Reading time: 4 – 7 minutes

Question: I’ve read your blog for several months now and have found it very interesting. However, I have a situation that seems to fall through the cracks between your articles.

My husband and I moved to this medium-sized city in Illinois three years ago when he accepted an attractive job in the local school system. After settling in (finding new doctors, auto repair shops, etc.) and getting the kids in school, I found a job as the administrative assistant to the CEO of well-known local company. Though the company has fewer than 40 employees, both it and the CEO are well-known for supporting the community and have sterling reputations.

My elephant is this: The CEO went through an amicable divorce about 18 months ago. Since that time, he has engaged increasingly in sexual innuendo during our one-to-one meetings. While he’s never said anything overtly sexual, I’m becoming more and more uncomfortable in this setting. I like my job and have been told I’m very good at it. I like the people I work with, yet the situation with my boss is worsening.

Lynn, in several cases, you have suggested that employees go directly to their HR representatives when they encounter such challenging situations. In my case, there is no HR department. The CEO, as founder of the company, handles all hiring, firing, counseling, and everything else that he considers human resources, even though his knowledge of labor law is largely anecdotal. As an entrepreneur, he still retains strong operational control of the company so there is no leadership team member who can help me with the situation.

My husband has told me that I should file a sexual harassment or hostile work environment lawsuit against the CEO. My fear is that, in doing so, the issue may “go public” and be totally misunderstood by the many people in this city who respect him. I could imagine my husband losing his job and our having to move somewhere else. I feel justifiably paranoid. I have no evidence and I feel I cannot invite a third party into these traditionally one-to-one meetings with my boss. To make matters even worse, my failure to act on the situation is now causing friction between my husband and myself.

Lynn, with no one in the company I can turn to, what do you see as my alternatives?

Sincerely, Alison

Answer: The predicament you are in is not that unusual for small companies; especially ones where the current owner is the founder.

Small company CEOs are used to making all the rules and having no one to question their authority.

The first line of defense is always to ask someone to stop something the first time it happens. There is a good chance the CEO may not realize how he is being perceived and once it is pointed out, the behavior should stop.

While this may seem confrontational, it is not. If you let the behavior continue and it builds into something more significant, the confrontational scale escalates rapidly.

The more either party invests into the relationship, whether functional or dysfunctional, emotions can get in the way of having a productive conversation.

The next time something happens, you could say “____, what you just said makes me feel uncomfortable. I value our work relationship and it is important for me to be professional by keeping business and personal things separate.”

While you many not want to initiate a difficult conversation, it is the easiest and most effective option – as you will see when I describe the other alternatives.

My second suggestion is to find someone else on the management team (HR or another manager) who has influence with the CEO and confide in them about how you feel and ask them to intervene on your behalf. In your case, it appears the CEO micro-manages to the extent there is no one else to go to in the company.

Another option is to confide in someone who might be providing outside HR or legal services for the company. I would not approach outside vendors who do not have any human resources background since this conversation would need to be handled tactfully.

Absent these alternatives, you really have two choices – to seek legal recourse on your own and file a complaint or to look for another job.

If you seek legal recourse, expect that you will leave the job anyways. The work relationship will be broken.

Calling out the CEO will automatically put him on the defensive. By nature of the CEO/Administrative Assistant relationship, there must be a high degree of trust and respect for one another.

Without trust and respect, the lack of communication will become frustrating for you and your performance will suffer. There is no place in the company to transfer to avoid the “boss”.

If for some reason you think he might react positively to an outside legal action, then rethink the first line of defense – talk to him.

The other alternative is to find another job. If you are that uncomfortable with him and you do not think talking to him will change the behavior, you are probably in the wrong place.

The fact is he owns the company and there is no one that is going to fire him or tell him to leave. Ask yourself – Is this the best environment for you to be working in?

If you decide to leave, you can revisit taking legal action or just put it behind you.

Lynn Dessert owns Leadership Breakthrough, improving personal communication and influence one-step at a time. Post your thoughts or email me!

Reading time: 5 – 8 minutes

A few days ago, a reader asked a question that many people are wrestling with – will I get back on track with an equivalent position and salary once the employment situation stabilizes? The reader outlines the scenario, so without further adieu:

QUESTION: I wanted to ask a question regarding the following scenario, something I think we are seeing in this economy frequently.

