Should I approach my manager about questions regarding promotion and raise process? [duplicate]

Question

About 2 weeks ago I met with my manager concerning some feedback I was given on a performance review. I have now been with this company 1 year on the nose.

I was informed that I was promoted in title and receiving a raise of about 5.5 percent.

I feigned excitement at this. The review contained some negative feedback which is objectively and provably false. It also has not taken into account my recent (2 months ago) very critical contributions to our release, which took a lot of overtime, and I would argue show me as a very strong developer.

I also don't know if 5.5 percent is a lot. I have no idea where I stand relative to my peers or others who have received promotions. If there's a possibility for more on the table, I don't know it. I know I have grown significantly at this company, and I feel like I'm being lowballed. My company also has a policy against discussing pay/titles with co-workers, so I don't feel safe talking about it with my peers.

All I have is confusion, which is not comforting when it comes to my compensation. I have no idea how they arrived at this figure. I also feel as though I was given no outlet to contest negative feedback.

The core of the question is that I would like to negotiate a higher raise, but completely lack any insight into how the original figure was calculated. Would I appear petty if I brought up these concerns to my manager, or do the members of this community view these types of concerns as valid? If it's the latter, could I also ask for advice about how to approach my manager?

Answer 1

Congratulations on your promotion! Your question has a few elements, which are best addressed independently. Try to separate them in your mind.

1. The 5.5% raise and promotion: This is a good raise for an annual review, and managers don't promote people who are having trouble. See all this as a positive message from your manager regarding your value and your potential.

2. Your overall compensation: Annual reviews often do not even consider your salary with respect to your peers. Do some research, and if you think you are underpaid relative to the market, you can try to negotiate a salary correction. Decide in advance if it is worth quitting over, but remember that one year may not be quite enough time for an employer to develop an accurate estimate of your value. This discussion is separate from the annual review, and might benefit from a little time in between.

3. The negative feedback that you disagree with: You say that you were "Given no outlet to address negative feedback", but surely you speak to your manager somewhat regularly? Just make an appointment with your manager and discuss it. This is important! If you don't know where the negative feedback came from, you are having a communication issue with your manager. You can express that you are somewhat surprised by the negative feedback, and that you don't agree, but the goal of the meeting is to understand what you can do to fix the communication issues that led to the negative feedback.