This team is quite good, they really kicked ass last year. A lot of overtime on a very high profile project. Feedback I got was they expected more, and I did to.
So question; how to handle this? Worst case is I lose some people. Well maybe that's not worst case, maybe worst case it they disengage.
The realistic answer is that you deliver the news to your team during your one on ones, explain the matter was not in your hands, and move on. If someone leaves over pay (which is reasonable) but you do not control pay, then it's not on you.
Don't be too hard on yourself.
If it wasn’t your decision, it tells me that you are impotent and don’t have the pull to get me the compensation I want and I still leave.
Even if it was your decision, I would still leave. Whether it was your decision or not is meaningless to me.
- Communicating to the team that you tried, is not good enough, because that is the least that is expected of you as the mananger ( if sounds rude, i am sorry , not the intention).
Potential Solution :
Making a case to the higher ups , showing them that retaining the great team is cheaper than hiring some one else over a period of 2 to 5 years would be helpful. Show them the impact on delivery of features,etc.
if this did not work, ask why so that , it does not repeat again or you can set expectations saying , this is what you get for what you are paying.
I am assuming , there is no equity involved in these discussions. Equity will change the whole dynamics of this discussion.
Potential Solution # 2:
The rewards need not always be monetary. If you can replace that , with something they want , say sponsoring their Apple WWDC trip or DisneyLand tickets or something , in a way that is not a HR nightmare, would be something to explore. That being said, it is tricky and will not work always.
Cheers.
> I had a pool to divy up, which I did, and then my recommendations were ignored by higher management.
Did you raise this back to higher management?
> Worst case is I lose some people.
The cost of losing a good person is much higher than whatever raise they might have gotten (in most cases). I would reiterate this point to the higher-ups.
Edit: another question: how's the teams compensation compared to market?
If somebody has ever come to you looking for a promotion or transfer (either works in this case), give them a great annual review (meaning: huge praise, no nitpicking) so they have a better chance at escaping your clearly underappreciated team.
Otherwise, give the news 1:1 (no team meeting for bad news please) and tell the truth, but not bitterly, and don't linger on the topic. Explain the priorities for next year.
As far as your own position, you need to figure out (with top management/your management) how your department is seen, who decides of the final allocation, and why you're getting scraps. Money is feedback and the feedback you're given is no one care about you or your team. No it doesn't matter if they say otherwise, what matters is their actions.
whoa whoa whoa, settle down my friends. Lets not recommend that someone give up their livelihoods so easily.
OP, this was on HN yesterday, check it out: https://georgestocker.com/2019/03/14/my-salary-progression-i...
You should take a stand if its something you feel strongly about, but never threaten to quit. it should be a silent promise, not a threat. If they don't appreciate you, you and your team should find a company that does.
But even if there is a mismatch between OP's perceived competence and actual competence, it's a good time to leave, as it's probably a career dead end.
Why stay where you are, in the most clear terms, unappreciated?
You're asking to be reorg'ed out of the company anyways. This is one case where following your pride is the right option. It's like ending a bad relationship; things will only get worse.
Better yet, if he wants to express loyalty to his team, work his personal network on the side to get each of his team members hired at a more appreciative company, and be the _last_ one to jump ship, only after all the direct reports have safely been "rescued" via better employment opportunities.
Of course, companies screw people over, and treat them like shit at times, try to violate your hiring agreement, don't tell you your options. But actively finding your team jobs is foolish, and definitely something they can sue you over. And a new company would be worried you might do it again.
That's not obvious at all. In large companies there's often a fixed pool. Are other departments struggling even more? Are other departments significantly below market so the pool gets reallocated? 'Manager' could mean many things in large companies, and often being gets caught in the middle.
> don't want to work for a manager perceived to be weak
Again, jumping to conclusions with no evidence.
> was unable to even prevent the bonus pool that was initially earmarked for that team to be taken away and given to another dept
This depends on how OP communicated it, on how to set expectations, which they didn't mention and again jumping to conclusions.
> Seems like both sides would have no problem replacing the OP with someone else.
How? Why?
"I left because I was incapable of persuading management of the effectiveness and importance of my team and its contribution to the overall enterprise."
"Wow, don't you think you're being a little hard on yourself?"
"Well, they gave away my team's bonus to another team, despite my objections."
"That's unfortunate, but that still doesn't really explain why you left your last company."
"Well, despite the clear signal they sent when they took away my team's bonus, I didn't get the hint and completely misjudged my importance to the company. See, I painted myself into a corner by giving the executive team an ultimatum."
"Hmmm, yea, not very wise, you probably do suck as a manager."
Someone will have to deal with this issue.. either him or the new manager. His job is to handle issues like this.. quitting the moment he runs into a problem is not a sign of a good manager.
Maybe we should learn to work with people without quitting as soon as we don't get what we want.
Doesn't your company have a set criteria for bonus payout like for eg., Derived from overall company performance, department performance , down to team and individual performance? If it doesn't and you believe your team deserve a higher payout ,clearly the management team doesn't agree with that and so do you as you expected more. Without a set and agreed bonus payout criteria it is left to a committee or judgement of a few , who I believe have weighed the scenario of your teams morale going down and potentially losing a few people. They are okay with that. Clearly wherever the money have moved to is the area they all collectively value. I have seen this happen especially in the case of a team that is managing and maintaining a legacy environment tend to not get favourable bonus payout even when they put in extra hours but other teams who are working on the newer releases etc are favoured as they are the future systems.
Different corps have different setups, but often a fixed pool across teams and staying relevant (+/- X%) to market across teams is often a common thread.
Could you speak with your senior management, including HR and your Head, and seek to align your expectations with theirs. Sounds like something you need to sit down with them and voice concerns in a mature way, but don't expect an approval for extra budget. Doing this is prep for the coming assessment and salary adjustment cycle. HN can only do so much and that's often jumping to conclusions or a commentator being blinkered by their own experience only.
Seems like this already happened, so there isn't anything to handle. Tell your people that your managers ignored your recommendations and that you're looking for a new job where they don't do that.
Bonuses are done. They generally don’t come out again. I would focus on understanding why and getting better positioned for next year.
Its not. It's a bonus. If it's part of what you think of as your comp, you got shafted during negs when you got hired.