Sometimes dealing with staff can be soooo frustrating; especially when you consider yourself a professional and your staff do not act in a professional manner or have never worked in a professional environment.
My frustration for today comes from a middle manager who accidently (apparently) saw the annual salary of another middle manager and realized it was higher than hers. She cannot understand why this middle manager is making more than her and wants an increase to what the other manager is making. What she cannot realize is the other manager has a larger budget than she to manage and oversees twice as many staff. We have a wage grid that stipulates the level of responsibility and budget a manager or employee must have to attain a certain wage. Because these two managers work closely together I think it is more a personal matter.
We just completed performance evaluations and at no time did this manager negotiate for a higher wage; she only wants one because someone else is getting it.
Any advice as to how I should approach this situation without hurting any feelings or forking our any more money?
Thanks.
Trying to compare apples for apples between this employee and her co-worker won't work simply because due to the differences in their "departments" it really isn't apples for apples, but apples to oranges... so to speak.
If there are opportunities for the disgruntled employee to move to a position of more responsibility and potentially higher pay, work with her to devise a plan to achieve that goal.
Above all, help your employee to feel your confidence in her abilities and your support for her to continue to evolve and flourish in your organization. So many times our pride and ego control our thoughts and actions. Help her understand and believe in her worth and her potential for growth.
Good luck!! I know you'll handle this beautifully!!