How Can You Motivate an Employee Who Has Reached the Top of Her Salary Range and is not Qualified for Promotion?
Some companies raise the maximum salaries in their ranges periodically to keep up with the cost of living. They can then give raises to people who have reached the previous ceiling. Other companies respond on a case-by-case basis, raising some individuals’ salaries by special permission rather than a change in classification. Besides an increase in base pay, some employees may be eligible for increased commissions, bonuses, or overtime pay.
When such options are unavailable, nonfinancial incentives become more important. People can be motivated by nonfinancial motivations if you give them something they really want. They may seek praise or increased employability through access to additional training, or a challenging assignment. Search out your employee’s interests, determine what will turn him or her on, and proceed accordingly.
Employees can also be motivated by such things as increased vacation time, better retirement benefits, more opportunity, training, mentoring, affiliation with your company’s top teams, quality of work life, flexible work schedules, and exposure to high-profile people and projects.