Q on pay, raises, compensation OT

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Q on pay, raises, compensation OT
12
Sun, 03-05-2006 - 12:05pm
Good morning, everyone. This is a question that has been on my mind for awhile. I noticed in several posts that many of you have gotten bonuses, raises, COL increases, etc. I realize it might be a little off topic, but in some ways, it is relevant, because it can affect your budget, how you can pay off something quicker, etc. DH didnt get a raise this yr (annual) because of the company's troubles, layoffs, etc. That I can understand. However, he did get a new generous starting salary at the new company. For me, there are no annual raises. If there is an increase in salary, it is due to a cost-of-living thing that happens if the competitors give raises, and then it is select departments that get it.. I did work for a company once that gave raises once or twice every 5-8 yrs. One company I worked for did give annual raises, but no COL based on what competitors were paying. How many of you get annual raises? What are COL anyway? Say your competition gives everyone a 7% raise, but their base salaries lag behind others.? Whiz.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-22-1999
Sun, 03-05-2006 - 12:23pm

Dear Whiz,

This topic is such a sore spot for me! I have been working my butt off for years,and very rarely does it get recognized in a monetary way. I have gone YEARS without raises but glowing reviews.........not even a bonus..........(I left a comany 9 years ago and got a huge raise...if I didn't, I would be stuck at a horrible wage. I often think there is some sort of descimination going on that this was happening.)

I am at a new company now, but I can see its going to be pretty much the same story. I was told at my review that there are no cost of living increases, and there are many points considered including ones I have no control of that will determine if I get a raise or not. I expect I'll get the goose egg again....well, I may not find out until April or OCTOBER..........no one could tell me ...........

But,I am looking for a new job.........................

Good question! Littlesbigs

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-09-2005
Sun, 03-05-2006 - 12:27pm
COL are cost of living increases, usually tied to some federal report. So if the Fed says the cost of living increased by 2% you would get a raise based on 2% of the salary you were getting (gross salary) and not really connected with the actual amount anyone else at the company might get since their salaries are all different. The good part about cost of living increases is that if a company gives one, everyone gets it. The kind of unfair thing is that the more you already make the more the 2% will be worth.
In my experience it is usually only fed or state or really large companies that routinely do a COL -- I am a teacher and we just got a cost of living increase, but it was the first raise in 4 years and it was only 3% -- they didn't care about the fact that the cost of living had also increased for the years we didn't get a raise (!!).
Megan
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-04-2006
Sun, 03-05-2006 - 5:53pm

i have not been working for the company i'm at now for very long so it's hard for me to compare this job with my last.. but at my last job (i was the store manager for a high-volume clothing retail chain), we received bonuses for any number of things. they could be individual or company-wide. i remember in jan of 2005, all SMs of every store (of each brand the company owned) received a $300 bonus just because the company's altogether sales were so much higher than they had ever hoped for. i also remember receiving an individual $200 bonus a few months after for exceeding my store's particular sales plan for the quarter. and i also received another individual $200 bonus a few months after that for lowering my store's shrink rate (merchandise lost by internal and external theft) by a certain percentage. all SMs had the same individual opportunities, plus more that i did not know about or receive. these bonuses were how the company got their results, gave out 'rewards', and ALSO got to avoid any annual salary increases to keep their employees. another perk however was that everytime you were offered a transfer (whether it be in the same mall to a different brand or in the same brand to a different mall or state), you were always offered a small raise as an incentive - plus the costs of moving expenses if necessary. i would like to think that they also compensated a little for COL if you moved.. but typically, you could not move to a store that was out of your region.. and regions were divided by the stores' volume (i.e. coule be a way to divide COL). (our region was mississippi, central and southern alabama, and the panhandle of florida - all low COLs).

all managers did not start at the same salary. it really depended on what state you lived in. with me living in mississippi, i am quite sure i was one of the lowest paid (b/c of our very low COL). it never phased me one bit b/c i never struggled and i was thankful to live in such a nice area without all the expensive costs.. but then Katrina struck and we had an influx of evacuees move into our city (and decide to stay). (i love the people i've met and how our city is now booming even more than before - but the COL has risen substantially.) i left the company in october, so things could have changed.. but i saw no real desire from the company to take this into consideration for a COL raise. at the same time though, this company has always been about performance.. and if you made your numbers, you got paid for it.

i'm not sure if this will be of any help, but my mother works pretty high up the chain for a gambling industry here in Mississippi; and she told me about their COL raise this past jan. this is the first time in her 6 years of working for them that she has received one. every other year it has been an annual raise based completely on evaluations and performance. IMO, that worked out well for them. all the supervisors were in touch with their employees' performances and could reward them accordingly. of course, some people stretched a bit on their employees' evals for various reasons; but overall, i think it was a great way to judge raises. this year however, no annual reviews/evals: EVERYone that worked for the resort received a 4% COL increase in salary across the board. i think the COL raise was long overdue, but it's also bad b/c no attention was paid to anyone's performance and the COL raise nowhere near met most of the people's typical annual raises which had been based on their performance. it did however allow those who may have (on the flip side) been eval'd wrongly all these years a chance for some kind of reward.

all in all, i guess it really depends on the industry and who you talk to as to who would prefer what. IMO, i would rather be judged for a raise in salary based on performance than anything else.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-07-2003
Sun, 03-05-2006 - 6:19pm

I'm a SAHM, but for dh right now, no raises & no bonuses.

