Would you hire an employee that demanded a salary higher than your CEO’s salary? What if that was 70 percent more?
Smartsheet did just that, when it poached Gene Farrell from Amazon, had to fight a legal battle over a non-compete to do that, and now pays him $2.7 million, compared to the CEO’s minuscule salary of $1.9 million.
This is not terribly usual outside entertainment, but it should be much more common place. Being the boss doesn’t make you, automatically, the most valuable person in the room.
Clearly, Smartsheet needed Ferrell’s skills, and he had a price tag. They did what they had to in order to meet it, and sometimes you should too–and not just for big named executive types. Here are five times you should consider paying an employee more than his or her direct boss (even if that boss is the CEO).
To keep reading, click here: Why a Former Amazon Exec Makes More than His Current Boss
My current boss has several employees beneath him who make more than he. They have worked for the organization for many years and had pay increases over time, in other departments and roles, resulting in their current, higher, compensation.
As a boss, I have several employees who make more than I do. They are all highly talented and very good employees. I have found that it is better to be happy for them, rather than to be envious of them.
Nick Saban makes more than anyone at The University of Alabama.
Yep, in the South, the highest-paid state employee is usually the head coach of the public university’s football team.
I spent nine years as a department chair at a medium size state university. About half the faculty members I hired started out on day one making more than I did. It was a combination of salary compression/inversion and them having Ph.D.’s in areas (accounting and finance mainly) that paid more than my Ph.D.
This is very interesting. The idea that just because you are the boss does not make you the most valuable is a different way of thinking. I think a variety of factors go into salary cost and I agree that this should occur more often.