CEO took pay cut to raise wages, so employees gave back during pandemic [Video]

• Years ago, CEO Dan Price was shocked that his employees were struggling to make ends meet.
• So he decided to take a pay cut to give his employees a massive raise.
• When the pandemic was about to force them to do layoffs, his employees volunteered to take pay cuts to keep everyone’s jobs.

About six years ago, Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price was enjoying the fruits of his company’s success. At 31, he was earning $1.1 million a year for a company he started as a teenager. But after he was faced with the harsh realities of minimum wages, he decided to listen to his employees.

Dan was hiking with a friend one day when he learned about her financial struggles despite being an Army veteran and having a full-time job.

He was confronted with the same issue when he spotted a McDonald’s handbook on the desk of employee Rosita Barlow. When he asked her, Rosita confessed that she had to take after-work shifts at McDonald’s and even stand in line at the local food bank.

So, in 2015, Dan decided to cut his own pay by 90 percent, mortgage his two houses, and give up his stocks and savings so that every single employee can earn $70,000 a year.

It all paid off! No longer stressing about making ends meet, employees like Rosita were able to quit their second jobs and focus on their work at Gravity. Many were able to pay off debt, live healthier lives, and even buy homes and start families.

Gravity Payments also increased the value of payments they process from $3.8 billion a year to $10.2 billion.

6 years ago today I raised my company's min wage to $70k. Fox News called me a socialist whose employees would be on bread lines.

Since then our revenue tripled, we're a Harvard Business School case study & our employees had a 10x boom in homes bought.

Always invest in people. pic.twitter.com/o7Ca7I4b7e— Dan Price (@DanPriceSeattle) April 13, 2021

Rosita, who was promoted to director of sales, shared, “When money is not at the forefront of your mind when you’re doing your job, it allows you to be more passionate about what motivates you. You’re not thinking I have to go to work because I have to make money. Now it’s become focused on ‘How do I do good work?’”

Rosita is now our director of sales and was interviewed about her experiences by star author @AdamMGrant https://t.co/wAnaz6H0iy

Here we are together on the Kelly Clarkson show where she shared her story: pic.twitter.com/0Xl0vNk2F0— Dan Price (@DanPriceSeattle) July 29, 2021

When the pandemic hit, Dan was worried that they might resort to layoffs. But instead of deciding by himself, he met with all 200 of his employees and discussed with them the company’s problems and options.

To keep Gravity Payments going, almost every employee offered to take a pay cut of between 5 and 100 percent! Dan was shocked but also so proud of his team.

Thanks to the employees’ decision, just like Dan’s decision all those years ago, Gravity recovered. Every employee has since been repaid for the “loan” they gave and even received a raise!

Dan, who tries his best to remain humble as CEO, hopes other large companies would follow his lead in raising minimum wages.

He wrote, “I’m still learning to be a better boss and only look ‘good’ when compared to other CEOs because the bar is so depressingly low. Listen to your employees, trust them, reward them. They are responsible for a company’s success — not CEOs.”

Dan listened to his employees and took a huge risk with his sacrifice, and it all paid off — and his employees were quick to return the favor!

Source: Inspire More