Your staff is the lifeblood of your agency.
They bring passion and skill to their work and make you proud every day.
You would do anything to keep them happy in their jobs, so they continue to stay, grow professionally and enhance your organization’s work.
You know from your check-ins that they love their jobs.
But your staff wants more pay, they know you are paying just at the market rate and believe they need and deserve more.
And you do not disagree, but you also know your agency’s budget. Across the board raises are not possible this fiscal year. It is your goal to do so soon but right now the funds are just not there.
What do you do?
Today’s episode will discuss three short-term approaches an executive director can take when the budget will just not stretch far enough for pay raises.
I want to be clear that these suggestions do not take the place of pay raises but demonstrate to your staff how much you value them, your willingness to be creative and support a work culture where their concerns are heard and validated.
Find the full transcript for this episode at relishyourrole.com/7.
When your staff expresses a legitimate request for pay raises but there is not enough money in the budget to make those raises a reality, there are three things as the Executive Director you can do to keep your staff’s faith and confidence while working on increasing revenue.
Be transparent about the agency’s budget.
It is not enough to say there are not enough funds. To say only that is treating your staff like children and not as partners in achieving your agency’s mission. If you want to begin to groom leaders within your staff, you must be transparent about the resources available.
You should share the budget with your staff. Call an agency-wide meeting and share where the money is coming from and where it goes. Time should be set aside where you can detail the larger budget line items such as salary, benefits, supplies, rent, travel, etc. and the different revenue sources. If possible, this information should be broken down by program and funding sources.
It is an educational moment where you can share what funds are restricted, the percentage of the budget benefits take up, if there has been a new infusion of funds or perhaps the loss of a revenue source. It is an opportunity to look under the hood and share with the staff the fiscal realities of the agency.
Be willing to answer their questions and explain how allocation decisions were made.
Ideally your budget supports the values and mission of your agency. Walking them through the budget sends an important message that you see them as valued stakeholders in the work. Most importantly it demonstrates your honesty and respect for them.
The revenue picture becomes a shared reality, and they hear from you your goals and priorities for the current and coming year.
If you are planning for an across the board raise or bonus payments based on performance in the coming year share with them what it will cost and the plans to secure those funds.
High performing organizations share a review of their budget with their staff twice a year so everyone is informed of the fiscal picture and can plan accordingly.
Identify what staff values
While the ultimate goal may be raises, in the interim there are other ways to reward performance.
Do not assume you know what that is.
Your staff may be in different life spaces than yourself and you should not assume that you know what they value in lieu of raises.
Ask them, get a small committee together to ask the staff what type of rewards would be meaningful to them. These are not intended to replace raises but validate the importance of supporting their good work.
Give your staff realistic parameters as most rewards do have a monetary value. You do not want to set yourself or them up by them generating suggestions which cannot be implemented.
For example, if there are undesignated training funds which can be reallocated, let them know. Be able to give an estimate of how many days off with pay are possible.
They may ask for flex time, or their birthdays off or to close the office on Friday afternoons in the summer, there are financial costs to these options.
With parameters they can bring realistic suggestions; by sharing the budget you have provided information which makes it easier to get to a yes.
Staff may want things other than time off.
Perhaps the agency can provide lunch for everyone twice a month, or establish a pool of funds for housecleaning services, or offer on-site massages every quarter.
The ideas should come from them, by giving them the information they need to make realistic suggestions and setting the ground rules for full staff involvement in identifying options, you create the conditions for success.
In addition to the staff-led work of identifying alternative rewards, as the agency leader it goes a long way to work your contacts (including those of the Board) for tokens of appreciation.
Leverage your full arsenal of contacts
Are there tickets to an event you can make available to staff? Are there services you can provide for them (think babysitting, housecleaning, car washing, cell phone repair)? Who do you and your contacts know that can work out a gratis or discount rate for services simply because staff work at your agency?
I had a client who had an arrangement with a pizzeria where her staff always received a 50% discount just because they worked at her agency. She also had a connect with a dog grooming service who would wash and clip staff’s pets for free. It sounds silly but the pet owners on staff loved it.
Again, this clearly does not take the place of nor should in any way be seen as a substitute for pay raises. It is an interim good-faith step to demonstrate how much you value your staff and while you are working to grow the budget you are acknowledging that they are heard and prized.
It is a short-term step, one which is about intent as much as results.
A good leader has to do more than just say no, they have to demonstrate that they will go the extra mile, be creative and find small, short term approaches to reward their staff when there is no money for raises.
You can do it and I am here to help.