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We don’t pay you to work here

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35 pointsterpua9 comments

I think it foolish to take a job without first sorting out both a written job description and an agreed salary. The idea that we shouldn't only strengthens this ridiculous idea that somehow employees owe the business a favour for working there. Part of the reason that programmers don't get paid more is because geeks are typically poorer negotiators than other professions. So even if an individual is strong, they don't have as much room to move because unless their skills are particular management will know that the trick of getting good geeks has more to do with getting them to the offer stage first than paying a rate that would be competitive in a liquid market.

Employees are business units in and of themselves, have opportunity cost considerations as well even if they're comfortable in their current state of life. Just imagine the conversation with your kids at a future time, "Guys - sorry we can't send you to the school we wanted to, but I hope it warms your heart to know that I had a really good time working at blah consulting when I was in my prime." Having money allows you to support family, pursue hobbies and create business opportunities of your own in the future.

I've been thinking about a new way of negotiating recently: one-bid job offers. In this situation both parties would to the terms and a mediator. Both guarantee a deposit of - say - five thousand dollars to the third party and agree that if the negotiation does not conclude in a hire but they end up negotiating further then the negotiator will keep the $10k.

To resolve the salary, the prospective employee writes down the figure below which they would not accept the role in an envelope. The prospective employer writes down the figure above which they would not choose to hire the person. Then the trusted third-party opens both envelopes in front of them.

If the amounts are compatible, then the salary is the midpoint of the amounts. If the amounts are incompatible then both parties walk away with the amounts undeclared. Has anyone heard of this being done in practice? I think this guarantees that both parties would always get a good deal, and neither would feel diddled.

This should be an obvious part of most managers philosophy.

If the type of job your employees are doing (and type of people you are hiring) provides more value then monetary compensation that you should be aware of that.

This is especially true in software development where many developers would do it for the love of it, if their basic necessities are covered. Many other professions are the same.

But there a many more jobs (and employees) where this is not the case and money is the best motivator.

Just because I love developing software doesn't mean I'm willing to make you rich while I get a salary alone. The only people I know who are willing to do that are people who don't know their worth, people that aren't worth more than a salary, and people so new that they don't know any better.

I agree with you. I think the best developers should get paid accordingly.

I mean that managers should be aware that some workers are not directly motivated by money as some other job types. To get the most out of say, your developers, it might take more then money.

This post summarizes it well, http://foohack.com/2008/11/how-not-to-get-real-and-die-tryin...

I'm all for more than money but not for everything except money.

Not all managers and companies are looking to exploit you.

I enjoyed reading the book's case studies of companies where I would otherwise assume that "money is the best motivator": Men's Wearhouse, AES (a power company), NUMMI (a GM factory), etc.

Sounds pretty sweet. Their quotes of Tandem Computers CEO also make you want to work for them. The reality however is that...

"As the company entered the 90's, however, sales and profits slowed, and many of these innovative programs were either curtailed or eliminated totally. By the end, Tandem was pretty much a company like any other in the computer field..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tandem_Computers

The book linked to at the end of the first section - "Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-truths, and Total Nonsense" - looks interesting. Has anybody read it?

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