My suggestion is to structure his role to be clearer more senior in terms of responsibility so it is not a direct comparison of unequal pay for the work (if confidential salary details leak through employee discussion). Also, if employees make a decision to exit based on salary alone, an organization has bigger issues to grapple with. Employees decide to stay more for culture and leadership quality than any other factor. So, if this fella is as good as you think he is, think it will be the best investment for everybody at the company who can benefit from his coaching and mentorship.

Are you open to relocation? If so, suggest Atlantic Immigration Program in Canada.

Congratulations on your growth! Ten years growing a business is an amazing achievement. My opinion, as an HR Professional, and entrepreneur as well, is to start by tracking your own time and see where you spend most of your hours. You can then analyze what activities you feel you can outsource or train an employee or contractor, and what strategic areas you want to continue performing yourself.

Job descriptions are important as are documented processes as it makes it clear who is responsible for what activities, and creates efficiency for allocating workflow. I think it is key to outsource the stuff that is not core to your business like marketing, HR, accounting, and to keep in house through employees activities that are client facing like the programming, copy, design work....things that differentiate you from your competitors, and make you stronger. So in summary start with:
1) a staffing plan for 2016
2) Time activity analysis
3) process documentation and job descriptions

Good luck. For HR tips and free training (coming in 2016), check out our website www.highertalent.ca.

Susan

Good luck.

Show a genuine interest in your people's career paths, and provide development opportunities to increase engagement and lower turnover. I like the concept of "Training Tuesdays" where 30 minutes each week is dedicated to a presentation on a topic. It can be anything from the benefits plan, to using salesforce, to how to increase sleep quality, etc. If your people feel like they are growing and valued, they will stay.

If you have the flexibility to structure his incentive plan based on what motivates him, I think this is best for the growth of your company. Perhaps, equity based on meeting specific targets first. Agree, that a good developer is worth it, and if it increases the size of the total pie...may be worth considering.