Employees are not a cost, they are an addition to your revenue stream. You hire people to do something productive that you need. You pay them because what they produce is more valuable to you than the salary you give them. Therefore, they add to the value of your company.
The work product that a person produces should have a value to you, that is what the person should be paid for producing it for you. Attempts to bargain down the price based on past salary or other factors will only lead to turnover in the future. If a person’s work product is worth X dollars, you should pay them X dollars regardless of previous salaries above or below X. If they are earning significantly more than X, you are putting them in a situation in which their full capabilities will not be employed, they will likely leave sooner for an opportunity which allows them a higher salary and full use of their capabilities. If their previous salary is below X, they were likely undervalued and under utilized in their previous position, and if you bring them on at the same rate or with only a small raise, they will be likely to leave for a position paying closer to X once they realize their full value on the market. You are not the only employer looking for such product, other employers will bid up the price of labor to market levels. If you perpetually try to pay below market levels, you will have perpetual turnover issues, you will have trouble retaining the people you deem to be good hires, and you will have sub standard employees. Pay your employees what they are worth, treat them well, and you will retain them.
People who say salary is not a motivator, or even that it doesn’t matter, are flat out idiots, and often consultants who essentially get paid to tell corporate executives what they want to hear as opposed to the truth. No other form of compensation matters anywhere near as much, because no other form of compensation can be used to pay bills. If someone told you you can buy a Bentley for any price because there were all kinds of other reasons why you should own one, and all these other forms of payment the dealer would accept, you’d be an idiot to believe them. If you then went from dealership to dealership listing all these reasons why you should own a Continental GT, but only offering the price of a Honda Accord, you’d be laughed out of the dealership, and rightly so.
There is no magical reason your purchase of labor will or should be different. Keep that in mind the next time you low-ball a candidate on the offer.
