Is Your Pay Structure Helping You Keep Great Employees or Driving Them Away?
If you've led a small business or team for any length of time, you've probably had this moment: A loyal, dependable employee—the one you never worried about losing—walks into your office with a letter in hand and gives you his two-week notice.
It doesn't add up. He was a key player on your team and liked the work. He fit your culture. You trusted him. The reason? A little more money somewhere else.
And that's when it hits: If I had known what the market was paying, I could have done something.
Your employee didn't leave because they stopped caring; he left because they started wondering if you did.
When Pay Falls Behind, So Does Trust
We recently worked with one of our clients who lost a highly skilled, long-term sales rep. She had over 15 years of experience in her industry and had been with the company for five. She knew the products inside and out, and the customers loved her.
But in those five years, her pay never changed.
She watched new hires come in at equal or higher pay. She had asked politely and humbly for a raise, but the request got lost among "other priorities" in their rapidly growing business. Her loyalty was assumed because she was flourishing in her role.
Then inflation hit. Costs climbed. Eventually, she started looking, not because she wanted to leave but because she could not afford to stay. Her skills and expertise were more valuable to other employers than to her current one.
When she found a higher-paying role, she took it. She told her boss she still cared about the company but couldn't afford to stay where her hard work wasn't recognized.
Today, employees are often more likely to get a raise by switching jobs than by staying put. It's not just a financial truth, it's an emotional one. Trust quietly starts to slip away when loyal employees see outsiders rewarded faster than insiders.
You Don’t Have to Guess What “Competitive” Looks Like: Simple Steps to Keep Up
Here's an easy rhythm to help you stay current:
Observe. Scan job postings a few times a year for similar roles. Check sites like Indeed, Zip Recruiter, and LinkedIn. Notice the trends.
Validate. Use salary research (like our $99 reports) to confirm what's accurate for your area. Talk with other businesses in your industry.
Watch COLA. The Social Security Administration publishes Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) data every October. This data is a good benchmark for knowing how much your pay ranges need to increase to keep up with inflation.
Communicate. Let your team know you review pay annually. Even if raises aren't possible every year, transparency builds trust.
Benefits Matter. Share data annually on the dollar-per-hour value of your benefits, like health, dental, vision, PTO, retirement, etc. If your business is behind industry standards on benefits, make up for it with higher wages. Start planning in your annual budget for catching up with your competitors over the next few years.
Look at Additional Compensation Options. If you can't do a big raise, consider profit-sharing bonuses based on company performance or bonus potential for hitting specific benchmarks.
You've worked hard to build a strong, loyal team. Don't lose them because you missed what the market was telling you. When you take time to stay current on pay, people notice. They feel valued. They trust your leadership.
It's not about constant raises, it's about consistent awareness. Had our client run a simple salary check, a small pay adjustment could have kept a loyal, talented member of their sales team.
A Simple Step to Strengthen Trust
And if you want reliable local data without hours of research, we can help.
Team Builder Recruiting is offering custom salary reports for just $99 per job title through December 31. It's an easy, affordable way to define fair pay ranges, make confident raise decisions, and protect the trust you’ve built.
Because staying competitive with pay isn’t just about dollars, it’s about respect and stewardship.
If you’ve been meaning to review your pay structure, now’s the time. Email your job description to tabatha@teambuilderrecruiting.com. Or if you’d like a consultative call on how to keep your pay structure competitive, reach out to me at kristen@teambuilderrecruiting.com.
You’ve built something worth protecting. Let’s ensure your pay structure reflects how much you value the people who built it with you.
“The plans of the diligent bring plenty…” — Proverbs 21:5