So about five months ago, I started a job to run the accounting department (20 people) at a company which is a disaster from a process standpoint. They were divested from one company, bought up by another, and then immediately went on an ERP transition to get aligned with the new parent company. All the high ranking people that came over with the divesture waited until their retention bonuses vested and then all bailed at once. So everything is a complete mess and they are hemorrhaging people. I am kind of a rock star, and know how things are supposed to work and what is missing in different departments, what are the key controls, etc, pretty much how things are supposed to work. I have sort of emerged as a subject matter expert on just about everything, even non accounting things like Supply Chain, IT, HR, etc, specifically in best practices for process, and identifying the risks associated with not having those processes. The new CFO is clueless and basically asks me what to do in just about every situation. Now what really irks me is that I do the payroll and I know what everyone is being paid. To be clear, I make a good amount of money, but when compared to some of the other adjacent level people in different departments, I guess I didn't do a good job negotiating salary when I signed on because these people, some brand new, are making 50-100% more than me. So my question is, is it ethical to reference sensitive payroll data, which I am authorized to have to perform my duties, to negotiate a better salary for myself?
not really a question of ethics I think but of prudence. You could certainly attempt to use that information in renewed salary negotiations, but the company could just as easily decide you're replaceable and let you go--either immediately or 6-12 months from now once your usefulness to them in this crisis period has abated. Kind of a Dirty Harry question: Do you feel lucky? My wife has been an employment attorney for 35 years, and her mantra is "everyone is replaceable."
And in this same thought process, you have to look out for yourself. No one else will, and no company cares about you as an individual anymore. It's a sad reality. If it makes you feel better, and your line of work consistently makes more across the board, say you have a job offer from ____ and they offered to pay you 50% more than what you make now. If you are as integral to the process as you say, surely your company will at least match....
Use that payroll knowledge to find similar market level salaries and write a proposal with proof that you’re worth X amount. Make sure to highball. Start dropping comments like ‘man, the job market is nuts, there are recruitment offers all over LinkedIn’. Let that marinate with your leadership a while so realize how valuable you are.
I think you can discuss your need for a raise without explicitly stating that you know how much other people make. They know that you do the payroll (I assume) so they can connect the dots. There's a risk but in general I lean towards people pushing to get the money they feel they deserve, so I say do it.
To your question, no I don't think it's unethical because it's part of your job to see that data. Now if you were going to go to the person you report to, ask for a raise and use actual names of the people you know that makes X amount then yea you just dug your own grave. This is the sound advice you should go with if you want to explore asking for a raise. In this job market, you might not need to do a deep dive but it wouldn't hurt to 1. get market salary comparisons for what others in the industry are making and 2. it would at least give your request more substance that's not entirely based on internal data. In my experience, it helps tremendously if the person you report to is smart and know your worth. They can see the opportunity cost of letting a valuable employee leave and would probably do everything they can to retain you, especially in today's job market.
Basically point to this, as your responsibilities have grown from when you were hired and use it for the raise. Mention you are under the market rate for someone with your knowledge base and skillset.
You should set up a program where there's a bank transaction, and the interests are computed in the thousands a day in fractions of a cent, which it usually rounds off. Have the program take those remainders and put it into your account.
The first step to negotiating is to know your value. Compare your skillset to others, see what salary they are making and consider the target you're looking for. The second step is to bone your boss's SO. That gives you leverage when negotiating. It'll establish you as the alpha. Third step is ???? Fourth step is profit.
I wouldn't reference the data directly during your negotiations. But, unless these people are idiots, they know that you know what they make and shouldn't hide from that fact. If you're that far behind them in comp, you have every right to push for something more equitable. But the moment you say "X is making Y" as part of your argument, you look like you're abusing your position.
I personally wouldn't use that data in negotiations. I don't think you can negotiate your salary based on other people's salaries. You have to negotiate your salary based on what you bring to the company. Basically, the only thing I would do with that salary information is use it personally to say "OK, they have some room to give me more" and then bring in other factors to negotiate with (job duties, market information, etc.). If you're as good as you say you are, then they'll give it to you but you'll have to ask first. Did you think you were fairly compensated for the job prior to seeing everyone else's salaries?
Great Superman movie reference. The best part of that was it was Richard Pryor's character that did it
There are a lot of people nowadays making more than people who have been at companies longer because corporations needing bodies and having to pay up for it. This goes for blue collar or white collar work from what I've been hearing. I guess you've only been there a short time, so this is a bit different. But damn, dude, if you're making 50-100% less than people in similar positions at the same place you're working.... yikes. I'd go and say something like "I've been talking to others and ...." edge in that you've been underpaid. If you were underpaid $5k or something, it would be a different story, but wow... 50-100% is another level of DAAAAMN! Be prepared to defend yourself when they ask about who or how (even though they know you have access to the salaries of others). Also be prepared in case you become a "marked man". This is a sucky situation, especially since it seems to be eating at you. There's also the case of you may really be a "rock star" as you state, but as someone once said "there are lots of rock stars in the music industry and they keep getting churned out". lol. Make sure you can get another job easily. That being said, we're losers... you're coming to us to figure this mess out? I mean, your first response was from @Jontro, if that tells you anything.
Since you have the inside details because of your position in Accounting, do you have them able to survive all of the chaos and still be a going company in the future? If there are serious doubts about their long term future, perhaps you should also plan an exit strategy in addition to seeking a raise.
op, Be careful about this - a lot of people have given good advice like Xero and DoD so I am not going to reiterate what they said but I will add this: always be careful about getting emotional when it comes to your job and salary! I had worked at this one place for 10 years (Feb 2000 to June 2010) and I didn't get a raise for 2 years due to the recession. I got emotional and upset about it and started looking for another job. I found another job and they offered me a 50% pay increase so of course I took the job. Worst mistake I have ever made in my life - it was probably within 2 weeks that I realized that I had made a horrible mistake and that this job was one of a sweatshop mentality. All the other people in my department were constantly telling me how much they hated it and wanted out. So yeah - I wasn't there long and after 7 months, I got canned. The only time in my life I got fired from a job. Then that led to my marriage disintegrating and by the summer, the wife and me were separated. By Thanksgiving, divorce had gone final and I had to take a HS math teacher job, making 35K less than a year and move in with my parents at the great age of 38! To this day, I still say that quitting the place I had been at 10 years was the worst mistake I had ever made - cost me my marriage and promoted a ripple effect that to this day, we are still dealing with. The good news is that this Sunday will mark my 2 year anniversary of re-marrying my wife (after being divorced for 8 years), but we are still dealing with some things that happened when I was apart from her that is causing us to be stuck in an apartment. The good news is that by next summer, I think we will be in good shape to finally get in a house and hopefully the market prices will be better. But that will be 2023 and that was 13 years from when I got mad at my employer for not getting a raise. So the point is this - if you do look for another job and get to a point where you think you want to quit because you are unhappy with your salary - ask yourself this - will the repercussions of you leaving cause you heartache for years to come? It did for me.
