How to Talk About Money

When performance reviews are at the end of the year, they include another piece of pertinent information: salary increases. This complicates things.

When performance reviews also act as the grand unveiling of a salary increase, people tend not to engage as well in the performance discussion, which is what these meetings are really about. Let’s imagine that both of you know that you’re going to tell them their pay raise at the end of the meeting. In the lead up to the pay raise surprise, people will sit there wondering when you’re going to tell them. As soon as you’ve told them, they’re either extremely happy or begin thinking about what they are going to do with the extra money (A holiday? Overpay their mortgage?). Otherwise, they’ll be seething because it’s not what they expected. All the while, the useful performance conversation floats on by and doesn’t land.

Time of announcing the pay raise