On 20 Jun 2011, at 10:54, Trevyn Meyer wrote: > I would recommend reading the "Letter to Garcia". > http://www.ec47.com/garcia.htm
Just read that. I really like it. Thanks for that. Good perspective. On 20 Jun 2011, at 12:13, Kevin Gwynn wrote: > maybe listing ranges for each. I'm somewhat concerned about employees > knowing too much about each other's pay, but we pay well, so I guess it > shouldn't be a huge problem. I am curious as to why companies do not want employees knowing what each other makes. I am thinking that knowing what my co-workers are making could open some good conversations between employees and then even between employees and their employers. If I had an employee come ask me why he is not making as much as someone else, I would happily talk to them and perhaps even end up giving them a raise for showing initiative or at least provide them with some ideas on how I think they can go about earning a raise. (Hey Kevin!) On 20 Jun 2011, at 13:09, Robert Merrill wrote: > On Mon, Jun 20, 2011 at 11:37 AM, Victor Villa <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Money IS the point of the conversation. How can it come up too soon? >> How many of us can honestly pick a job that we LOVE regardless of the >> pay? > > Money is--a significant part--of the conversation. > > I bring up money within 15-30 minutes of my first real conversation > with a real candidate for the job. From there, the money continually > fades to the background because it's NOT as important as the benefits > of the job -- cool people to work with? cool projects to work on? > commute distance OK for me? flexibility? benefits? vacation policy? > etc. always take precedent as soon as the salary meets the minimum > qualification to the candidate. Seems like Robert and Victor may have the same idea, just speaking from different perspectives. As someone who is just barely becoming an employer and learning the challenges of switching to the other side of the fence, this conversation is extremely interesting to me. Having been through many job interviews myself as a potential employee, I hope to carry that experience with me. I think it good to be up front about money. I agree with Victor that money usually IS the first/main point of the conversation. However, if that conversation is quickly addressed initially it can ease tensions on both sides and quickly be set aside so that other more important conversations can happen. Thus, I also agree with Robert that once money is no longer the conversation, there are far more important things to discuss. As an employer, I want my company to succeed. As part of that success, I want each of my employees to succeed as well. If I am taking care of my employees, and I have been able to select honest employees, they will also want and seek for the success of the company. It will be a common goal. I recently read a really good article (http://tinyurl.com/3llnky5) that talked about identifying the Most Valuable Activities of your employer. I have since applied this principle, to employees, clients, my spouse, etc. As an employer, if you can identify the most valuable activities that they do your employees do for you, then do you best to take care of everything else for them, then they can be free physically, mentally, and emotionally to focus on those most valuable activities. In other words, if your employees are distracted with other things in life, they are not going to be able to focus on the tasks you give them. They are also not going to be able to mentally attain the creative flow they need to be efficient. Having open conversations with employees and finding out what is going on in their life and offering to take care of things that are bothering them, can help them feel more comfortable and able to do their jobs. Not only that, but the loyalty and friends hip that you will gain may be far more valuable than any amount of money that you spend on them. Just some thoughts I have had recently. Jonathan _______________________________________________ UPHPU mailing list [email protected] http://uphpu.org/mailman/listinfo/uphpu IRC: #uphpu on irc.freenode.net
