The secret behind a flourishing business is its employees. It is a known fact that an organisation can only grow because of its people.
There are two sides to this coin, the employee wants a higher salary and the employer wants to hire good people. It is a regular tug of war, and at a state of equilibrium, both sides agree on somewhere in between – adequate pay for the right people.
If you are on the employee side, your compensation plan is all about the value you can bring to the company.
Have you heard of the Rohan Shah case? Rohan was a 20-year-old college student in 2013, during which he spent a semester interning at Google.
His pay was US$6,100 per month, which is equivalent to US$80,000 per year – an amount that was much higher than many working adults at the time.
Well, he had to be incredibly smart because Google accepts only 1,500 interns out of 40,000 applicants each year in the US. Google also offers selected interns full-time employment after graduation and pays more than US100,000 for acceptance.
The logic is simple. If you take care of your employees, they will look after your customers. Satisfied customers are very likely to become faithful fans. Eventually, they’ll tell others about your products and voluntarily vouch for you.
If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys
So, take a look at how much you are making now. Are you underpaid or overpaid? If your employer is overpaying you, don’t be too happy because you will soon be out of a job.
But if you think your boss is paying you peanuts, here is a reality check.
Are you the monkey?
It is not hard to get a salary increment, earn a promotion, get a better job, increase your sales by 10% this year and so on. You just need to ask the right questions and work out the answers.
Ask questions like these:
- How do I provide more value to my customers?
- What capability do I need to take on the next level of responsibility?
- How do I serve more clients?
- Do I have an excellent work ethic and integrity?
- What can I do to have a positive impact on the bottom line?
With the right honest answers, you will be able to set your course to a well-deserved and better pay.
This article first appeared in kclau.com
KC Lau’s first book Top Money Tips for Malaysians has sold thousands of copies. He launched the first online personal finance course specifically designed for Malaysians, entitled the Money Automation System. He also co-founded many other online financial courses including the Bursa Method, Property Method, Founder Method and REIT Method.