Salary Guides

Visualizing where your team stands to tackles the salary raise period

This article discusses a method for approaching salary evaluations at a company. The author suggests benchmarking salaries and plotting them on a graph based on seniority and market value. For those who don't receive a raise, the author suggests providing materials to discuss areas of improvement and a plan to get there. The author also believes engineers are motivated by learning opportunities, having an impact, and recognition, rather than salary. As a result, salary should reflect their long-term value, and bonuses can be used to reward exceptional work.

Handling an average-performing employee who wants a promotion

A few years ago, a person was hired at a lower level than they wanted, with the expectation that they could advance. Despite giving them room for initiative and tasks linked to a leadership position, they were underperforming and not reaching out for help. When they asked for a promotion, they were shown a formalized engineer ladder and salary grid which showed them where they were and what they needed to improve. This didn't help and they ended up leaving. The key message is that having concrete explanations of why someone is not being promoted helps a lot. The engineer ladder and salary grid was published for everyone and triggered a lot of advancement. Inflating somebody's title or salary is not recommended as it gives employees an incentive to work harder and reduces their legitimacy if they are not at their proper position.

The Importance Of Personality In Hiring Good Engineers

The author was an Engineering Manager at Saama Technologies in 2013 and was under pressure to hire 11 engineers quickly. He interviewed 600 candidates and shortlisted a few, taking into account their personalities and communication skills, as well as their technical abilities. He then worked with his management to create a special budget for salaries and bonuses, and continued to talk to the candidates until they joined the company. The team was a success and the author learned that it is important to never take shortcuts when it comes to hiring, and to consider the environment, culture, and personalities of the company and team when selecting a candidate.

Go beyond salary to build up a complete job offer that candidates won’t decline

This article provides advice on how to handle salary negotiations. It suggests paying a fair wage based on experience, title, company stage, country, and city. It also suggests taking the time to understand what motivates the candidate and what they are looking for in a job, and then building an offer that includes a fair salary, equity, career opportunities, and learning opportunities. The article emphasizes that people should not be hired for cash, as they will likely leave soon after.

I managed to convince top notch engineers to accept my offer

In a tricky negotiation to hire three rockstar engineers from a failed start-up, the negotiator leveraged different aspects to convince them to accept the offer. These included emphasizing the challenging role and professional growth, showing that the stock value would be higher, putting them in contact with people who had faced a similar situation, and looking for positions for their significant others. The negotiation was successful, and the negotiator learned the importance of listening to the person's concerns and finding ways to show that the company cares about their wellbeing.

Strategies You can Use to Convince Your Leadership about Promotion and Salary Upgrades

The author faced two challenges in their company: managing eighteen direct reports and working for founders who were not open to spending for salaries. To resolve these issues, the author conducted weekly one-on-ones with their direct reports, identified two engineers as team leaders, and consulted with a 3rd party HR company to come up with a pay scale structure. The key lesson learned was the importance of educating founders on fair compensation and pursuing this cause even if there was push back.