Business Edition: A Pay Rise Won't Fix This

You've got someone in your business who isn't quite performing.

Not terrible. Just not where they need to be.

And somewhere in the back of your mind is the thought that if you paid them more, they'd step up.

Don't. They won't.

Here's what will actually happen if you do.

You've just told them the standard was negotiable. That it wasn't a requirement of the role, it was an upgrade available at extra cost. And they'll take the money, of course.

Then one of two things follows. Either nothing changes, or performance lifts briefly and settles back, which means you’re left paying a higher price for the same problem.

There's a deeper reason for why this happens...

Money doesn't create standards. It can only reward them.

If someone isn't meeting the expectation, that's one of three things.

1. They don't know what the standard is.
2. They don't know how to reach it.
3. They know both and aren't doing it.

The first is a clarity problem.
The second is a training problem.
The third is an accountability problem.

Not one of those is a pay problem.

And paying more doesn't solve any of them. It just adds cost to a situation that already wasn't working.

So the sequence matters, and it only runs one way.

First, make the standard explicit. Not implied, not assumed. Said out loud, specifically, so there's no version where they're unclear on what's expected.

Second, give them what they need to hit it. Training, tools, time, whatever's genuinely missing.

And finally, hold them to it. Which means following up, and meaning it.

Then, and only then, reward it.

Because a pay rise that follows demonstrated performance reinforces the standard. The same pay rise offered to produce performance destroys it.

Same money. Opposite message.

And there's one more cost worth identifying: everyone else is watching.

The people already meeting the standard - doing it without being incentivised, because it's the job - are now watching someone get rewarded for not doing it.

You haven't just failed to fix one person. You've taught your best people that the standard doesn't matter.

So if someone isn't performing, have the conversation. Make it clear. Support them properly. Hold the line.

Then pay them well when they've earned it.

In that order, every time.

If you know someone who would benefit from reading this, please forward it to them. It may change the trajectory of their life for the better, and the catalyst could be you.