes, it's unmotivating. I work more from home and refuse a lot more work. Who wants to strive to be a 5 if they won't reward you for it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not trying to offend, but is writing and other client communication a big part of your job? I've an employee who does good work but is not a native English speaker. A large part of his job is interacting with clients. He struggles with this and we have to assign part of this communication to others a lot. This brings his value down as an employee, because we have to pick and choose what he's able to take on.

Also, he does sometimes take longer and works slightly more hours than his peers, not sure if this is due to technical skill or communication. Anyway, his peers do make more because they are more efficient and make more money for the company and can handle all communications. That said, he's a good employee and works hard, and I don't feel he's underpaid for what he contributes. Just slightly less than more efficient peers.

Well, no, no client communication for me. I am anything but slow despite my accent and occasional grammar errors. My technical skills are good.

I m not personally offended, but your assumptions are, well, offensive.
If person is speak with an accent it doesn't mean he's thinks with accent, or developmentally challenged or something.
That should not affect pay-rate, assuming that person does perform according to job description.

[Anonymous]

Well in the case I described, it does impact his job. Part of the requirement is heavy client communication, and his accent is very strong so telephone and in person discussions are difficult. Email works better. Since he's not able to perform part of the job specification, others have to step in to handle tasks frequently. That is a valid reason to pay him slightly less, imo.

[Anonymous]

If bonuses ranged from 5-20% and you only got 2.5%, then they either want you out or don't value your work as highly as others.