• Person becomes unemployed from Company A
• Person pursues employment for X months (or longer)
• Person accepts employment at Company B at SIGNIFICANTLY lower salary
• Economy improves and positions the person IS interested in become available
• Person finds employment at Company C after X months/years working at Company B
• Employment at Company C has salary at or above original employment

My questions regarding this scenario are:

1. Does it matter HOW long an employee was “in career transition” or seeking employment before accepting work?
2. Does it matter what the age of the unemployed person is?
3. Does COMPANY C take advantage of the fact that the employee was at lower salary at Company B?
4. Does taking the significantly lower salary at Company B have a negative impact over the course of the person’s career?
5. In the current (last couple of years) market, is “job hopping” every 2-3 years a “new standard”?
6. And, is “job hopping” the “only” way to beat the cost of living increases? (in my experience, raises over time at a company never cumulatively meet expenses)

In regards to the “career effect question”, ignoring the fact that overall income is reduced through (a) unemployment and (b) reduced income from a lower paying job, how is this impacting future career development from both the person’s point of view and the hiring manager’s point of view?

I have a friend who says the hiring managers are going to ignore that “dip in the career road” and put you back on track with the new job.

In my experiences from interviewing, I’m not so sure that getting back on track is going to be a sure thing.  I think companies will do what’s best for them and take advantage of those people who had to take reduced pay.

Conversely, the employees will be the ones moving more frequently to try to make up for lost retirement income.  The more I think about it the more it seems like a tiger chasing its tail situation.

I apologize for the multiple questions, but trying to get a handle on this.  I am currently working closely towards getting a position that is probably equivalent to something I would have had coming out of college 20 years ago.  I’ll do my best at the position, but it’s hard to understand why I have to do this.

Thank you for your time and consideration of this request.

ANSWER: This is a great series of well thought out questions and I am confident that some of the community readership will be able to offer their perspective besides my own.

1. The question of whether or not HOW LONG matters…well, it depends. If you have a skill set that is in high demand, companies will expect you to land something more quickly. If your skills are obsolete or are unique and in low demand, it will take longer. In New York State, the unemployment benefits were just extended beyond six months – an emergency measure to help the vast number of people still looking for work. This fact has not escaped industry. The higher your salary or position, the longer you can expect to wait before landing a job, especially if you limit your job search efforts with restrictions on location, industry or retraining.
2. The question of age bias has always been around, yet a report entitled Age Bias in the American Workplace by ReportJobs.com suggests there will be a shift over time. Granted this research was completed prior to our economic blip, but I believe it holds great insight into why someone might be experiencing age bias and how to overcome it.
3. There are a number of factors to consider when evaluating if a company is taking advantage of hiring someone who had to take a less than ideal job and a drastic cut in pay to survive. There is a three part series on evaluating salaries and how to position it with a company. Bottom line – companies establish pay ranges for jobs based on a number of factors; it is up to you to show what you bring to the relationship to warrant a higher salary.
4. Yes, there is a negative impact on your career if you stay in the same position. Sometimes a foot in the door leads to rapid promotions inside a company because you are a known commodity. If there is limited opportunity for internal movement, continue your networking and move to a job that reflects what you left.
5. Job hopping has been around longer than the last few years. I am part of the baby boomer era; my rapid rise over 20 years was a function of moving inside a company or making a move to another company. Careers are defined by what you decide to do, not by the company you work at. Hiring managers and the companies you work for are a support system. You have to own it.
6. Companies provide security over career trajectory. No matter where you work, become the most marketable person you can by learning new skills and be ready to evaluate whether to stay or go.

Has anyone else had a similar situation? What do other HR and recruiting experts think?

Lynn Dessert owns Leadership Breakthrough, improving personal communication and influence one-step at a time. Post your thoughts or email me!

Reading time: 5 – 8 minutes

Question: I visited your website and have a question for you. Is it appropriate for a married male doctor who is the employer of a much younger, single female doctor, to engage in non-work related athletic activities with her and have cell phone/text contact on weekends, nights, etc.?

