When an employer extends an offer of promotion to an employee, it’s only natural for them to accept, right? Well, depending on what sorts of perks and how much additional work that promotion entails, the “lucky” employee may opt to turn it down. Although promoting from within can be a great way to reward high-performers for their efforts and provide employees incentives to keep doing their best, not all promotions represent an upgrade in the eyes of some team members.
Insufficient Pay
Promotions are generally synonymous with two things: increased responsibility and increased pay. However, when the latter fails to reflect the former, people have little incentive to accept promotions. After all, why take on additional responsibilities for an insufficient increase in pay? If you expect team members to step up to the plate, you need to make it worth their while. Sure, you can insist that the position on offer is more important than the one someone currently holds; if the accompanying salary doesn’t reflect this, you are basically blowing smoke.
So, before offering someone a promotion, take some time to research the types of salaries people who occupy this role traditionally receive. For good measure, you should brush up on the general cost of living in the area and ensure that the salary offered is competitive. Similarly, if this is a promotion for someone to relocate, consider that area’s cost of living before deciding on a fitting salary. Depending on the area, a significant pay increase may be needed.
Required Relocation
Promotions sometimes require employees to relocate. Unsurprisingly, this can present issues for the promoted individuals. For starters, if they and their families are happy in their current locale, no job – or pay raise – may be worth relocating for. Furthermore, there’s a possibility that the area they’ll be moving to has a higher cost of living than the one they currently reside in – which, again, is why you’ll need to research such things before proposing a salary.
There are several ways you can help ease this burden. First off, as covered above, you should offer a salary that’s generous enough to warrant just a sweeping life change. Secondly, given what a massive change this represents, you should provide them with a comfortable amount of time in which to reach a decision. Thirdly, you should provide them with relocation assistance. This entails covering movers’ fees and paying for lodging until a permanent residence is found. Consider partnering with an efficient corporate relocation services company if your employees are frequently asked to relocate.
Decreased Flexibility
The increased acceptance of remote work facilitated by the COVID-19 pandemic has led many people to place heightened importance on flexibility. Now they’re aware of how unnecessary set schedules and office hours are too many jobs; they’re far less likely to accept jobs that limit flexibility for the sake of limiting flexibility. If the promotion you’re offering requires someone to give up flexibility to which they’ve grown accustomed, this will probably be a tough sell. In fact, many workers would sooner accept a pay cut than go back to the way things used to be.
So, before offering an employee a promotion, consider the alterations that must be made to their current schedule. You should also take some time to think about whether the limited flexibility a certain position entails is truly necessary for the role to be performed effectively.
Although many workers strive for the acknowledgment of their respective employers, promotion offers aren’t always a slam dunk. There are various reasons for which workers turn down promotions – many of which are directly attributable to missteps on the part of their employers. So, if a fair number of your employees have turned down promotions without a second thought, there’s a good chance you’ve failed to make these offers sufficiently enticing. In the interest of limiting the number of refusals you receive in the future, carefully consider the advice outlined above.
