Getting paid less than coworkers at same level
Hi all,
I recently found out my bonus for the year and discovered I was being paid c. 5-10% less than my coworkers at the same Assoc level. At the time I was given my numbers, I asked the head of my group if I was in-line with my peers to which he responded yes, so I have now found out I was lied to.
I’m confused about the pay differential to my coworkers, as I worked hard on more successful transactions this year than my coworkers, and receiving great feedback from everyone I worked with (confirmed by my manager). My manager confirmed in the year-end review process I had 0 negative feedback. Without wanting to sound like a dick, the pay differential feels unfair as I cannot tell what I’ve done wrong to deserve it. I think my non-target background might have an influence in the seniors not taking me as seriously as others.
The question is: what is the best way to go about finding out what is causing the pay differential, and if possible negotiate a higher bonus in-line with colleagues?
Few questions:
Base is in line with coworkers We were given target bonuses (all the same), I got less than my coworkers got on target or more than their target
5-10% is so little. why are you bitching? Basically are in line if you stop ordering guac at chipotle
It’s the principle that matters though - I don’t understand why I’ve been given less. How should I go about understanding what caused the difference and how to negotiate a bit more?
Life is simply not very fair. It's a good lesson to learn eventually and frankly most people go through what you are going through now. Many high achievers grow up thinking that working hard results in proportionate outcome but the world is not exactly like that. Also lol 5-10% difference is just silly.
Have you considered your coworkers could be lying or doing some other mental gymnastics to boost the comp # they say
Fair point but I’m 99% sure they are not doing that
Lateral. In the game of career/love/life things work out best when you are the driver rather than the passenger.
Agree with the above, leave it alone. Great that you had positive feedback, but perhaps your peerset had more exceptional years (more deals done, etc.). 5-10% is very minor in the context of this job.
I'd save your social capital for bigger negotiations (promotions, carry allocations, etc.) than $15k here and there.
Does your boss have control over the comp of your other coworkers? As in, are they on your direct team. Meaning, your boss could very well just not even know.
Anything related to work ethic maybe?
If you really, really want to bring it up, I would set a meeting with your boss and just say that you were hoping to set up a feedback session, and would love to understand any constructive feedback that you could improve on. In that meeting I would say that you are aware that most of your peers (if that’s true) were awarded a higher all in compensation, so you’d like to understand what you can do to set yourself up for success during this year. I wouldn’t ask them to adjust your compensation - either it was a mistake and they may offer, or it was intentional and you’ll look foolish for getting bent out of shape over such a small difference. It’s better to slip it in, in the context of aiming for a path toward future improvement.
The more important question, however, is whether everyone other than you got the same thing, or if there is a spread of buckets. If it is a spread of buckets, I would really urge you not to bring the compensation piece up at all. If it seems like compensation was broadly lockstep and you are literally the sole exception, then you could potentially do what I suggested above.
Edited to add: One other point that seems to get missed sometimes by associates (which may or may not be the case here) - there is a difference between not having negative feedback and being a top performer. Sometimes, people are simply meeting expectations, or not doing anything "wrong" per se but just aren't performing at the same level as their peers. That usually manifests itself as feedback to "continue working on attention to detail" or "continue to expand your understanding of the bigger picture" or other such generalities. In fairness, that's partially a failure of management to deliver useful feedback, but you'll be surprised how hard it is once you get there and are dealing with a perfectly fine, average performer. One thing you could do, if you think that you're not viewed as a top performer but aren't getting actionable reasons, is to ask someone you work with directly, make it clear that you won't be insulted or take it the wrong way, and then ask for specific examples about what top performing associates do that you are not doing. If it is someone that knows you won't be resentful and you have a good relationship with, then hopefully you can get them to do a compare / contrast with the top bucket associate so you can actually figure out what you're not doing (even if you're doing all the basics). Again, it usually ends up being more trustworthy work (for example, maybe your materials need two iterations which is fine, but another associate literally delivers product that requires no comments because they thought through the messaging better), better understanding of the big picture (kind of the same idea), more proactivity (i.e., you do what you're asked in a timely fashion, but another associate totally anticipates what will need to be done and can basically be put on autopilot), etc... People usually hesitate to give that feedback if you're doing fine because it's sort of "nice to have" but those are typically the sort of thing that actually set people apart (and it's probably useful to understand that regardless of whether this 5% lower bonus was intentional or not).
This is a super helpful answer and I think you might be hitting the nail on the head here. Thank you so much
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