How do you guys handle it when a relatively good employee asks for an outrageous raise? I just had a guy who is being paid $18/hour ask me to be paid $28/hour. He’s a decent worker, but really not particularly skilled at anything. I have much more skilled employees that make less than what he’s asking for. This person does mostly odd jobs throughout the business. He said he came up with that number because represents a 10% raise for each year he has been here, though the math clearly doesn’t work on that; he would be at less than $24/hour even if I had given him a 10% raise each year.
I agree he deserves a raise, but that amount is crazy. I can hire much more skilled and competent people at that rate. I’m somewhat indifferent to whether he stays or goes, but I don’t see him really quitting as he and my office manager are a couple, and they like to commute to work together. I can handle things if both of them quit. Life would be less fun for a bit, it’s not the end of the world. I don’t see any real scenario where they will be otherwise able to work together like they do now.
Ever watched Pawn Stars?
“This comic book appraises for $10k. How much you want for it?”
“No less than $75k.”
“Well, there’s no way you’re getting that. I’ll give you $4 for it and a New Kids on the Block cassette tape. And not a penny more.”
And it goes back and forth like that for a while until eventually they settle on around $8k.
Moral of the story is, both sides usually start out asking for an absurd number, knowing that eventually they’ll meet in the middle. Salary negotiations are no different. Employer wants to pay as little as possible, employee wants to be paid as much as possible, and both parties know that the reality is probably somewhere in the middle.
If they are making $18 now, and asking for $28, then perhaps start out with offering them something like $22 now, and another $2 in 6 months.