My husband is a partner in a successful practice, and they hired a new female doctor last year. She loves to ride bikes and ski, and he thinks it is fine for them to do these activities together, sometimes alone and sometimes with others.

I do not think that is acceptable, regardless of whether he would ever find her attractive if we weren’t married.

She called his cell phone this Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. while we were in bed in a hotel out of town, and asked if wanted to come skiing (“come play”) at our local ski area with a group of friends.

“I’m sorry – did I wake you up?” I heard her say. I was furious and felt very violated. My husband says I’m paranoid and insecure. He says she’s just a super social organizer type girl, and wants to include people in the fun.

He says, we’ve been married 25 years, and I need to mellow out!  I’m fine with them doing work things together, lunches, dinners, etc. But I think they should not do social activities together unrelated to work without me involved – that just leads to trouble.  I know that I would never do this with male colleagues of mine.

I worked in a professional firm for 9 years and I NEVER called my boss at home on weekends to go do things!

My husband is the super-friendly sweet guy, but I trust that he isn’t being unfaithful.  He did have a relationship with a patient a few years ago, where they went bike riding several times unbeknownst to me.  He quit doing that after I found out.

What’s your take on this situation?  Should he make changes?  Or am I crazy?

Thanks for any advice!

Answer: Your question involves work place and personal dilemmas. I am going to approach it from what the affect of the relationship has in the workplace and how it relates to personal decision making.

Small businesses, family owned business and professional firms face unique challenges that larger organizations tend to handle better – simply because they understand the risks of their actions and generally have some guidelines or conduct training to avoid negative consequences.

It is common for small businesses to err on the side of focusing solely on building their business or practice and delivering services, often forgetting to hone their skills on managing their staffs. After all, if we are busy, everything will run smoothly. WRONG. Some of the biggest mistakes companies make are when they are growing – they ignore the internal systems and things get out of control.

Partners have fiduciary and leadership responsibilities to each other and their staff. It means being a “boss”. Every employee in the organization is watching what the partners do or do not do – what kind of decisions they make, who gets more training, who has their ear and who spends time with them outside of work etc. The dynamics will magnify in small businesses or office environments because everyone is on stage, all the time.

I would bet the partners have never discussed how they want to manage the office as a team. This is not because they are negligent; talking about the human resources kind of things is not something they like to do. It may involve compromising with each other. It is much easier to focus on what they do well – practice their area of expertise.

There is a reason leaders spend time on vision, mission, values and behavior statements. The process helps to gain agreement on what is acceptable and what is not. When surprises occur (and they will), leaders and partners know how to handle it and can support each other.

One question would be what are the values and behaviors that set the foundation for a great workplace. Given the openness of his friendship with the employee, the topic of relationships between partners and employees is an obvious agenda item.

If the topic is the “elephant at work”, then it is up to him to tee it up. Why? Because relationships can be a major financial and credibility blow to a business or practice, especially if someone feels scorned and believes there is a hostile work environment or an issue of sexual harassment.

It is easy to say this is not going to happen, we are friends. The fact is, situations can change quickly. The employee may have performance issues and his responsibility as the boss is to give feedback and possibly some type of discipline. If he fails to do it, another employee could file a complaint, which would lead to defending the practice and himself. It could put his family at risk too. The allegations may not be true. It really does not matter; it is a sign of poor judgment for a boss to be that vulnerable.

I realize this is a worst-case scenario; if there is perceived or real favoritism in the office, it is affecting productivity. It may not be obvious to the partners immediately, but it will rear its ugly head in eroding profit margins and poor employee morale.

Ultimately, it is up to your spouse to set the boundaries in and outside of the workplace. That is what being a partner and boss means – being accountable for actions beyond an employee level. Business owners and partners do not get to leave work at the office. Personal actions can affect their work environment too. It means looking beyond living in the moment.

Taking this approach moves the focus off the tug a war about who trusts who to accepting responsibility for making sound decisions and owning the consequences. Trust is important – it is the byproduct of doing everything right. I realize your situation is complicated. Good luck.

Lynn Dessert owns Leadership Breakthrough, improving personal communication and influence one-step at a time. Post your thoughts or email me!

Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes

“How does someone overcome on paper (her resume) the fact that she does not have a college education?” is a question posed by a reader.

