The key and first thing: asking for a raise with reason is necessary and important. It’s interesting that in all my years of work, 9 out of 10 candidates admit during an interview that they are not ready to talk with their manager on this topic and are going to leave their current job for a higher salary without trying to discuss the possibility of career advancement within the current company.
“If the manager doesn’t understand that I deserve a raise in salary and/or position, then I’ll go where I’ll be rated higher,” is how most employees usually reason.
The manager thinks completely differently: “If my employee were dissatisfied with the conditions, he would have come to me long ago and asked the appropriate questions. But since he is silent, it means he likes everything.”
At the same time, it is rare for a boss to initiate such a conversation and openly ask whether the subordinate is satisfied with everything. Most often, he doesn’t really want to deal with this issue, since the increase will need to be argued before his superiors, and in addition, discussed with the personnel department, which, in turn, will remind you about the staffing table and the lack of a budget for the coming year.
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And it’s good if the company has a centralized, regular process for discussing career plans and salary growth. However, if there is no such procedure, then you need to regularly raise a conversation with your manager once or twice a year about your career desires, indicators and projects necessary for promotion.
Otherwise, we have a situation: a subordinate who expects his boss to read his thoughts, and a manager who is confident that his employees feel great. And since the issue of your career primarily concerns you, you will have to deal with it.
Case No. 1
The head of a large retail company left the press service. One of the department's leading specialists decided that this situation was an excellent opportunity to ask for a promotion. First, he talked to his ex-boss: he asked for feedback and an objective assessment of his potential leadership abilities.
After this conversation, the boss, who was about to leave, promised that he would recommend the candidate to his boss, and helped organize a meeting between the subordinate and the marketing director.
The leading specialist prepared a presentation - a short report on his key achievements and roles in projects, as well as several ideas that he is ready to develop in his new position. After this, the specialist was asked to undergo competency testing, which helped determine the employee’s strengths and weaknesses.
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As a result, the marketing director decided not to hire an outside professional, but to appoint an acting specialist. head of the press service for a period of six months with the previous salary retained. If the specialist performs well, then in six months he will officially move to the position of head of the press service.
What to do if your salary is low
The word “take” is very correct here, because the first thing to understand is that activity is important. You shouldn’t expect that everything will come on its own, that sooner or later you will be appreciated and that your salary will increase, but until then you just need to just continue working as before. Not at all - it is you who should take active action. However, these actions do not necessarily have to immediately include going to your boss and writing a statement - first of all, you should ask yourself whether you really deserve a salary increase. Or ask someone you trust who is knowledgeable about the details of your work—an outside opinion, if it's someone in the know, is usually more helpful.
And further actions will depend on the answer. If the answer is still negative, or even uncertainly positive, then you should do the following:
- Increasing market value - for this you need to develop professionally, trying to devote as much time as possible to this, to be aware of all the affairs in the industry, not limiting yourself only to your field of work. If you have a correct understanding of the company's affairs as a whole, this will raise the opinion of others about your level of awareness and the opinion of you as a specialist. This applies to many professions, from sales managers to teachers - knowledge of what is happening in the field of education in general will not be superfluous in leadership positions at school!
- Gaining respect - and this should not be confused with popularity, they are two different things. To gain respect, it is important both to do what is indicated in the previous paragraph and to always maintain a fighting spirit and make every effort, and not rely on others and take time off from work at the first opportunity. That is, perceive work not as something where it is important to serve the required hours, but set goals and achieve them.
- Updating skills - you need to constantly keep your finger on the pulse of what your company needs, and not only yours - communication with recruitment agencies will be useful. This way you will know which related professions are currently in high demand, and therefore what skills you need to improve.
If you immediately answered “yes” to the question of whether you deserve a salary increase, or you worked on yourself and were able to change the initially negative answer, it is time to move on to the next step, that is, prepare to ask management for a salary increase.
This may not be easy from a psychological point of view, but the stage is very important.
When a person himself has to talk about his importance to the company, he gains self-confidence, which, by the way, further increases his importance! But by simply doing your job and not doing anything else, you can remain with your current salary, which does not suit you, even despite the fact that you work well.
Among the ways to achieve higher wages are the following:
- change of place of work;
- promotion;
- hints about readiness to change jobs;
- direct request.
The first step is to use a direct request - let's figure out how to do this most effectively.
