What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

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BogleMelon
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What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by BogleMelon »

I have been notified officially of my upcoming promotion as a manager for a small accounting department in a private company.
Soon I will get an offer to sign and accept and I expect there would be a raise as well. How much (percentage) should I expect or negotiate before accepting the offer?
I don't want to look greedy, but at the same time, a 5% raise would be a devastating amount. The market average of a manager in this position would be 20% more than what I am making now.
I was also considering accepting whatever they offer, and if it is lower than 20%, I hint that this is lower than the market average and after proofing myself and after showing I am up to the new position, I would expect another salary review in a year or so.
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

This is completely company specific. I've worked for tech companies all my career and was offered management positions twice (which I declined to stay a tech guy). In both cases, they made it clear that moving from Principal Engineer to Manager was a lateral move and no raise would accompany it. Another company I worked for, one of my peers was promoted from engineer to supervisor. He also told me that with the promotion, he got no raise.

Your company could certainly be different.
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sailaway
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by sailaway »

Definitely company specific. DH would get a set amount for every 3 direct reports, nothing for being made directly responsible for a specific project.
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TomatoTomahto
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by TomatoTomahto »

As others have said, it’s company specific (and also perhaps industry specific). There was a time when my wife and I made a few k more than our admins; the delta was in the variable (incentive) compensation. Salary was always the slowest growth component of our compensation.

Look at total compensation, bonus targets, etc.

Good luck.
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Doctor Rhythm
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by Doctor Rhythm »

Could well be that they just take away some other responsibilities or reduce your expected productivity to carve out time to manage others. Same salary, but less non-managerial work.
makingmistakes
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by makingmistakes »

Interesting that other respondents from tech companies match my experience. About the only benefit to becoming a (low level) manager was a little more say in what I work on versus what I delegate. I’ve seen several years where my reports get better raises.

My wife’s company on the other hand, in pharma, had an entirely different pay, vacation, bonus, stock schedule for management that was much better than non-management.
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by 2tall4economy »

Industry and company dependent.

As a brand new manager, you should expect to be paid below market average. Market average includes people who have been managers for a decade and they are bringing up the average.

10% is a very very reasonable expectation for a promotion within a company.
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Trader Joe
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by Trader Joe »

BogleMelon wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 3:16 pm I have been notified officially of my upcoming promotion as a manager for a small accounting department in a private company.
Soon I will get an offer to sign and accept and I expect there would be a raise as well. How much (percentage) should I expect or negotiate before accepting the offer?
I don't want to look greedy, but at the same time, a 5% raise would be a devastating amount. The market average of a manager in this position would be 20% more than what I am making now.
I was also considering accepting whatever they offer, and if it is lower than 20%, I hint that this is lower than the market average and after proofing myself and after showing I am up to the new position, I would expect another salary review in a year or so.
I would expect approximately a 10-15% promotion increase. Of course, more would be great.

I would also inquire about a new/any annual bonus for your new role.

There is future (locked in) value with your new job title/role. You should keep this in mind for your next career move.
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JoeRetire
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by JoeRetire »

BogleMelon wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 3:16 pmHow much (percentage) should I expect or negotiate before accepting the offer?
Every company is different. In some companies, you get a promotion, then get a raise later.
I don't want to look greedy, but at the same time, a 5% raise would be a devastating amount.
Devastating? Be prepared with how you will respond if that is the offer.
The market average of a manager in this position would be 20% more than what I am making now.
You are a new manager. The market average would mostly include people who have been managing for a while. New managers should expect below-average initially.
I was also considering accepting whatever they offer, and if it is lower than 20%, I hint that this is lower than the market average and after proofing myself and after showing I am up to the new position, I would expect another salary review in a year or so.
Salary review time is when you can already have demonstrated how much additional worth you brought to the company in your new role.
Good luck.
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SR7
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by SR7 »

Where I work, if you go up a pay grade then you typically get a 10% to 15% pay increase. But most of the time you just get more jobs to do and more duties to perform without any formal promotion or pay increase.

We joke around here, a promotion is 10% more money for 200% more workload.
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Afty
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by Afty »

Jack FFR1846 wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 3:20 pm This is completely company specific. I've worked for tech companies all my career and was offered management positions twice (which I declined to stay a tech guy). In both cases, they made it clear that moving from Principal Engineer to Manager was a lateral move and no raise would accompany it. Another company I worked for, one of my peers was promoted from engineer to supervisor. He also told me that with the promotion, he got no raise.

Your company could certainly be different.
This has been my experience in tech as well. I made the mistake of accepting the manager position. There was no raise, no change in level, not even a change in title. I wouldn’t say there was more work, but the manager work was definitely more unpleasant and stressful. I can’t even say that I had more say over what I worked on, because as a manager I didn’t have time to do substantive technical work and had to delegate the interesting tasks to my team members.

I recently switched back to an individual contributor role and am happy as a clam. Even got a raise by switching companies.
ddurrett896
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by ddurrett896 »

10% max.

Those I know who jump from company to company, even coming back to a previous employer, make the largest salary increases.
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FIREchief
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by FIREchief »

Zero. If you take advantage of the opportunity, than the money will come later. At some Megacorps, the only real perk of moving into an entry level management position is that you will then be in the running for the "real" management positions.
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an_asker
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by an_asker »

ddurrett896 wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 9:37 pm 10% max.

Those I know who jump from company to company, even coming back to a previous employer, make the largest salary increases.
This is what I've seen as well. It's very frustrating to see someone who got laid off from your team, return a few years later at a salary way higher than yours! :oops:
stan1
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by stan1 »

Zero to 20%.