Overcome. It seems like an ominous word.

“One of my biggest regrets is that I never went to college. I graduated in 1976 and got married immediately (big mistake)! I am a young 51 year old and have always worked, always working up the ladder. I still don’t know what I want to do when I grow up….I was always too busy raising a family to figure out what I was going to do, now that I’m here…I figured I’d better do something….better late than never.”

Jenny has worked in a number of different companies in a variety of capacities. She has sales, customer service and merchandising experience and in the past held a 440 license.  The fact is, Jenny has some great skills and a track record of working in at least one major company – that counts for something.

I asked her what she really wanted to do.

Her response was, “I would have loved to have done something to help people, I have a heart for the homeless and the hungry, the battered women…want to save the world LOL! But, like I said…I never went to school….what will I do…probably go back take a refresher course and get my Insurance License renewed and sell Property and Causality Insurance. It is more stable than the industry I am in now.”

When deciding to pursue a four-year degree, it is important to figure out if the risk/reward is worth your investment at this stage of your life. Let us look at the benefits or rewards first. Make your own list.

• Pride of accomplishment
• Better or more opportunities
• More money
• Prestige
• Faster career progression
• New career direction

The next question is to ask what are the risks or things you may give up or need to provide to be successful. Again, tailor your list to your specific circumstances.

• Time for yourself and the family
• Financial resources
• Possible relocation to attend a better school
• Self motivation

Finally, ask yourself, if you did not pursue a four-year degree, how you could accomplish everything in your benefits list. Alternative options may include (add your own):

• renewing your license
• working toward certification in a another field
• getting a two year degree
• becoming an expert in a niche market

Your passion is helping people. Think about how to navigate your career choices to meet this inner desire. It is easier to be successful doing what you love than convincing yourself why you are going to work each day.

If you are unclear about what career paths are good for you, consider taking the Strong Interpretive Report (B). Find a local or other qualified professional to administer the test and debrief the results with you. It may help with avoiding poor choices on career decisions.

Fundamentally, your statement, “I would like to do more but the education question seems to get in the way,” is more about how you perceive yourself than how others look at you.

Recognize, there are always hurdles or reasons why someone does not consider or hire a candidate. Getting a degree does not solve the problem; it simply means there is a completely new set of criteria to evaluate you.

“Even on Linked in I am embarrassed to finish my profile because I don’t have the college to show like everyone else and find myself embarrassed,” says Jenny.

Professionally geared sites such as LinkedIn can be intimidating. Everyone is touting what they do well, and you should highlight your key accomplishments with pride. There will be companies who require degrees, and successful employers know that results count for more than the degree, especially at your stage of life.

Boosting your personal confidence will come easier when you stop comparing yourself to others.  Recognize what you do well and be proud of it. Some people will like it, others will not. A degree will not change that, it only changes who sits on what side of the line. Once you master that, you be able to decide how to proceed.

To your success…Lynn

Lynn Dessert owns Leadership Breakthrough, improving personal communication and influence one-step at a time. Post your thoughts or email me!

Reading time: 3 – 5 minutes

Is pride getting in the way or is prejudice an issue for either the organization or candidate? This is a question recently posed by a reader of Elephants at Work.

The Situation

John was a contractor working on a major project with a company. Within the year, he is required to leave the organization due to company policy (there were limitations on how long a contractor could remain). During his tenure, he achieves industry accolades due to his high contributions on a significant project.

He subsequently joins a second organization in a key decision making role as a permanent employee for five years.

Recently, the first organization has an opening in a senior management role and he decides to interview for it. The company goes through an extensive selection process over several months. It appears that there is a good fit; however, the organization fails to make an offer, instead opting to promote a junior internal person who is not immediately qualified.

