Tough to bridge temp-to-perm wage gap

Once you start a temporary position at a below-market salary, you're unlikely to recoup the difference when the job becomes permanent. (istockphoto.com)

Q. I recently accepted a temp-to-perm position at a major biotech company. I worked with the recruiting agency to determine my hourly rate and the duration of my position. I was told that I would be temporary for three months and that two weeks prior to the conclusion of my temp assignment, I would be offered (or not) permanent employment and that at this time I would be able to negotiate salary and title with the company. A week prior to the conclusion of my temporary employment, I asked my boss if he would be proceeding with a permanent offer and he said "yes." It has now been six weeks since that conversation, and I am still not permanent. I do believe the company will move forward with an offer. My concern is negotiating a salary for a permanent position. I agreed to do the job temporarily for an hourly rate well below my market rate. I am worried that the offer will also be below my market rate. Having been in the role for four months now, I have a very good idea of the responsibilities and the salary that should accompany it. How do you negotiate once you have already been doing the job for a lower wage?

A. First, let me congratulate you on being offered a permanent position. Not all temp-to-perm placements work out well. It is gratifying that your boss has recognized that you are a good fit for the job and that he wants you to stay. Now it's up to you to determine if you want to accept a permanent position at the salary that will be offered. You may be facing several obstacles to securing a salary that is as high as you want. First, you have been working at a salary that is "well below" your market rate. That is a difficult position to be in. You may not be able to bridge the gap between your hourly wage as a temporary employee and the salary that you think is the fair market rate for the position.

Second, you are seeking to change your status from contract to permanent employee. Often, this change in itself entails what seems to be a pay cut. Let me explain. If, for example, a contract employee's hourly pay would annualize to $100K, the employer may offer the individual $80K to stay on as a permanent employee - calculating that the company benefits package is equivalent to 20 percent of an employee's salary. This figure is standard practice for employers, regardless of whether an individual chooses to take advantage of the benefits offered.

Because you secured your placement through a recruiting agency, you need to continue to work with that recruiting agency. Let them negotiate your change in job status, title, and salary. Your recruiter should be doing all of this for you; you probably made a mistake in approaching your boss directly. The recruiter is the intermediary who is working on your behalf - that's how and why he or she earns a fee. You can suggest the salary that you think would be commensurate for the responsibilities of the job, but it would be up to the recruiter to negotiate with the company on your behalf.

Contact your recruiter immediately to get him or her actively involved in your situation. You can write up a job description, with a suggested job title and salary that you can discuss with the recruiter. The recruiter will be aware of market rates for comparable positions. It is, of course, to the recruiter's benefit and yours to negotiate your salary package well.

You will have to decide whether to stay at this company. Salary is only one - albeit an important one - of many contributors to job satisfaction. You may want to evaluate factors such as the nature of the work, the work environment, your colleagues, the boss, your commute, the company benefits, and possible opportunities for growth before deciding.

You may decide that the salary is too low. Before you start the job search again, you would know to try to set your temp rate higher. You can try to negotiate, but once you start a temporary position at a much lower wage than the market rate, you are unlikely to be able to recoup the difference when the job becomes permanent.

A. Apparently the answer to your question is that, at your present company, there is little benefit to being in management as compared with being an hourly employee. It does seem as if frontline supervisors like yourself in this company are being taken advantage of. Employers are free to set any policies they choose concerning vacation and sick time.

Managers usually enjoy higher compensation, greater opportunity for advancement, and more prestige than hourly employees. These are some of the reasons that people are attracted to management jobs. At the same time, a management position can also mean greater responsibility, heightened expectations, increased accountability, more work, longer hours, and additional stress. These are some of the drawbacks associated with management jobs.

As a first-line supervisor, you may be experiencing more drawbacks than benefits of management. You may have the sense that actually you have taken a reduction in pay by moving into management. If you calculated what your hourly wage would be, based on the total number of hours that you work, it likely would be less than the hourly wage that you might earn as an hourly employee. Some front-line supervisors actually decide to move back into nonmanagement positions for these reasons. This is especially true in a union shop. In a union shop, the union negotiates and protects benefits for hourly workers.

You have pointed out that you have worked for other companies with more generous employee benefits. These other companies have had a more liberal policy toward allowing time off for their management employees. Your present employer has a more restrictive policy. You need to analyze how much your company's benefits policy is bothering you, and how important a factor this is for you. Is that reason enough to leave your job? Try not to overlook the big picture when you consider if this employer is the right one for you. Do you like the work itself and your co-workers? How easy will it be for you to find another job?

However, if your resentment about the restrictive benefits policy has truly soured you on this employer, then you may want to start looking for a new employer - one with a more liberal sick and vacation time policy.

A. The company has behaved badly but not illegally. Employers are free to hire whomever they choose.

Many companies prefer to hire from within because they are more familiar with the employees' strengths and weaknesses, while the outside candidates are unknown, and therefore more of a gamble. In addition, internal promotions are good for company morale. Promoting from within helps to improve retention and reduce turnover, since people see the potential for upward mobility, says Marc S. Greenbaum, professor of law at Suffolk University Law School.

Some companies choose to advertise their vacancies widely and in targeted publications, to insure compliance with their own affirmative action equal opportunity standards. Others do not. Some companies are considerate enough to list SIC - strong internal candidate - as an alert to anyone who still chooses to apply for the job from the outside.

It's unfortunate that you were the pawn in this manager's indecision. Although you feel as though you were misled, the good news in this scenario is the company's willingness to hire from within. If you liked the company, you might follow-up with an e-mail to the manager. Your e-mail could express your understanding of their desire to promote from within. Then you might request an informational interview to learn more about the firm and other future opportunities.

Roni F. Noland is a career counselor/coach in private practice. She can be reached at rfnoland@comcast.net.

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