That probably gives you a bit of a bell curve.

If they don't think you will leave the company probably on the lower side.
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JoMoney
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by JoMoney »

ddurrett896 wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 9:37 pm ...
Those I know who jump from company to company, even coming back to a previous employer, make the largest salary increases.
:thumbsup
That's been my experience. I left a former employer because I got a much better offer elsewhere, the employer said they couldn't match it because it would have required moving me up two salary grades... so I left, only to have them subsequently make an offer to hire me back in the same position but at the salary they "couldn't match" when I left :annoyed
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tooluser
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by tooluser »

It can also be timing-specific to the individual company. Long ago - all in the same year - I received a 5% annual performance raise, then a 5% raise for moving into management, and shortly later a 15% raise because the board determined that higher-ranked managers deserved more to be competitive with industry. As my boss at the time stated, "Enjoy this. You will never get this big of a raise again." And he was right!

Keep the long game in mind if you like the company and can see yourself staying there. Your initial raise to move into management is probably lower than what you deserve, but a competently run company will reserve some headroom for if/when you break out above your peers, which may be acknowledged gradually but satisfyingly. And another promotion may soon follow as you become more strategic. A team player does their best always, and people are looking for that. There's a game being played that is always about more than money, though that is how the score is kept.
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by Impatience »

Don’t “hint” at anything. Tell them what you think you’re worth and why and see where they meet you. Then accept it and move on - if it’s still too low start looking for a new job.

This is extremely general advice but you probably won’t make that “market” rate for your level of experience and qualifications unless you’re willing to move companies. Negotiating with your current employer isn’t the same as negotiating with a brand new one unless they really need and value you (rare).
FIREchief wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 9:38 pm Zero. If you take advantage of the opportunity, than the money will come later. At some Megacorps, the only real perk of moving into an entry level management position is that you will then be in the running for the "real" management positions.
Do you have a background in HR? :D
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FIREchief
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by FIREchief »

Impatience wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 10:16 pm
FIREchief wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 9:38 pm Zero. If you take advantage of the opportunity, than the money will come later. At some Megacorps, the only real perk of moving into an entry level management position is that you will then be in the running for the "real" management positions.
Do you have a background in HR? :D
Only to the extent that I dealt with the "human remains" (HR) function for decades at Megacorp. It got much worse towards the end. IIRC, we couldn't screen based upon GPA for STEM positions unless we could convince some HR manager with a humanities degree that a high GPA was relevant to hiring somebody into an engineering position. :oops: I could only see batches of "randomly" submitted resumes and had to tell them how each one didn't meet job requirements before they would let me see more. Could I ask them to just forward me those with the highest verified GPA's? What do you think? :P
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GreendaleCC
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by GreendaleCC »

FIREchief wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 10:33 pm
Impatience wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 10:16 pm
FIREchief wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 9:38 pm Zero. If you take advantage of the opportunity, than the money will come later. At some Megacorps, the only real perk of moving into an entry level management position is that you will then be in the running for the "real" management positions.
Do you have a background in HR? :D
Only to the extent that I dealt with the "human remains" (HR) function for decades at Megacorp. It got much worse towards the end. IIRC, we couldn't screen based upon GPA for STEM positions unless we could convince some HR manager with a humanities degree that a high GPA was relevant to hiring somebody into an engineering position. :oops: I could only see batches of "randomly" submitted resumes and had to tell them how each one didn't meet job requirements before they would let me see more. Could I ask them to just forward me those with the highest verified GPA's? What do you think? :P
Stop making so much sense! :happy
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by Nathan Drake »

Jack FFR1846 wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 3:20 pm This is completely company specific. I've worked for tech companies all my career and was offered management positions twice (which I declined to stay a tech guy). In both cases, they made it clear that moving from Principal Engineer to Manager was a lateral move and no raise would accompany it. Another company I worked for, one of my peers was promoted from engineer to supervisor. He also told me that with the promotion, he got no raise.

Your company could certainly be different.
This is my experience with engineering. No pay increase, it’s considered a lateral move.
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HomeStretch
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by HomeStretch »

+1 to company and industry specific.

Knowing the market for total compensation for the position will help you judge whether the promotional increase is fair. Keep in mind that what you see as a market rate for the position may reflect what an experienced manager is worth, not a newly promoted manager.

If the raise is not what you think you are worth, have a candid conversation about the low compensation before accepting the promotion. If your employer still won’t sufficiently increase your compensation at promotion time, perhaps you can get agreement to review and raise it in 6 months. Finally, unless you receive an immediate job offer from another employer for a manager position at the higher compensation, it could be worthwhile to accept the promotion even at lower comp and start job hunting again after 6-12 months when you are more experienced in the role and can hopefully command a higher compensation package in the market place,
sid hartha
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by sid hartha »

Congrats. I don't think there is an expected % raise. You could be offered something or nothing. You can then accept, decline or try and negotiate.
davemanjam
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by davemanjam »

This depends.
For what would be considered 1 stage promotion I would expect 8-12%.
2 stage which would be fairly large increase in responsibiliites 15-20%, but these are not that common.

Expecting 20% seems unreasonable unless promotion time is the only time for salary increase.
robbierob03
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Re: What is the expected percentage (raise) for a manager position?

Post by robbierob03 »

As an accountant (CPA) by trade, I'd expect closer to 7-10% as a guess based purely on it being an internal promotion at a small company. In my experience there's no large difference between senior staff and young managers in small accounting departments.
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