The Answer is…in the Details

I wrote him back to ask him some additional questions and I received a long letter filling in some of the blanks. Here are some of the other facts, along with my observations:

1. Your ability to develop significant relationships in the first company helped you figure out what is going on internally today. The trouble is that your contacts are not in the decision-making position or they have left the organization.
2. The achievements you were able to deliver were truly remarkable, evidenced by the rewards you received years ago. I have to wonder if the decision makers in the organization are afraid that you might outshine the boss or the team. Accomplishments can bread jealousy. I realize this behavior is not always in the best interest of the company. The bottom line is that the individuals making the decisions sometimes have hidden agendas.
3. The company decides to choose someone internally to groom into the role. The company states it is a fast track employee development decision, and I question it. This is a decision that should have been months ago before you started the interviewing process. It seems to be more like a knee jerk reaction.
4. More likely, the decision is a result of cost containment, internal politics or the decision maker’s frustration level. If the organization does not replace the promoted employee’s role there is a savings. There could be favors someone owes someone else or there may be pressure to make this decision by someone higher in the organization. Finally, the decision makers may feel stagnation to move forward with someone externally, so they make a less resistant choice with an internal promotion.
5. At one time, you were a contractor to the company. Some companies do not believe it is easy for a person to convert from independent to employee status. While you may have worked with another company as a full time employee, people tend to filter out what they do not know firsthand. In their eyes, you were a contractor.

So, is it an issue of pride or prejudice with you or the organization? There might be a mixture of both on either side. I am sure there is a sense of disappointment in the investment you have made to rejoin this organization. It can be hurtful to think this organization passes on you when they know what you can do first hand.

I will ask you to put your pride aside and ask yourself a more important long-term question. Do you really want to work there given their decision making style?

Cultures change over time especially if your previous sponsors have left. It may not be the same organization, despite the name outside.

Lynn Dessert owns Leadership Breakthrough, improving personal communication and influence one-step at a time. Post your thoughts or email me!

Reading time: 2 – 4 minutes

Question: I am a Vice President of Sales & Marketing in a niche market with growth potential. I joined the company a little over a year ago. The CEO joined the company about three months ago.

Earlier this year, the organization decided to impose a 20% wage reduction by going to a four-day workweek instead of laying people off. Even though our financial outlook is improving, the organization is still under this constraint.

A few weeks ago, a junior employee on my sales team told me he is leaving the company to go to an indirect competitor. I accepted his resignation and two weeks’ notice. While I was on a trip, my boss (CEO) decided to cut him loose sooner without pay. It was a decision made without my input.

Last week, another employee told me he is leaving. This is an employee I would like to see stay with the company, he has long-term potential. I approached my boss about some options to keep him.

His response was, “It looks like he is giving us another opportunity to reorganize.”

I have now learned that a third person from my organization is planning to leave by the end of the year. How do I make a case to the CEO that there seems to be a systemic problem?

Jim R.

Arizona

Answer: There are a number of themes in your question. I will try to address them succinctly.

1. Employees often value a company who tries to save jobs. However, when the company is seeing signs of life, they will expect to return to the status quo. Your organization is failing to do this for them.
2. If a company continues to have trouble, the more human approach is to make the employee cuts, otherwise good people will leave. You are seeing results of not addressing #1.
3. There are leaders who make an effort to develop people and then there are bosses who believe anyone is replaceable. I think your boss sits in the later camp.
4. The best case you can make is to show how losing people will affect sales and profitability. Bottom line numbers usually get the CEO’s attention.

To be truthful, I do not know if you will be successful in making a case to the CEO. A better course of action – see if he is willing to share his plan with you. My hunch is he has one and he is following it. Then you can decide if you want to be a player, rather than being a pawn in the organization.

Lynn Dessert owns Leadership Breakthrough, improving personal communication and influence one-step at a time. Post your thoughts or email me!

Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes

Question: I recently was up for a promotion to another department. I was told by Human Resources that someone else was selected for the position.

A couple of days later, I overheard someone in our department saying that I was not allowed to take the other position because my boss blocked my promotion. I thought I had a good working relationship with my boss, but now I am beginning to question if he is really on my side. What do I do?

Jim R.

South Carolina

Answer: Let’s take this one step at a time. The conversation you overheard may be hearsay or it could be grounded in facts. It is important to avoid jumping to conclusions too soon; a little investigative work seems to be in order.

Promotions inside companies happen because three things line up: an opening, a qualified candidate and availability to make the move.

The first step is to have a conversation with Human Resources since they are the ones who provided you the initial information about not receiving the promotion. Make an appointment to see the person who was managing the promotion or transfer. Tell them you want to talk about what you can do to be a better candidate next time, not to prove to them they made a mistake.

