A virtual assistant raise should follow a clear assessment of the role, the person’s contribution and the company’s compensation position. Waiting until someone threatens to leave makes the conversation harder; awarding the same percentage without considering the work can create a different kind of unfairness.
For property management employers, the first step is to separate a performance conversation from a pay decision. Regular feedback helps a Remote Team Member (RTM) understand how they are doing. A compensation review considers whether base pay or another element should change, why and from what date.
Start with a regular review rhythm
In a BetterWho interview published in November 2022, Matthew Tringali recommended weekly or biweekly one-to-one conversations and quarterly performance reviews. He also described his personal preference for a raise after the first 90 days and an annual cadence after that.
That is an example of a review rhythm, not a requirement or a promise that every employee receives a raise on the same timetable. Its useful principle is to keep expectations visible throughout the year. A person should not discover at an annual review that their manager has been unhappy for months, and a manager should not assume that silence means the person is satisfied with compensation.
Use those conversations to distinguish changes in responsibility, performance and expectations before making a pay decision.
When should you review pay?
Use a scheduled review date and allow earlier reviews when the situation changes materially.
Common triggers include:
- Expanded responsibility.
- Promotion.
- A meaningful market gap.
- Sustained performance at a higher level.
- An applicable legal or contractual requirement.
A maintenance assistant who now coaches two colleagues and owns vendor escalation may be doing a different job. Review the role and pay together. Calling the additional work “helping out” for months can obscure a permanent change in responsibility.
An approaching work anniversary can prompt a review, but length of service alone does not answer every question. Conversely, an agreement or applicable rule may require a pay change independently of performance. Confirm those obligations separately rather than treating them as discretionary.
What kind of change are you considering?
| Pay element | Purpose | Decision to make |
|---|---|---|
| Base-pay increase | Adjust ongoing compensation | Is the role, market position or sustained contribution changing? |
| Promotion adjustment | Reflect a different level of responsibility | Has the new role and authority been clearly defined? |
| Performance bonus | Recognize a defined result or contribution | Are the conditions clear, lawful and within the person’s influence? |
| Benefits or development support | Address a specific employee need | Does the person value the benefit, and what does it actually cost? |
| Statutory or contractual entitlement | Meet an existing obligation | What is required, how is it calculated and when is it due? |
Do not trade away a mandatory entitlement for a higher salary or a preferred benefit. The 13th-month pay guide explains why an annual payment needs its own review.
What evidence should a PM manager use?
Compare performance with the agreed responsibilities and the conditions under which the work was done. For maintenance coordination, review record accuracy, timely escalation and whether resident updates were made as promised. Repair completion time alone may reflect vendor availability or owner approvals outside the person’s control.
For leasing support, examine follow-up quality, accurate information and completed handoffs. Signed leases also depend on pricing, property condition, demand and other decisions the person may not control. Avoid rewarding a higher conversion rate if it comes with inaccurate promises or inconsistent treatment.
Use examples from the whole review period. A recent difficult week should not erase months of strong work, and one heroic recovery should not conceal repeated preventable errors. Document new responsibilities as they arise, including work that is valuable but easy to miss in a dashboard.
Complete a salary-review worksheet
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Current role and pay | Responsibilities, hours, currency and all ongoing compensation elements |
| Reason for review | Scheduled review, changed role, market alignment or another specific trigger |
| Performance evidence | Representative examples and role-relevant measures, including quality |
| Responsibility changes | New decisions, complexity, leadership or specialist work |
| Market comparison | Recent comparable role evidence, location, hours, experience and included benefits |
| Employee perspective | Expectations, career interests and benefit preferences discussed directly |
| Financial effect | Annual recurring cost, related obligations and proposed effective date |
| Decision and rationale | Approved change or reason for no change, explained plainly |
| Follow-up | Documentation, payroll confirmation and next review point |
Use comparable market evidence. A senior remote bookkeeper, a part-time administrative assistant and an entry-level customer-service role are not interchangeable pay references. A country-wide salary average can also hide the skills and working hours your particular role requires.
Consider a fictional maintenance assistant who now permanently coaches two colleagues and handles vendor escalations. They perform those duties well, but sometimes omit required escalation notes despite having the information and time to record them. The manager has approval and budget for a role adjustment, so increases base pay for the expanded responsibilities while deferring a separate discretionary performance award. The documentation gap becomes a specific development goal: record the decision and next action for each escalation. The manager samples files during regular check-ins and schedules a review in six weeks. That review will assess whether the gap has closed; it does not promise another increase.
Work through the complete cost
Consider an illustrative hourly arrangement with 2,080 paid hours per year. Increasing the rate from $10 to $11 adds $2,080 in annual base pay, before any related contributions or benefits. If the company also adds a $30 monthly connectivity allowance, that adds $360, making the combined direct increase $2,440 before other applicable costs.
The example does not recommend either wage or benefit. It shows why a manager should calculate the annual effect rather than discussing only the hourly difference. Recheck the full hiring budget when a change also affects annual payments, payroll costs or support fees.
Ask about preferences before selecting additional benefits. A technology allowance, professional-development budget or more predictable scheduling may be valuable to one person and less useful to another. A benefit does not automatically compensate for inadequate base pay, and flexible schedules must still provide the coverage the role requires.
How should you discuss the decision?
Start with the role and evidence, then state the decision clearly. For example:
“Your responsibilities now include training new coordinators and reviewing their handoffs. We are updating the role description to reflect that responsibility and increasing your base pay from the agreed effective date. The separate annual payment and existing benefits remain listed in the compensation schedule.”
Use the actual approved figures in the person’s conversation and written record. Explain what is being recognized without making a promise about future increases that the company has not approved.
If no increase is approved, give a specific reason. A budget constraint is different from a performance gap. Do not imply that excellent performance would unlock a raise if there is no available budget, and do not demand vague “more ownership” without defining the work and authority involved.
Allow the person to respond. Their expectation may differ from the company’s decision; discussing that difference respectfully is more useful than presenting the raise as something that must automatically satisfy them.
Keep the review process consistent
Record the decision, effective date and revised compensation terms, then confirm that payroll applies them correctly. Continue ordinary feedback between pay reviews. Avoid turning every check-in into a negotiation or every positive comment into an implied pay promise.
If managers struggle to assess responsibility and contribution consistently, start with the Operational Framework. BetterTeam Consulting can help clarify roles, performance expectations and management routines that make pay conversations more grounded.