do I have to move an employee to a job he’s not qualified for or give him a pay cut?

A reader writes:

I inherited a new team recently. One team member, Tom, was hired for a role that is rather unique for our business line’s structure, and as a result of this, there is no direct career path for him. He has been vocal about wanting career growth, but our HR team has advised that this would not be possible without changing his title to align with our existing structure.

Tom performs tasks that align with a different existing job title, so changing his title is not the biggest issue. The concerns are: 1) his compensation is much higher than other team members at this level, and 2) if we move him up to a more appropriate salary band to match his current comp, his skill level and experience is significantly lower than his peers in that band.

If we go forward with #1, the lateral move, HR will require us to reduce his compensation. If we go forward with #2, the “promotion,” we are essentially moving a mid-level independent contributor to a director level role.

HR is advising that this is a business decision. I know #1 will cause Tom to walk out the door. I would prefer to do #2, because I believe #1 is not the way to treat an otherwise good employee, and he also has historical knowledge that I don’t want us to lose. He is valuable to the team, and it isn’t his fault that he was hired on for a role that shouldn’t have existed in the first place.

I want to be transparent with Tom about what this shift will mean for him and ensure he understands the higher expectations without raining on his parade of being promoted. He will be required to have direct reports, which will be brand new for him. He will be expected to learn many things very quickly. I think it will be evident to his peers that he is not qualified. I think he can get there, but it will take time and a lot of effort. I am concerned that none of this will seem equitable to those watching from the outside, because it’s not.

All the scripts running through my head are harsher than I think I should be, probably because I’m frustrated with this situation, but I don’t feel right about acting like this is an amazing achievement for him. How would you approach this?

#2 sounds like a terrible idea. You’d be moving Tom to a role he’s not qualified for, doing it for reasons that have nothing to do with “I think he’d be great in this job,” and throwing him into a management job without experience, while he’s measured against peers who are all far more qualified. Plus you’d be creating an equity issue on your team … and probably a morale one, both for people who see Tom get a significant promotion he hasn’t earned, and possibly for Tom himself if he feels like he’s been moved from a role where he did well to one he’s going to struggle with.

The other option, a lateral move with a salary cut, is also a bad idea for the obvious reason, which is that most people don’t stick around any longer than they absolutely have to after a salary cut.

But is all this stemming from the fact that Tom said he’s looking for career growth, and these are the only two ways to offer it? If so, why not just be straight with him and tell him that because of the way his current job was designed, there isn’t a path to growth for him in your company unless he’s willing to make a lateral move (with accompanying pay cut) or work his way into being qualified for #2? (If your immediate thought is that there’s no realistic way for him to get sufficiently qualified for #2, that’s additional evidence that #2 is a bad idea.)

If he surprises you and is willing to do the lateral move with pay cut, great. If not, then he’s clear-eyed about the limits of his growth at your company and can make good decisions for himself from there — which presumably at some point will mean moving on, but that’s true for everyone, and meanwhile you’ll work to document as much of his historical knowledge as you can.

“We could lose Tom if we don’t promote him” is not a worst case scenario that must be avoided at all costs. You should always assume you might lose people! For all we know, Tom could get a better offer tomorrow or receive a massive inheritance and stop working altogether. You can’t and shouldn’t twist your organization into unreasonable contortions to avoid someone moving on.

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