Set up the meeting after you have had a chance to calm down.  If you appear to be defensive or demanding, the other person may not be as willing to share with you why you did not get the position.

The standard answer is often, “the other person has a better skill set or experience”. Probe a little deeper by asking, “What are some of those skills or experiences that I am lacking?” Keep the focus on you, not the other person who got the position. Your goal is to find out what you need to do to get the promotion next time.

You may uncover that your abilities were not understood clearly by the hiring manager. If this is the situation, consider how you might frame your skills and experience better to overcome misunderstandings in the future. Take this feedback as an opportunity to improve your communication or self promotion skills.

Sometimes promotions are blocked because of bad timing. If you are on a major project whose success rides on your participation, your manager may have told the hiring manager or Human Resources that he can not release you at that time.

Your manager could have said you needed some more time to develop skills or demonstrate some of the skills they were looking for in the new position.

It is common for employees to stay at least one to two years in their current position before moving into a new role. The first year is your learning period; the second year is your opportunity to demonstrate what you have learned.

If your boss blocks your move because of these reasons, the next step is to have a meeting with him to find out what you can do to be prepared for the next promotional opportunity.

For example, if a project depends on you, figure out how to share the responsibility or train someone else on the team to do the work you do. This will mean letting go of duties or sharing control. It is important to realize – if you are not expendable, business priorities can get in the way of any career movement.

Let’s say your boss believes you should be gaining some additional skills or experiences. Develop a plan on how to do it. Establish milestones to review your progress with your boss. Doing these activities will upgrade your marketable skills and remind your boss of what you are capable of doing.

There are times when bosses block a promotion for selfish reasons. They may not want to train someone else or they don’t want to go through the hassle of finding someone new. It is difficult to pinpoint if this is their intent, it is often subjective. Rarely, does a boss admit this behavior openly.

Consider an objective way to test this assumption. If you do the steps above – train your back up, develop a plan to build skills and measure your success and you are still getting the pass over, you probably have a much stronger case for being blocked unreasonably. At this point, Human Resources should notice the pattern and intervene.

All of these tactics are useful if you stay with the same company. If you believe the company has lost confidence in you, it may be time to make a move to another one. Good luck to you!

Lynn Dessert owns Leadership Breakthrough, improving personal communication and influence one step at a time. Post your thoughts or email me!

Reading time: 2 – 4 minutes

Elephants at Work made its debut on Eyes on the Future with Mike Whittemore on WHAM 1180 AM on Saturday, September 12th. The expert panel consisted of:

Lynn Dessert, Leadership Breakthrough, Inc.

Beth Sears, Workplace Communication, Inc.

If you did not have an opportunity to catch us live, the show was broadcast in a number of segments.

In the initial segment, get a clearer picture of what an elephant at work is and what affect it has on how an organization operates effectively. Find out if the size of an organization makes a difference or how an outside resource can help leaders find out if there are any elephants in the workplace by listening to Segment One.

In our second segment, we discuss what kind of organizations has elephants in the workplace and how stress affects those relationships. Stress is the number one reason employees leave a company.

Learn about what to do if a co-worker doesn’t follow through, how to confront a co-worker that has done something wrong or if your boss is lying to you in Segment Two.

The third segment focuses on how personal relationships within the workplace may affect our ability to get work done. Some of these may be more personal in nature, such as cliques, friendships or possibly extra-marital affairs.

The topics what to do if someone has cancer in the workplace and how does layoffs affect the organization’s productivity are additional subjects in Segment Three.

The fourth segment focuses on what leaders can do to gain trust by being more visible to their employees. Beth discusses some of the research in Segment Four.

In the wrap up segment we talk about the best ways to interact with your co-workers. Is it face to face, email or by phone? Learn about the different methods and which may work better with your employees in Segment Five.

Look for us in the November/December time frame to do another show!

Lynn Dessert owns Leadership Breakthrough, improving personal communication and influence one step at a time. Post your thoughts or email me!

Reading time: 2 – 3 minutes

Get advice on the elephant you don’t know what to do about this Saturday, September 12th on WHAM 1180 AM. Elephants in the Workplace will be the topic on Eyes on the Future from 10-11:00am.

