Acquired! Day 50
It’s official. I now work for the new company. I even changed my email signature. I am very dissatisfied. To date, they have not presented me with a compensation plan and they have not shed any further light on the stock options they promised earlier. They have, however, switched me over to their insurance plans and walked me through the official indoctrination program. They structured the acquisition so that our management structure is fully intact. Our CEO is now a VP at the new company and he continues to control the budget. Since the old guard is still in charge, they now have a convenient excuse to not give us raises. We are supposed to get our new offers in two weeks, but I am not hopeful.
I have decided to play hardball. I joined this company because it was small and I believed I would cash in when they cashed in. In fact, they promised me equity when I joined but I didn’t get it in writing. They snowed me. They took advantage of me and now it is time for me to return the favor. I am going to put them in a position where they have to decide how much I am *actually* worth to them.
One of my peers put in his two weeks notice. He is going to a new company, but doing similar work. They are doubling his salary. My current company knows they pay below industry standard, but they aren’t going to voluntarily pay me more.
What I have learned is that they will not do me any favors. If I want something, I’m going to have to go get it.
I need to push them, so I will. While they have been dragging their feet, I have been interviewing. I got a great job offer and this gives me the freedom to drive my current employer all the way to the breaking point. I know they fear this. They have been doing a lot of cheerleading and telling us how great the new company is. They hope this distracts us from the fact that our CTO just bought a Lamborghini. I asked my boss in plain English if we were getting a raise. He danced around it and wouldn’t give a straight answer. This means the answer is no.
I am very upset, but I can’t act yet. You see, it is the fourth quarter and I’m in line for a nice commissions check. Although I desperately want to pick this fight, I have to wait until that money is in the bank. This is the definition of bad HR. Real companies have ombudsmen to prevent stuff like this from happening, but my current employer is utterly unprepared to handle these situations properly. Since I’m on my own, I have to be very careful.
This is part of the Acquired! series.
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Tags: Acquired!, Career Development, Management
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November 29th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Yikes! What a mess.
It sounds like your senior management doesn’t have much ground to stand on. They’ve clearly done well in the acquisition, but they’re trying to stiff you and everyone else at your level (the level that actually brings money in the door, ironically).
Good call on lining up the new offers. You’ve just improved your BATNA significantly. And as we all know, a successful negotiation starts with a good understanding of your BATNA.
I feel sorry for the HR drone that’s going to get blamed for your departure.
November 30th, 2007 at 12:55 am
I’m in the exact same situation with my employer. Plan your exit strategy and do whatever’s best for yourself.
Stay tough.
November 30th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Yes, I have a badass BATNA! We should really do a post on Getting To Yes.
January 2nd, 2008 at 8:32 pm
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