Annual review and raise, WTF!?

[laurence]

So my appraisal was last month, walk on water, you da man, yadda yadda.

I get my raise slip: 1.5%

.... ...... .....

Quote: "Due to your large increase last fall and your 'penetration' into your salary grade, your raise this year was affected."

My big raise last year barely got me in the ballpark of my peers, and they all still make more than me!!! Jerks.

So how are all the rest of you working stiffs doing with your raises this year?

 

[Papi]

You beat me by approximately 1.5% .

 

[justin]

So far, you're up 1.5% on me for the year. Supposedly "raises will occur at some point", or so goes the rumor mill... Maybe this year is the year I get a raise in line with inflation...

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

It would seem "fair" that a company ought to raise you at least to the rate of inflation. Then again, whoever thought of "The Man" as ever being fair?

 

[brewer12345]

L-man, you need to spiff up that resume. That kind of treatment is a sign that it is time to consider hopping over the fence.  If you let them do it and then stick around, they will keep doing it.

My comp is all bonus-driven these days.  No raises on the base are likely to ever happen.

 

[laurence]

Actually, I was already flirting with a different line of business within the company. This just washed any residual feelings of guilt.

I was warned that once I join the (massive) group of software and system engineers I'm in now, it's hard not to become an anonymous blip on the radar screen. My manager alone has 90 employees.

I just thought they could do the 3-4% COLA, geez, I'm cross eyed right now, and I have a ton of work to do. Focus. Focus.

 

[dunc0029]

That sucks, man!  I know the feeling.  Last year, I had the most disheartening review/raise of my life, after a year of working long extra hours and bending over backwards.  Worst of all, it was a one-time opportunity for a large raise at my company, which was adjusting it's entire compensation structure.  It really makes you question whether doing a great job is worth the effort.  I find out my next raise in the next few weeks and I'm not expecting much.

Like brewer said, dust off that resume and see what comes along.  It won't hurt.  Talented people are hard to come by and ought to be rewarded as such.  I've sent a few resumes out lately, but am waiting for my raise so I have a higher base from which to work.

I'll post my raise when I find out.

 

[maddythebeagle]

Havnet heard on a raise yet, but think it will be minimal. Didnt we have a thread discuss that bernstein was supposedly on the vanguard diehards board and that younger folks in their 40s should continue to work since wage increases will help keep up with inflation. What a bunch of b.s.

 

[bpp]

Got a teeny, tiny little downward adjustment this month. I guess that's a COLA in a deflationary environment. (Never mind that I thought we were supposed to finally be coming out of deflation.)

Bpp

 

[Texas Proud]

I did get a 3% raise, but it was offset by my reduction in bonus... so net zero...

But, I now get some extra in the cash balance account for the move, which is not much but more than zero..

 

[Nords]

Got a 4.1% COLA this year, which exceeded my spouse's 3.1% military pay raise and seems to have been the first brick to crumble out of her "Gonna stay in the Reserves for 30 years" wall...

 

[laurence]

C-T, if I keep getting 1.5% and DW keeps getting 60%, I'll be fly fishing with you in a couple of years! Geez!

 

[Coach]

We have the most amazing process here. Annual evaluation was an eight tab spreadsheet. I got a "walks on water" evaluation and an average rase (4%). Since raises are due two weeks before evaluations (!), how silly is it of me to expect any correlation.

Coach

 

[HFWR]

Zilch...

 

[yelnad]

We're told to expect 1.5% COLA in July with up to another 1.5% available for merit. I usually get more than the available merit, but not much. I've gotten 3.7-4.3% the last two years and that includes both merit & COLA combined.

 

[laurence]

Now I am being a whiny little brat about this, last fall I got a ~12% raise, but darn it, I earned that! Plus, they are talking RIFS at work, so how do I read this? I will have to do some investigating.