Eyes on Future – SEPTEMBER 12 Show Promo

Lynn Dessert, Leadership Breakthrough, Inc. and Beth Sears, Workplace Communications, Inc. comprise the expert panelists for the show. The show is live; callers can ask their questions or share their “elephant” story with us. You may have a unique solution that everyone can benefit from hearing about.

Our sponsoring partner, Greater Rochester Enterprise, co-sponsors this program with Harter Secrest & Emery, LLP focusing on how Rochester residents can work together to strengthen the economy and keep local businesses growing.

If the elephants are at work at your employer, chances are it is affecting morale. Finding ways to highlight and deal with the elephant can be challenging. Why not share yours with us on Saturday?

Radio provides an anonymous forum; helping you to secure quick advice for difficult situations. If the lines are jammed, write me and I will work your situation into a future post.

If you are on twitter, follow me at http://twitter.com/LynnDessert for tweets the day of the show.

If you miss the live show, check back here at Elephants at Work for an audio link and recap of the show.

Lynn Dessert owns Leadership Breakthrough, improving personal communication and influence one step at a time. Post your thoughts or email me!

Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes

Question: I work in a large high tech company where several of us have the same job description, but we don’t do the same work. My boss gives me all the difficult assignments and the others receive the more routine work.

When I received my increase this year, I got a 3% raise, while the other employees received a 2% increase. I was told my increase was better because of all the work I do, but it doesn’t seem like I am getting rewarded very fairly. My boss says I am at the top of my salary range and there is nothing else he can do for me.

I have thought about leaving the organization, but they have excellent benefits. I have two kids who are eligible to receive free college tuition since we are affiliated with a local university.

I like the organization and I want to know that they recognize and value my work. How do I advance?

Bob F.

Answer: Bob, there are a couple of things you might consider as you contemplate what to do about your situation. Is there opportunity in the long term to advance and what should you consider if you do want to leave for a better paying job.

Companies have salary ranges for specific job classifications. If you are at the top of the range, often a boss’s hands are tied and they can not give large increases. Being at the top, means just that – you are highly skilled at what you do and you are paid a top wage for it.

Ask your boss or manager if there is opportunity to be considered for a promotion within the next year. If so, define what you need to do to prepare yourself.

Develop a joint plan with your boss to accomplish getting the skills and experience to become the top candidate. The promotion may not happen as quickly as you like, but you will be in a position to qualify for it when it does.

Some organizations have put a freeze on hiring or promoting until the economy improves, so be patient. If the organization fails to come through, you will have positioned yourself for a better position if you decide to leave.

Let us suppose your company does not see you as a viable candidate for a promotion, then you have a couple of choices: stay or leave.

To help make the decision from a financial point of view, consider if you will be able to replicate the salary and benefits you are receiving at the prospective company. Often employees only focus on the pay side of the equation, forgetting that benefits are in fact a form of compensation. In fact, there is some evidence that the value of benefits is increasing faster than wages.

Begin by making a list of all forms of compensation at your current company. Include the following:

• Salary
• Bonus
• Profit sharing
• Stock options or grants
• 401K contribution (consider maximum matching contribution)
• Medical benefits
• Dental benefits
• Pension
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Vacation Days
• Short term disability
• Long term disability
• Other benefits

Calculate the yearly amount the company pays on your behalf. Your Human Resources department can help you with gathering this information.

Next, examine how your prospective company’s compensation and benefits offer or policies stack up with the same list. Recognize there maybe different benefit structures. Start with the “apples to apples” comparison and then account for the variations.

For example, you may find that the tuition reimbursement for family members is not a common benefit between two companies. If your kids are approaching college, tuition assistance may become a more valuable benefit to you.

College tuition averages anywhere from $6K to $25K, depending on if they attend a public or private college. Factor in this cost as if you were receiving it in salary, unless your children are funding their education without any assistance from you.

If you decide to stay, continue to provide the best attitude and work product despite how you might feel about your peers. Facing a challenging position might prove to be more invigorating than being bored with what you do.

Lynn Dessert owns Leadership Breakthrough, improving personal communication and influence one step at a time. Post your thoughts or email me!