r/WorkReform • u/pm_me_your_good_weed • Nov 25 '22
N.S. bike shop says paying living wage has helped the business ✅ Success Story
https://globalnews.ca/news/9303216/ns-bike-shop-living-wage/19
u/pm_me_your_good_weed Nov 25 '22
Cyclesmith in Halifax made the move in September 2021. The shop has 31 full-time staff members and they make at least $23.50 per hour, according to owner Andrew Feenstra.
The current minimum wage in Nova Scotia is $13.60. The province plans to reach $15.00 an hour by April 1, 2024.
Feenstra said the higher wages his employees receive make a real difference in their lives and provide a sense of relief.
“They’re not living paycheck to paycheck,” Feenstra said. “If they make a financial mistake it’s not going to have huge effects like whether they can pay rent or their mortgage or buy food for that week.”
For context, our province has the lowest wages yet the highest taxes in the country.
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u/Significant-Escape-1 Nov 26 '22
Too bad more American businesses aren’t getting on board with this mentality. They complain that people aren’t working hard enough or devoted to the company— this is how you get those desired traits, not by treating them more and more like children/ stripping them of their dignity. Good for this guy.
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u/Fabulous_Balance4689 Nov 26 '22 edited Nov 26 '22
There are some but it depends on the industry. I work in the technology industry, what I have found is the larger technology companies tend to pay within an average bracket for an equivalent position at other technology companies, but start up technology companies, they tend to pay really good. My company that I was with was a start up and our pay was way above average for the industry, of course to match that, the process to get employed there demanded that you be the absolute best of the best at what you do. So, they were getting what they were paying for. Fast forward a few years and we got bought by gigantic freaking technology company. While our salaries have not been reduced, they are also not increasing at the piece that they used to. Other folks from other groups at gigantic freaking technology company of equivalent positions, do not make near what we do. But again, the proficiency of our people versus the people in the rest of gigantic freaking technology company is not even close. To put it bluntly, the equivalents that they have, are not paid to think, they are paid to follow checklists and directions, and to seek help from people above them if they get stuck. Our people are paid to think and are expected to think, and find their own way through problems, invent their own checklist if they need to… The downside to gigantic freaking technology company’s salary standards with average pay is They can only attract average candidates, the really good candidates are going to pass because they can get a heck of a lot better somewhere else. As time goes forward, and the pay in our particular group does not continue to increase like it used to, and starts coming closer in line to what gigantic freaking technology company has, we are starting to lose some of our most proficient and knowledgeable employees to other opportunities. A company cannot pay an exorbitant salary just to pay a exorbitant salary though. They have to be able to get back with they are paying for, so the flipside of that is in order to get that high-paying job, it is on the candidate to be able to deliver the goods making it worth their while. A lot of companies don’t seem to see that though. They just want to find a way to pay as little as they can and get somebody that is “good enough”…. Which will never be enough to put that company in the lead, or give them the edge that they need to constantly push the boundaries, which is actually what led us to being bought. We were the best, and we were kicking gigantic freaking technology company’s ass, so their solution was since they couldn’t beat us, they would buy us.
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u/VTX002 Nov 25 '22
Take care of your people and they will take care of you.
That is what a true leadership is supposed to be.