Question-Week ending Sunday 08/03/03:
How do you feel you are being compensated by the MARKETPLACE (by your employer, your company, your clients) for the VALUE you provide in exchange? Please read our Poll Commentary before taking this poll.
Pre-Poll Commentary:
One of the first steps we will take, regarding your Personal Value in the Marketplace (PVIM) will be to discuss and evaluate where you are TODAY.
Most people will probably believe that are worth more in the marketplace than they are being compensated. I write this only from my observations and not to skew the results of this poll. However, I strongly believe that as Americans, we are blessed to have one of the most efficient economic systems in the history of Mankind. A great example of an efficient economic model that bestows value on objects can be found at the auction website named eBay. Here people from all over the globe, place their goods on sale for others to bid on and buy. Both buyers and sellers are often astonished at the True Value (the highest or lowest someone is willing to pay for something) of their goods. There's no magic occurring here at eBay. It can best be described as the REALITY of VALUE.
Personal Value in the Marketplace can be determined by many factors. In one example, Americans have experienced a downward pressure today in the engineering profession. A couple of decades ago, American college graduates with an Engineering degree were in great demand. There weren't enough highly qualified engineers to fill the many vacancies for this profession. Thus, the starting salary levels were high in comparison to other professions that had more supply like teachers. Today, with a more global economy, so many multi-national American companies now export their Engineering work to highly qualified graduates of nations like India and China. The work is being done in these countries at a fraction of the cost, applying a great deal of downward pressure on the incomes of engineering graduates who live and work in America.
In evaluating your profession, you need to investigate and research the supply and demand factors for your skills. Are you a potential dinosaur or will your skills be in hot demand in the future? If your company must downsize to improve profits, are your skills so valuable that you would be one of the last employees to be let go? Or can you be replaced with another indivdual at half of what they pay you?
Let me reiterate, that we have one of the most efficient economies in the history of mankind. Your Personal Value in the Marketplace is based on the supply and demand of your skills. So, how do you feel you are being compensated by the MARKETPLACE (by your employer, your company, your clients) for the VALUE you provide in exchange? Let us know in this week's poll.
This poll will end on Sunday 08/03/03, when the results will be displayed.
Our polls and commentaries are enjoyed by hundreds of individuals weekly, with previous polls featured in the top ten of search engines like Google and Yahoo.
Results:
- 45% voted I'm somewhat under-compensated for my work
- 29% voted I'm fairly paid for my work
- 20% voted I'm way under-compensated for my work
- 06% voted I'm paid perfectly for my work
- 00% voted I'm somewhat over-compensated for my work
- 00% voted I'm way over-compensated for my work
Post-Poll Commentary:
As somewhat expected, 65% of our respondents believed that they are either SOMEWHAT or way UNDER-compensated for the jobs they perform in their careers. It was interesting to see that no one voted that they were over-compensated in any way.
I couldn't help but wonder how a poll for employers might turn out with the question being directed as such:
"How do you feel you are compensating your employees for the VALUE they provide to your company in exchange?"
If I had to guess, I believe we would produce the opposite results in this poll. More than likely 65% of our respondents would vote that their employees are OVER-compensated for the VALUE of the jobs they perform.
So is PERSONAL VALUE in the MARKETPLACE measured by the eye of the beholder? Who is in charge of this value proposition? The answer is the MARKETPLACE is responsible. If an individual believes they are way under-paid for the VALUE they produce at their company, they should seek employment at a company that would be willing to pay what they believe they are worth. If they cannot find another company to pay what they think they are worth, then they obviously are not worth that amount. The same holds true for employers. If they could produce the same results with less expensive employees, they should be willing to do so.
Unfortunately, as world workforces in multinational companies merge to survive, compensation levels may drop for many jobs that can be performed in other countries cheaper. This can have a dramatic effect on one's Value in the Marketplace in America. The trick is to position yourself with skills that will make YOU as an individual a VERY VALUABLE ASSET in the current and future Marketplace. Next week's poll will deal with this issue of constantly increasing your value.