I’ve been with the company for years now. Just had my review and of course still using nine block! And I was told i wouldn’t be given a raise due to nine block and company not having money to give raises! This place has made my life miserable. I’m really trying to see greener pastures but it’s very ugly here… Any advice?
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Anyone boarding the sinking ship, good luck to you. You better negotiate a great salary at the time of hire because you won’t see an increase in salary for years, if that! And to those that have been on the sinking ship for years and have proven your contributions, but have had your contributions overlooked, you can bet that the newbies coming on board will be making more than you. Don’t bother to take your concerns to management or HR, they will find no basis to your concern. Management and HR are not on your side. Word of advice, JUMP SHIP!
Left during Q4, 2023. Went to a competitor (financially healthier company) received a pay raise as a part of my end of year performance review (after 1 month of employment).. there are other opportunities out there, if you’re willing to leave Lumen.
I have not seen a raise also. They keep giving more responsibility, but do not compensate at all. They actually wonder why we are not happy. But I bet upper management gets them
As a non union exempt worker, I think I got raises twice in the last 20+ years and they were both low single digit raises, not even in line with inflation.
That is normal for most I know, so unless you change positions, or leave and go somewhere else, you don't get increases in telco.
Some people get raises some dont. They just say they are not offering raises and people getting raises are told not to talk about it.
Union employees get a 3 or 4 percent raise in July and another raise next year.
Nine block is a broken system in a company of such small teams which the execs know and take advantage of. My old manager used to have to rotate the lucky "above average" worker every year to ensure everyone was getting compensated fairly. On a team with 10 people with 1 getting a raise every year thats a raise every 10 years. You see the problem. Of course he ended up getting laid off, then I got laid off. Performance metrics mean nothing in this company, I was a top performer with glowing performance reviews but dont worry they gave you a free Dare To Lead book so that should tell you everything you need to know about the future.
Working your a-s off doesn't justify a raise either. I think there are definitely more questions to ask yourself then "why am I still working my a-s off and not being rewarded" Are you finding ways to work smarter not harder? Are you helping others find ways to work smarter not harder? What department are you in , and how is your overall department performing? Do you truly believe that your role and the product(s) & service(s) that you support are part of the future growth of the business? Are they growing now? Revenues are declining and the business is being hyperfocused on where they are making investments. If they truly view you as a top performer that can continue to add value to the business, they will likely try to save you. Ultimately some top performers could be lost, this is a reasonable outcome. Another organization could be in a better financial position to make the investment in additional talent, &/or be a better fit for the individual's skillset.
Original Poster - you should leave. Take your 9 rating and go succeed with a company that will reward your hard work.
To the Lumen Manager who just replied... this person needs to ask themselves nothing except why am I still working my a-s off and not being rewarded? It's probably true there's probably no $ allotted for raises or the OP is some where high in the pay scale where they don't want them to be. All Lumen is doing here is opening the door to lose a top performer. Hey Mr. Potential Customer this is how they treat their top performers, so why would you want to trust them enought to buy services from them, if they are chasing away top talent? The OP was rated a 9 for heaven's sake, there's nothing more that they could have done. Just like a Lumen yes man, it's never enough for you people, give me more more more! Here's nothing in return, now good me MORE!
Original Poster... is your resume updated yet? what the heck are you waiting for?
Simply the fact that they are using the 9 block is not likely the reason they are not giving out raises. Also term of employment isn't a reasonable justification for a raise. You consistently have to ask yourself what new value am I bringing to the organization this year? Leading new initiatives, implementing changes that impact results, etc. For the 9 block, It is your leadership's responsibility to clearly explain to you how you can be in that upper elbow, those individuals will likely have best opportunity to obtain a raise. However, in the current environment there are likely budget constraints. And although you shouldn't know what your peers are making, you could be making more than your peers already &/or at the top of the pay scale for your role. So there could be instances where even with a 9 you still can't get a raise. If your manager has a certain budget allotment for raises, it could be more impactful to distribute to other members of the team who are making significantly less than you. This is a business, & will always be looking for ways to do more with less. If revenues are declining how can you reasonably expect them to pay you more money, unless you can clearly identify how your contributions are directly tied to parts of the business that are growing? If the place has truly has "made your life miserable," leave. People leave jobs all the time voluntarily or involuntarily. People with families, mortgages, medical bills etc, and they figure it out. Life is too short to be miserable anywhere.
I left over a year ago, that place is very ugly and toxic. Pre Jeff Storey was great, post Jeff Storey he implemented his pay for performance, removed christmas rif after ruf etc etc. Advice, everyones situation is different, but if I was still there personally, I’d polish up the resume and be applying to new jobs like crazy/chatting with recruiters.
They tried to say this to me when I was a 9 a year or so back, I contacted HR cause they put out on the all hands they all award top performers with a raise, so getting a 9 fits that. I was told by HR that I absolutely do get a raise for that and they fixed it.
I know the company might have changed it to no one gets raises now but I would recommend contacting HR first before giving up.
The terrible part is I don’t qualify for the EOI. They didn’t give that option to anyone in The sales motion
Sad part is that when you finally get a raise, you will not get another for awhile. They will probably say ..We just gave you a raise last year.. but good ol Kate bought 1 million shares at .78 cents and stock is floating around $1.70, so good for her in doubling her million. You can more money gambling on the company than actually working in the company and for the company.
Can I really say this? Everyone who willing wants to continue working at Lumen is a fool. I mean, really come on... Do you really see this thing turning around? What proof do you have that it's gonna happen? None!
So you stick around, hoping for a miracle, while your pay stagnates and you fear that maybe the next riff will affect you. There may be a few a-s kissers and yes people believe the sh-t that the STL spews out. you are id--ts. Then there maybe a hand full of older folks who are near retirement and are just riding and coasting along to the end and aren't really concerned about the company and what it's doing or where it's going, so ride it out dudes. The rest of you smart people really should look to leave ASAP!
EOI
Take the eoi