Match my salary to the newcomers

Daniele Catalanotto
May 18, 2022
A Service Design principle about salaries

Context

This Service Design principle is inspired by a Linkedin post where Shivansh Srivastava shares a joke. An ex-Netflix guy who got a raise because a new employee negotiated better and the manager adapts the salary of the old guy, and then wakes up...

Thinking out loud

In this video I'm thnking out loud about this idea to explore what's the value behind the joke.

Side notes

  • This is the first draft of this Service Design Principle. 
  • Once adapted and refined multiple time, this principle might be part of the book "Service Design Principles 201-300".
  • Let me know if you find this thinking out loud format also interesting for you.
Like 1
Daniele Catalanotto
Oct 20, 2022

The second draft of this Service Design Principle

A Service Design for salaries that create a positive culture

A guy working at Netflix gets a raise because a new employee negotiated his salary better. So the manager adapts the wages of all the other employees. That’s when the first guy wakes up. Shit, it was all a dream! That’s a joke standup comedian Shivansh Srivastava shares in one of his posts (1). But what if it wasn’t a dream or a joke? In many companies, we create a culture of jealousy by giving more to those who negotiate better. But, unfortunately, the ones that negotiate better are not always the ones that do a better job.

Imagine if this story was a true story that inspires people to do the same instead of being a joke people tell.

There are companies out there that are already on such a path. For example, Buffer, a company that builds a social media management tool, has a salary calculator (2). In the calculator, you can enter your function and level and if you live in an expensive city or not. It then tells you the salary you can expect at Buffer.


The company goes even further in its transparency. They share a table where you can see the salary of every employee at Buffer (3)! Sounds like a dream or joke is true somewhere.


So let me ask you:

How can you remove jealousy from your salary culture? What’s a sad joke about corporate life that could be inspiring to change your culture?

Footnotes

(1) Shivansh Srivastava (2022). Linkedin. Available at https://extra.swissinnovation.academy/nfiI accessed 20 October 2022.

(2) The Buffer Salary Calculator. Buffer. Available at https://extra.swissinnovation.academy/vF1e accessed 20 October 2022.

(3) Transparent Salaries. Buffer. Available at https://extra.swissinnovation.academy/itt4 accessed 20 October 2022.

Daniele’s notes

  • This is the second draft of this Service Design Principle.
  • Once improved even more, this principle might be part of the book "Service Design Principles 201-300"
  • As always, feel free to share comments, feedback or personal stories to improve this principle.
Daniele Catalanotto
Oct 26, 2022

The third draft of this Service Design Principle

A future employee negotiates his salary well. So the manager adapts the wages of all the other employees, including you. That’s when you wake up. Shit, it was all a dream!

Standup comedian Shivansh Srivastava tells a similar joke (1). But what if it wasn’t a joke?

Some companies are already on this path. For example, Buffer (2) has a salary calculator (3). In it you enter your function, level and if you live in an expensive city or not. It then shows you the salary you can expect at Buffer.

The company goes even further. On Buffer’s website, you can find a table with the salary of every employee (4)!

So let me ask you:

How can you remove jealousy from your salary culture? What’s a sad joke about corporate life that could be inspiring to change your culture?

Footnotes

(1) Shivansh Srivastava (2022). Linkedin. Available at https://extra.swissinnovation.academy/nfiI accessed 20 October 2022.

(2) Buffer is company that builds a social media management tools

(3) The Buffer Salary Calculator. Buffer. Available at https://extra.swissinnovation.academy/vF1e accessed 20 October 2022.

(4) Transparent Salaries. Buffer. Available at https://extra.swissinnovation.academy/itt4 accessed 20 October 2022.

Daniele’s notes

  • This is the third draft of this Service Design Principle.
  • The length of this principle was reduced by 42 % compared to its previous version.
Daniele Catalanotto
Oct 31, 2022

The fourth draft of this Service Design Principle

A future employee negotiates his salary well. So the manager adapts the wages of all other employees, including you! That’s when you wake up... Shit! It was a dream!

Standup comedian Shivansh Srivastava tells a similar joke (1). But what if it wasn’t a joke? For example, a company like Buffer (2) has a salary calculator (3). In it you enter your function, level and if you live in an expensive city or not. It then shows you the salary you can expect. On their website, you can even find the salary of every employee (4)!

So let me ask you:

How can you remove jealousy from your salary culture? What’s a sad joke about corporate life that could be inspiring to change your culture?

Footnotes

(1) Shivansh Srivastava (2022). Linkedin. Available at https://extra.swissinnovation.academy/nfiI accessed 20 October 2022.

(2) Buffer is company that builds a social media management tools

(3) The Buffer Salary Calculator. Buffer. Available at https://extra.swissinnovation.academy/vF1e accessed 20 October 2022.

(4) Transparent Salaries. Buffer. Available at https://extra.swissinnovation.academy/itt4 accessed 20 October 2022.

Daniele’s notes

  • This is the fourth draft of this Service Design Principle.
  • The length of this principle was reduced by 10 % compared to its previous version.