Recently I have been hearing a lot of people wanting retention bonuses because a lot of new employees have been receiving signing bonuses.
I believe there is a better way of approaching your career advancement and compensation advancement without asking for a retention bonus. Just because other people are coming into your organization and getting signing bonuses doesn’t mean your employer should be paying you a retention bonus. That’s why today’s heart-centered key is advocating for yourself!
First off, we have to understand every single company is different. It would be great if every employer wanted to pay retention bonuses, but rather than focusing yourself on a retention bonus, a one-time payment, why not focus on a pattern and a plan that helps you advocate and advance your career long-term!
The problem with focusing on the short-term goals, like retention bonuses, is we have our focus on the wrong area! When we focus on the dollar and cents of our work what we miss is the value in our work.
What is valuable is you!
You are valuable in your workplace!
When you pin your value against what somebody else is getting, you take away that personal value power. You never want to give that up! You never want to request more compensation because somebody else is making more. I do believe you should be getting paid fairly and compensation plans should be equal, but as the employee, it very rarely works out.
If you love where you’re working and have no intention of leaving, what I suggest you do is to figure out a way to increase your income. The first two steps are:
- Talk to your boss about getting on more strategic projects.
- Put a plan together on how to solve the company’s problems and add more value back into your organization.
Especially during this turbulent time, most people are trying to stay at the status quo. If you can think of ways your company can advance and grow, you are providing tremendous value. This is more valuable than a new employee with a signing bonus coming on and not knowing where they’re getting started.
Advocate for yourself by continuing to solve problems the company is having. As you continue to grow and serve your organization then that’s when you go in with your plan.
Learn more about how to make a plan for career advancement by heading to https://mypromotionplan.com/course/ and checking out our courses!
To hear my full advice on advocating for yourself, check out my new youtube video