 

[chrisdut]

Laurence,
I would be ecstatic to get a 12% raise in the fall followed by a 1.5% raise in the spring. Your story reminds me of a young engineer at my firm. His starting salary six years ago was around 34k...today he makes about 60k. The first five raises he received averaged close to 10% per year but his raise last year was (in his words) "only 8%". By the way, I was happy with the 4.9% raise that I gave to myself at the end of last year.

 

[brewer12345]

Now I am being a whiny little brat about this, last fall I got a ~12% raise, but darn it, I earned that!  Plus, they are talking RIFS at work, so how do I read this?  I will have to do some investigating.

It means you would probably be better taken care of elsewhere.

I hate to say it, but now that you are the breadwinner, you have more of a mandate to maximize your earnings. Get that resume out. If nothing else, you will find out if you really are getting the shaft.

 

[youbet]

Get that resume out..........you will find out if you really are getting the shaft.

Gotta agree with brewer.  Only testing the marketplace will determine if you are being compensated fairly.  We can all discuss endlessly what's fair or not, how things shoud be, how we got mistreated while the other guy got excess rewards, how dumb management/owners are, etc., but only putting your resume of there will tell you what you're worth.

And, of course, keep non-cash compensation, working conditions, commute distance and all that in mind.  Good luck!

 

[snowbird]

This is my last year as a cube-rat. Will retire on 12/31/06.

Told my boss to give me a lump sum instead of a % increase this year since the % increase has no impact on the pension, per the pension calculator. Better to get the full amount this year rather than 1/2 of the amount I would get as a % increase.

Will see if he's accommodating!

 

[Andre1969]

We get our annual raises in July, so I dunno what it's going to be yet. Last July I got the "walk on water, yadda-yadda-yadda" review, along with a whopping 2.7% increase. I was going to question it, but then I had just gotten an out-of-cycle raise in late March of something like 5.5%, so I figured I'd better not cry too much. Plus, I also found that even at just 2.7%, that was still among the highest.

I have a feeling that I'm still below the level of my peers, though.

 

[thefed]

Well in January I got a promotion which equals 2 extra hours/week, but easier work. Management is great...I jsut'babysit' the people who once my peers (and still are, in my eyes).

We have useless meetings, fill out useless spreadsheets, track goofy numbers....just a buncha crap.

I got a 60% bump in bonus salary. Considering that my bonus totalled about 27% of my salary last year, I'd say it's equivalent to about a 10% raise over all.

BUT, the catch was that the OVERALL bonus structure was REDUCED. So basically, I wasnt hurt by the new bonus system liek everyone else...so in relaity, it's about a wash!



I've only been here 1.75 years, and I get a lot done. I've made probably 30 suggestions to the owner of the small finance company I work for (big suggestions that dont even concern my department) and he implemented quite a few of them. I feel like I havent gotten much credit for it though. It can be disheartening, as I see saw myself growing with this company and pulling dow a nice salary within 5 years (for me, 50-60k would be great....no college,just high school)

 

[RETIRE_TINGLE!]

I got 3%, should have been more, but my boss dislikes me and or thinks I "have so much going for me" that she shaved about a .5% to 1%. Considering what others are getting (or not getting), I am still pretty blessed. My annual bonus was good, but my boss shaved $2801 off what I was funded so I am recouping that lost by taking back time.

 

[Intuit]

Sounds like most of corporate America management is reading the same best sellers this year. We did manage to give most folks in our facility a 4% raise this year. I did a little better at 12% but that was back in December when I was looking at another opprotunity. Funny thing is, I remember when we would get a COLA of 1.5% - 3.0% and then a merit raise was earned. Now it is all lumped together and as the OP said, you get the lip service but no money.

 

[peggy]

I have no idea when or if I'll get a raise or a performance evaluation. Joys of working for a privately-held company, I guess, LOL.

That said--

The job isn't difficult; I have very little overtime; and DH and I can still achieve ER on or about our target date (December 2009) even if neither of us ever get another raise.

I think I'll hang around, at least until the commute gets too bad to bear (currently 30-35 minutes in the morning, 35-45 minutes in the evening).