50-100% is always going to be extremely organizationally difficult, and it doesn't come down to evil managers being penny pinchers.
- Even if the individual in question had 2x the productivity of the other developers on the team, doubling their salary relative to other employees trades that one developers risk of leaving with the entire rest of the teams.
- If you have enough divergence in compensation that two people at the same level of the hierarchy doing the same role (i.e. an intermediate vs. a senior) can have pay differ by 2x or more, you should be absolutely sure there's no bias to your decisions, whether it's along an identifiable group, or just plain ol' favouritism.
- Frankly, I haven't seen much need for such lavish differentials in salary in the first place. Most people are only motivated by salary to a point. Star performers want to be recognized, and not just with a pat on the back, but give people a good place to work and pay well in general, and you shouldn't need to worry about crazy raises like that.
The first thing you need to be in a > 50% raise situation is an employee that was acquired for incredibly cheap. (Epic combination: one of this first jobs + don't know the market + just came from abroad). [That makes your first two points moot because that guy is the one making significantly less money and he's not identified at the right level].
The second thing is that he's actually good and he's been working for 1 year here, doing valuable stuff. He's gained a lot of value in the meantime and he can totally leverage the job he's done to sell himself in an interview.
Let's give some numbers. The dude started at $80k base with little advantage. Over time, maybe he's gone up to $90k and you got an incredible healthcare plan. It's fine from your point of view.
From the point of view of your competitors. Your guy has been vetted by your company. He's proven and he may even have rare skills that are now easily noticeable. They will offer "market rate" and fight each other mercilessly. The package will be around $150k base (which is nothing extraordinary for that position) + $40k in yearly bonus/stock that he didn't have at your company + various other advantages + they'll also pay $50k in recruiter fees cuz he went through a recruiter.
Now, you've got a guy that is paid $90 at your place that other companies are willing to pay upfront $240k to acquire. Hope they'll never find out about your gold ;)
- Even if the individual in question had 2x the productivity of the other developers on the team, doubling their salary relative to other employees trades that one developers risk of leaving with the entire rest of the teams.
- If you have enough divergence in compensation that two people at the same level of the hierarchy doing the same role (i.e. an intermediate vs. a senior) can have pay differ by 2x or more, you should be absolutely sure there's no bias to your decisions, whether it's along an identifiable group, or just plain ol' favouritism.
- Frankly, I haven't seen much need for such lavish differentials in salary in the first place. Most people are only motivated by salary to a point. Star performers want to be recognized, and not just with a pat on the back, but give people a good place to work and pay well in general, and you shouldn't need to worry about crazy raises like that.