The Salary Standoff

Money talks, but what happens when you and your employee speak different languages about compensation? This candid discussion tackles one of the most common yet challenging workplace dynamics: the employee who believes they're worth more than their employer does.

The episode opens by addressing a crucial misconception, particularly among younger workers – the belief that increased pay should come before increased performance. As a five-time entrepreneur, I share my perspective on how value truly works in the marketplace. It's not about working harder; it's about producing measurable results that increase your market value. The wisdom of Jim Rohn echoes throughout: "Work harder on yourself than you do on your job." This fundamental principle serves as the foundation for both employees seeking advancement and employers looking to develop top talent.

For business owners facing this compensation challenge, I provide a practical framework to resolve the tension. 

Thanks for Listening. You may contact me or our team at https://billgilliland.biz/

All the best!
Bill

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All the best!

Bill

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hey there, hope you're having a fantastic week.
In the last week, I have hadthree clients come to me with an
employee who believed that theyshould be paid more, who
believed that they should bepaid more, and in all three

(00:33):
cases, the employer did notbelieve that that particular
employee was worth more.
So let's deal with that alittle bit today.
For those of you who don't knowme, I'm Bill Gilliland.
I am a five times entrepreneur.
Well, it's going to be six.
Now we're starting a new thing.
I want to remind you that we dohave the Asheville Business

(00:56):
Summit coming up.
You can go to wncsummitcom andget all the details.
You're, at the very least,going to want to attend.
You maybe want to come andsponsor.
As a business owner, you wantto bring your prospects and
clients.
It is going to be a greatmarketing event for you either
way.
So make plans to be there and Ilook forward to seeing you
there.
It's going to be amazing.

(01:16):
It's coming together.
We got six or eight greatspeakers.
You're going to really enjoy it.
Now back to the question at handwhat do you do about an
employee who believes they'reworth more than you believe as a
business owner?
I want to talk to you employeesout there first.
So, as an employee, a lot ofpeople I'm finding out,

(01:42):
particularly younger people getthis wrong.
Lot of people I'm finding out,particularly younger people get
this wrong.
They believe that you pay memore, I will work harder.
That's not the way the worldworks.
The way the world works is youwork and accomplish more and get
more results.
I don't care if you work harderor not.
You got to get results.
Then you become more valuablein the marketplace.
The marketplace will tell youhow valuable you are.

(02:05):
You will get recruited if youare worth more.
Jim Rohn famously said workharder on yourself than you do
on your job.
That's the key to success.
Work harder on yourself thanyou do on your job.
When I was a kid and my dad gotme to mow the grass, I had to
do a good job before I got paid.
The better job I did, the moremoney I could make per hour.

(02:30):
In other words, if I could getthe same job done faster, then I
could make more.
I became more valuable in themarketplace.
As an employee, you want tomake yourself the most valuable
you can in the marketplace.
Get off the habit of and someof these employees were like
that.
They had a little bit of athing.

(02:51):
Now it is not up to us todecide how much an employee is
worth.
The marketplace will determinethat.
The marketplace will determinevalue.
It's interesting, as I'veworked with numbers of
industries.
Like some industries, theemployees are paid better
because in that particularindustry they're more valuable

(03:13):
in that industry.
So you know, if you want tomake more money, you may want to
consider changing industries.
As an employee, as an employer,let's deal with the problem at
hand.
Now, as an employer, what youneed to do is you need to
develop people.

(03:33):
So you need to invest in yourpeople.
First of all, you need to hiregreat people.
You need to invest in them,invest your time, invest your
money, pay them well, give themtraining, give them education,
give them goals, give thembenefits.
But you need to be clear withthem about what's expected and

(03:56):
then help them achieve thoseexpectations.
So, two sides of the coin as anemployee, you need to make
yourself more valuable in themarketplace.
As an employer, you need tomake them more valuable in the
marketplace, because that's theway it works.
The more valuable they become,the more you are able to do.

(04:17):
It's a win-win the company winsand they win.
So how do you deal with thissituation?
Now it's gotten out of hand.
There's a misconception theybelieve they're worth X, you
believe they're worth not X,something under X.
As an employer, how would youdeal with it?
Well, first of all, I think youneed to do some research and

(04:40):
find out what the going rate is.
Now, that sounds crazy, but allof you I guarantee if you're a
business owner you've all hiredsomebody in a similar position
and found out.
Holy cow, I haven't kept upover the years with the
marketplace.
So, in other words, you hiresomebody.
You got to give everybody elsea raise.
Why would you do that?
You want to be preemptive onthat.
You want to treat people well.

(05:00):
You want to get ahead of that.
So you might want to go out.
Do a little bit of research,figure out what's paying.
Now you've still got to makemoney, so you've either got to
sell more, get your prices up.
Now that's something we canhelp you with.
But, along the way, happy tohave a chat with you about that.
Just have a cup of coffee,reach out to me.

(05:21):
We'll be glad to sit down andhave a chat, me or one of my
team.
Now the second thing is you'vegot to have a conversation with
this person about how they cannumber one.
If they're delusional theythink that you pay me and then
I'm going to work harder thenyou've got to have a
conversation about how the worldactually works.
The second piece of that isthen you need to set up clear

(05:47):
expectations, goals and outcomesthat will allow them to make
more money.
It's pretty simple hey, youneed to do this over the next
three months.
This is what needs to happen.
At the end of that month, we'llhave a review and we'll see how
you are, and then we can makean adjustment, or six months, or
a year, or whatever it is.
That's reasonable, but you'vegot to have super clear.
And then they've got to have apersonal improvement plan for

(06:07):
every single employee.
The third piece of that isyou've got to work with them to
help them get the result thatthey need to get.
You have to get them thecoaching.
You have to get them thementoring.
You have to get whatever ittakes to make them the best they
can be.
Now, you wouldn't do that ifyou didn't think they were worth

(06:28):
it.
If they're not worth it,they're not a good fit anymore.
Then you also have to have thatconversation Not fun, but most
employees are dedicated,motivated, will work.
I mean, all you got to do islook at what do they do on the
weekend.
Are they fired up to go fishingor do whatever their hobbies
are, play golf or whatever?
Yeah, we got to get them morefired up about what it is we're

(06:53):
looking to accomplish ascompanies here.
So set up those clearexpectations, set up those goals
.
Give them the help they need.
Give them a chance.
It'll either work out or itwon't.
They'll either earn it or theywon't, but it's up to them.
At that point, once you'veestablished the rules of the
game, I hope this is helpful.
If you're still havingchallenges around this or team

(07:14):
building or anything to do withscaling a business, we'd love to
have a chat with you.
Just reach out to me.
I'll get you in touch with uh,you know me or one of my team,
the appropriate person to helpyou get what it is you want in
life.
And remember, get yourselfregistered for that Asheville
business summer.
Hey, until next time, all thebest.