People First
At Scribe, we put people first. People before profits. People before process.
This is our number one value, and what has made our company one of the top places to work in Austin.
This people-first approach isn’t just lip service or a catchy PR line. This value impacts everything about our company, including how we teach our Tribe members about money.
If we truly believe that our company is here to make a difference in people’s lives, this means we want to support every single person, in all areas of their lives. So when it comes to money, personal finance, wealth-building, and salary, there are no ‘off-limits’ conversations.
We are so serious about this people-first approach, that we coach, mentor, and teach each Tribe member on exactly how to ask for salary increases.
It may seem counterintuitive, but we believe coaching Tribe members on how to effectively ask for a raise facilitates growth. Empowering our Tribe to take agency over their roles helps us reach our goals and become more profitable. Teaching our Tribe members how to ask for salary increases fosters a culture of agency and responsibility.
Words Matter
Notice I didn’t say ‘salary negotiation.’ The words we use are extremely important. At Scribe, we don’t have employees; we have Tribe members. We aren’t given raises; we earn salary increases. We are not given anything. That language implies a lack of agency, which is not the case here.
We also don’t use the term negotiation when it comes to salary increases. In a negotiation, someone has to win, and therefore, someone else has to lose. A ‘negotiation’ implies a stressful, high-pressure scenario where you have to have a ‘hard conversation.’
That’s not what we do at Scribe. Here, we foster a people-first approach where there are no hard conversations. I believe people should be able to come in and have an open, honest, very direct conversation about salaries. We want to create opportunities for a Tribe member to sit down with their direct support, and have a positive discussion, where nobody feels like they’ve ‘lost’ — regardless of the outcome.
How to Prepare
In typical discussions, a Tribe member will cite all of the things they have accomplished in the past. At Scribe, however, we have a different approach. We ask our Tribe members to present us with a plan for what they are going to do in the future. Any discussions of past work are only relevant in that they provide proof they can accomplish their plan.
Don’t come into a salary increase discussion and list off all of the things you’ve already done in the past. Approach it with a forward-thinking perspective. What value will you bring to the company, moving forward?
If you would like to see the exact plan we give our Tribe members when they are preparing for their salary increase discussion, including the worksheet we ask them to fill out, you can download that here.
What Warrants a Salary Increase?
One important thing to keep in mind is that in order to earn a salary increase, it isn’t always about doing more. Sometimes, it’s about being more efficient and effective. Earning a salary increase doesn’t necessarily require adding more shit onto your plate. Instead, I want to know: How do we become more efficient, as a company? How do we move our company forward, and get closer to our goals, more effectively? And how will you be contributing, moving forward? Those are the things I want to hear from a Tribe member during a salary increase discussion.