But I Have (insert number) Years Of Experience!
Over the past 10 years, I have seen more and more people come to me asking for a raise. I do applaud anyone willing to stand up and advocate for themselves and ask for a monetary reward for a job well done. That being said, I am willing to be as generous as possible to retain good employees.
However, a job well done means more than merely showing up. When they do ask for a raise, I always say, "I would love to. Tell me what you have done to improve yourself and the station."
(Sorry, but no one gets thanks from me for showing up and doing the job they were hired to do.)
One thing that has cropped up as a fairly new idea, is that past experience has some cache for future rewards. And I do agree with that, in the sense that your experience should lead you to seek improvement in the future. After all, you didn't just get the experience by osmosis, you worked for it. Whether it came easy or not doesn't matter. You gleaned this experience by doing something that improved you and the company.
Sorry to be simplistic, but what is experience? According to Miriam-Wesbster experience is defined as:
1a : direct observation of or participation in events as a basis of knowledge
b : the fact or state of having been affected by or gained knowledge through direct observation or participation
2a : practical knowledge, skill, or practice derived from direct observation of or participation in events or in a particular activity
b : the length of such participation
3: something personally encountered, undergone, or lived through
4a : the conscious events that make up an individual life
b : the events that make up the conscious past of a community or nation or humankind generally
5: the act or process of directly perceiving events or reality
With that said, experience brings to the table a skill set that helps you do your everyday job easier, more efficiently and pushes you to do more. That "more" keeps you, your teammates and your employer relevant and set up for success
If you are in a position of wanting a achieve a raise or bonus and think that just because you have the past experience and your longevity within your organization are the only things you need to get that raise or bonus, think again. Your experience is why you were hired and your ability to deliver on what you promised initially is why you are still in your job.
When you stay in the same position and don't try to learn more, achieve more for the organization or go above and beyond your current duties, you could easily be seen as stagnating. Even if your don't agree that you are stagnating, you aren't helping your organization move forward. Sometimes that can get your fired.
I have said in my previous post that the advertisers that say "in business since (insert year)" is all well and good, until the new company comes in and does it cheaper and more efficiently. Same goes for you and your job. "20 years in the business" doesn't mean much if your skill sets are 10 years old.
Come to think of it, I can't think of a single company that has survived and thrived in the face direct updated competition by not improving their product to stay competitive. Even if it is just a slight improvement.
Reis and Trout use many examples, specifically, Xerox, Coca Cola and IBM in their book Marketing Warfare. Even though those companies are still doing the same thing they started with, aside some an occasional full-on diversion (of which they recovered, I will blog about that next.). In all 3 cases, not much has perceptually changed. Look closer, though. Small, but important changes make all the difference:
Xerox
has an amazing website
1.3 million followers on Facebook
over 710,000 followers on LinkedIn
Coca Cola
has an international website
107 million followers on Facebook
over 1.6 million followers on LinkedIn
Over 3.4 million followers on Twitter
IBM
has an international website
almost 1 million followers on Facebook
over 4.2 million followers on LinkedIn
444k followers on Twitter
All of those brands have advertised on radio, TV, newspaper, magazines, billboards early on (where applicable). Times changed and to keep in-step with changes in marketing, all of them changed or added to their marketing platforms with online advertising, social media, a web presence and even an app.
The reason I point this out, is that every one of these stalwart products have been making the same product, the same way for decades and improving themselves along the way.
As for you, you, the employee, you can't just rest on your past glory and assume people will just come flocking to you. Businesses have died because of this. Radio stations have died because of this. And people have become unemployed or irrelevant in their chosen industry.
Sure, Xerox, Coca Cola and IBM could avoid building a website because it takes too much time, effort and money. Sure, Xerox, Coca Cola and IBM could avoid social media and apps because, it too, takes time, effort and money but they realize, you have to change with the times.
It is easy to continue doing what you do, even if you have perfected your product. But times change...and so do your customers needs and their attention.
In radio, it's the audience and the advertising client. Changing tastes, wants and needs mean we have to meet the audience where they are. They are NOT going to change for us. We MUST change for them.
The same goes for you as an employee/air talent/manager, etc. If you change with the times, you are improving yourself and, in turn, the company with which you work. You move toward your audience...AND THAT will get you recognized. THEN you get raises and bonuses because your efforts translate into money and growth.
If you don't move with the times, you end up miserable selling shoes like Al Bundy. Unless that is a career choice that you want...and even then, to be rewarded for success, you have to work toward better and make your company more efficient more money.
