Should I give my employee a raise?
Short answer
If they are worth more than you are paying them, yes, before they ask. If they are not, don't, even if they ask.
The replacement test
If they walked out today, what would it cost to replace them at the level they're performing? If that number is higher than what you pay now plus the raise, give the raise.
Tie it to something real
Raises tied to time served train the team to wait for the calendar. Raises tied to a skill, a cert, or a clear performance bar train them to grow.
Write the next bar down. Tell them what they have to hit for the next one. That conversation is worth more than the dollar amount.
Ask your version of this question
This is one business owner-tested take. Your shop size, trade, and team change the answer. Ask the exact version inside Ask a Shop Owner and get a response grounded in how owners like you actually handled it.
Now run it against your numbers.
This answer is written for shops in general. Inside Ask a Shop Owner it becomes your answer: your revenue, your crew, your market, your history. Ask "Should I give my employee a raise" and get the version that accounts for what you already told us.
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