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Yes and I'm saying that it doesn't hurt to just give them a pay raise after x amount of time, even if it's just a few percentages.

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If they're expecting more then a small raise will push them to leave.

No raise will push harder.

You'd think so, but it doesn't. People will wait for the 'big raise' that's 'coming soon' for a really long time. Getting a small raise tells them that there won't be a big raise, so they look for a new role as soon as they get it.

People who were played for suckers in this obvious way are less likely to return to you in a crunch. Word also gets around about practice of your company. A big corporation might weather the bad PR and missed hiring opportunities, small company not necessarily.

Who you are left with are either very naive new kids, high rotation desperate people or people adept at minimizing work done.

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