I was reminded recently of how important it is to put yourself in your employees’ shoes, so I’m sharing my story with you …
It was the late 80s and I was off to University. My parents proudly waved goodbye at the start of Freshers’ Week, we all knew if I put in a bit of effort I would graduate a few years later with a ticket to a fantastic job and career. Sadly, when the time came to get that job in 1992 the recession had hit. By then good graduate jobs were thin on the ground.
But I got one! And one of the best I’d say. As a management trainee I was given a responsible job and some great training. I was even managing people. And the package was good with a salary higher than both my parents who were a housekeeper and factory worker. Brilliant!
It took a while to realise that graduate jobs, although all ‘Level 1’ in the company, were two different grades. This supposedly reflected job content but in reality appeared completely arbitrary. My job was at the lower level. The majority of my fellow graduates luckily had jobs at the higher level. This meant their salary was £500 more than mine.
It took a while for this to really get to me but it did. It really did. Why was I working so hard when the company valued my contribution less than my colleagues? The job that I was so excited about, and so proud of, had developed a bad taste. My manager told me it was the system and couldn’t be changed.
It was a pleasant surprise to find how marketable I had become after a few years of work experience and management training - and by then an MA and CIPD qualification to boot. I moved to another great job where the company valued me and gave me fair reward for my efforts.
This same story is happening in companies everywhere and it’s not great for the company or the employee. When reward is seen as unfair, the feeling will soon spread to other aspects of the employment relationship, no matter how good they are. Yet, it can be so simple to fix. If you want motivated and engaged employees, get the basic elements of reward right.
