Title Promotion & Compensation - Advice Needed!

kellysnyder·Sep 01, 2022

Posted in:Advice Compensation Career Growth

Hi Elpha community! I'm hoping to get some feedback on a promotion I was offered at my company, especially from HR/compensation folks. Here's the background:

I was hired in April of this year at a small startup (approx. 40 employees, ~6 years old, also has gotten a recent round of funding). I was hired for a senior level position, comparable to a regional director role overseeing one of the company's smaller markets. The company has 6 markets, 4 which are small and 2 which make up about 85% of the company's revenue.

About a month into my onboarding, there was a staffing change and a need arose for the company for me to step in to a lower level role but for the company's largest market that makes up ~45% of the company's business. I took the lower level role they kept my salary the same despite the role change.

Now, there is another staffing change, and I've been offered the original role I was hired for (comparable to a regional director), but instead of it being for a smaller market as I was originally hired for it is for the company's 2nd biggest market (this market is ~40% of the company's total revenue). I've been offered the role but with no salary increase as they said I was originally hired in this role's pay bracket. If I take the role, it would save the company money as they would backfill my current role with someone at a lower salary than mine since they would be hiring for the lower level role.

I asked if there would be additional compensation to take on this role and was told no. Looking for advice here... is it appropriate for me to ask again for compensation increase here, or should I take their no and just go for a raise at the end of year based on performance when we have performance evals? If yes, any tips on how to go about this ask?

Thanks in advance for your advice!! I've been asked to let them know by tomorrow morning (Friday 9/2) if I'd like the role.

annamiller·Sep 01, 2022

Hey Kelly, thanks for providing a detailed summary. I would start with finding out what the salary if for the role, before you were asked to step into it? Mention that the initial hire was for the smaller market, that means slightly less responsibility and work load, when compared with the same title for the larger market. Try to find out what the differences in responsibilities would be, such as.. would you consider this role to have more influence of the company's success than the smaller market one? Also, give them a number you want, so they can negotiate, perhaps. At the end of the day, also consider, do you want this role for your career growth? Can you negotiate a higher salary range once within the role? What is the different in salary range?Hope this can help clarify next steps for you.

chattilee·Sep 02, 2022

Hi Kelly, I absolutely would go ahead and ask for the compensation adjustment. As you said, it's not the same exact role you took on when you were hired. The impact and potential up-side to the company is significantly more and you should be compensated for that delta in impact. Typically, if a company is adverse to compensation adjustments in cases like this, there tends to be only a few tried and true ways to navigate: - Start interviewing with the goal of clinching a competing offer with which to start negotiations with your current company (faster)- Start the search for a sponsor (NOT a mentor) and shore up work to be bullet-proof during performance evals (very slow, and not a hole-in-one, especially due to what I'm hearing about this company)If you want to chat through this further, feel free to DM. Best of luck!

Taryn168·Sep 03, 2022

That's a tough one. If it were me, I might take back the higher level role and use that to leverage another external offer for the higher salary I think I deserve. Take what you can get I guess, if they don't want to pay you what you deserve, be willing to leverage the experience/title to jump elsewhere that will.