I Find Out What My Coworkers are Making
Using Internal Information About
Salary Monica called with an interesting question the other day. For several
years, she has been working with a small engineering firm in which she is
the only woman engineer. She has long suspected that she is underpaid
relative to her male co-workers. Now, she had proof. She convinced a friend,
a secretary in their HR department, to print out a list showing how much all
the engineers make. She was hopping mad to see her suspicions confirmed that
she was receiving much less money, and wanted to know what to do with this
information.
I first advised her to take a
breath and calm down. Any salary negotiations should be done when you are
calm and collected. This was not a place for rash action. I told her not to
reveal that she had this list. Since her company had a policy of strict
confidentiality about salary, she might not only get herself fired, but she
could also endanger the job of her friend in HR.
Next, I advised her to do a
little homework and see if there is any objective reason for her co-workers
to be receiving more money. Did they have more experience, an advanced
degree, or any other experience or qualifications that might justify the pay
discrepancy. She concluded there wasn't. In fact, one of them actually had
less experience.
Had there been a discrepancy, I
would have advised her to discuss salary with the Human Resources department
and see how they determine salary, and also check to see if there might be
money available for professional development to upgrade her skills.
Second, are there any
performance issues that might justify the lower pay? She was absolutely
clear that there were not. In fact, two of the co-workers would sometimes
ask her advice on projects. They knew that she knew her stuff. She handled
as many projects, or more, than the rest of the staff. Her work had never
been criticized.
If there had been performance
issues, she might have a conversation with her boss about setting
performance standards and how she might achieve them in order to get a
raise.
I told
Monica to have a get-a-raise conversation with the boss (see separate
article). If the boss didn't respond, Monica could reveal that she knows she
is being paid less than her co-workers, without revealing the source-and
without sounding angry. Again, she should stress that she likes the job, but
needs to have the pay discrepancy handled.
