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.
If you can afford it and he’s valuable, give him a raise and more responsibility. I don’t know if I’d just give what he asks for because you set the standard that 10% every year its expected. Also, even though it’s likely not the case, but this employee will think you’ve been willingly underpaying them while they’ve been there until they had the balls to ask you.
If you want to keep them, meet them 50% to 75% of the way but add some additional responsibilities to it and track how well they handle those responsibilities. If they do great with it, awesome. You have a happy employee and greater bandwidth. If not, if the labor is as unskilled as you claimed, hire someone else and let them go.
As a former employee who got a raise after asking, I can tell you the honeymoon is short with granting the request in full. Immediately they’ll start wondering “should I have asked for more”, “why did it take me asking for my labor to be valued” and “well, every year I’m going to start asking”.
I don’t know your business, but if there is anyway to tie raises or bonus to performance, do it.