Pumpkin

&nbs

Avatar for 2locachicas
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-14-2003
Sun, 03-05-2006 - 6:23pm

I stay home but DH works. At his company they do an annual review on your anniversary and if it is satisfactory you get a 3% raise....they call it a raise but we really consider it a COLA because inflation is 3% a year. Thankfully he has always gotten it.

At the job before this he didn't get a COLA, he was only there 2 years but he did get a 10k raise in that year. Of course, he went from measly pay to meager pay so it wasn't much.....

Today he is off on a plane for a job interview that would mean about a 25% increase in pay....that would be nice. But if not his job now is not bad.....

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-12-2006
Sun, 03-05-2006 - 6:35pm

Hi Whiz...

I've worked at retail headquarters most of my working life, and usually I have gotten a small merit increase each year(except for one year when the company sales results were horrible and nobody got an increase). They call it a "merit" increase, but the average is only 3%, so it is about equivalent to the rising cost of living. Right now in my job, I manage 11 people. I received a budget of 3.5% to dole out for raises, which is really hard because if I give my top people something decent like 5%, that means some of my people have to get 0%-2% to make it all work out. Fortunately, the company I currently work for has a really good bonus structure based on the company's financials. In an average year, people will get a bonus anywhere from $1500 to $12k. It's not something to count on, though, but when it happens it can be a nice windfall to use (in my case, we're using it to pay off our 2nd mortgage and hopefully some cc debt).

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Mon, 03-06-2006 - 12:14am
Hi, everyone. Interesting and varied responses. Didnt realize there was so much difference in compensation in different industries. Lucky for DH, he has gotten more job offers. THe one other job offer, naturally, came after he got hired at new place. It would be less pay, but government benefits. Does anyone know about pay grades and government benefits? DH is still undecided, but he is going to apply for it anyway. Thanks. WHiz.
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-23-2005
Mon, 03-06-2006 - 11:40am

Whiz-
DH is a civilian technician, so I'm hoping I can give you a bit of info on how it works. If we had to choose between the private sector and government- we'd definitely choose government.

The wage grades vary depending on several things. Location is a big factor, also there are different levels within each grade. At each step (just a length of time in the job), you obtain a new level of pay. DH has one more step increase before he is maxed out at his level- and he's only been there 4 years. This table might help you get a ballpark: http://www.opm.gov/oca/06tables/indexGS.asp

The benefits we receive are excellent. Medical coverage has been awesome and he is eligible for both FERS (Fed Employee Retirement System) and TSP (Thrift Savings Plan). The TSP is like a 401K- only better. Our earnings over the last 4 years amazes me. The governement matches up to 5%, but I don't think there are any limits as to the amount you can allot to it.

There are tons of other benefits to being a federal employee. I work at a state university right now and the first chance I get to move over into the federal sector, I'm jumping!! Paid holidays, tons of vacation & sick leave, etc. Plus he also receives between a 3-4% cost of living increase every January. Like I said, he's only been there 4 years and I think his gross salary has increased almost $10,000/year since he started.

What career field is your DH in?

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Mon, 03-06-2006 - 7:16pm
HI, MTG--Thanks a TON for this grading info site. DH is in medical/technical field, and he has a chance to go for it, so he filled out all of the paperwork. He does not have a college degree, so it might hold him back somewhat, but the position he is applying for, he does have a chance to either further his education or credentials. I will definitely share this with him, as the person called him up and is interested in him. Will let you know what happens. I owe you a debt of gratitude for this. WHiz.
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-2003
Mon, 03-06-2006 - 7:41pm

Well since Brandon is currently covered under the union all of his raises are spelled out. He gets 3 % cost of living every year, and raises based on his 6 month anniversary dates and 12 months. So he gets raises at 12, 18, 24 etc.

Since he is in an "acting" management title (basically probationary) he is still covered under the union. His company pays all insurance premiums for health, dental and vision for our entire family and he gets other perks too.

In June, or sometime after that if there is hiring freeze at that point, he will get a raise and he will be management. No more health benefits paid for the family. And the raises are different. Every year the center leader is given a certain amount of percentages to give out and it is their discretion to do so. Of course that number is based on sales goals and overall revenue. If the reps don't sell they don't get paid commission, the supervisors don't get paid and neither does the center leader. It all cycles up so obviously coaches that keep their team meeting goals for the center leader get a bigger percentage.

Stephanie

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