Case No. 2
The HR director of a large Western manufacturing company worked for the company for four years and received two interesting job offers in Russian businesses. Also, according to the scenario, I scheduled a meeting with the manager, where the main argument for raising salaries was specific alternative proposals coming from other market players.
In addition, he reminded the CEO of the main major projects implemented thanks to him.
The CEO took a week's break to think and eventually returned with a promise to increase the salary in three months if a complex and not very realistic business project was implemented to move part of the team to another region.
The project was eventually frozen through no fault of the HR director, but this situation became a reason not to increase the salary. The candidate moved to another company for a higher salary, and his deputy was promoted to a director position.
What reasons must I provide when requesting a pay increase?
If you are going to convince your boss, then you need to provide strong arguments. This means you must demonstrate your value to the company and highlight your value in the market. Look at it from your boss's perspective. He needs to be convinced that the business should invest more of its budget in you, and then he needs to justify this decision to senior management.
- First, re-read your job description or contract and list the things you went above and beyond in your role and achieved exceptional results.
- Second, write down examples of your contributions to the company and how you have outperformed your peers.
The important thing here is that you quantify your contribution as best as possible. Perhaps you exceeded your targets by X% or attracted Y new clients to your business. Perhaps you implemented a new process or saved your department money by going above and beyond your job title.
Your manager is going to evaluate how much value you bring to the organization. He will look at criteria such as:
- what contribution you have made to the company in the last 12 months;
- what happens if you leave the organization;
- how easy it is to replace you.
Good employees are expensive to replace, and you need to highlight your experience and commitment, warns Corinne. “An employer will be more receptive if you do a great job and/or are difficult to replace, not just because you are stuck in the position.”
Say what you plan to contribute to the company in the next year (making sure your promises are realistic and achievable). The goal is to convince your employer that any investment made in you now will be more than worth it.
Case No. 3
The head of the marketing department grew up within the company from the position of assistant and was paid significantly below the market. In response to hints about a salary increase, the employee received vague comments that “he was already given a chance to become a director” instead of hiring an accomplished professional from the outside.
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The manager was not convinced by such arguments, and he decided to act more persistently. The key factor was the digitized presentation of the department’s achievements over the past few years, analysis of the company’s efficiency and results, thanks to implemented projects. As a result, the candidate managed to agree on both a salary increase and an improvement in the bonus scheme.
What to say at a meeting about a salary increase
Start by thanking your boss for his time and telling him how much you enjoy working for that team, department, company, etc. Then move on to highlight your accomplishments over the past 12 months and briefly describe how you will contribute to the company in the future.
At this point, you should reference your salary benchmarking research, indicating what employees in similar roles earn elsewhere and within your company.
For example, “As a graphic editor, I fully cope with assigned tasks within the specified time frame and produce high-quality results. On the labor market, my value is X units, which is Y% higher than my current salary. I would like to discuss how we can close this gap.”
Reiterate how much you value being part of a great team, but make it clear that it is important to you that your salary is in line with the market.
Be careful with the words you use. Use clear sentences and avoid bland language. If you say, “I would like to have it,” or “I hope so,” it sounds like, “But I don’t expect to get it.” Please indicate the exact amount of pay you want to receive for your position. You've done your research ahead of time and know exactly how much you should be paid for your work.
Throughout the conversation, focus on rational arguments and avoid emotions. Your boss doesn't need to know or worry about why you need to raise your pay.
Developing a conversation script
Write a conversation script. It is clear that it is impossible to predict all scenarios, but it is necessary to think through the main ones. Write down all the possible objections with which your boss will try to change the course of the negotiations and prepare counterarguments for them.
Most likely, you guess that in response to your proposal, the boss will not throw himself on your chest with an enthusiastic cry: “How come I didn’t guess it myself?!”
Most likely, this will be an evasive answer, the purpose of which is to delay time. Perhaps your boss is the type of person who prefers to think things through before making a decision. Perhaps the decision depends not only on him and he cannot resolve the issue on his own. In any case, you need specifics, “yes” or “no,” so clarify when you can come to him for an answer.
Energetic vampire
In ordinary life, he is an erudite, witty intellectual. He opens a conversation with a subordinate in a quiet voice, gradually increasing the pace and volume of speech, then he gets the hang of it and begins to scold the employee, not allowing him to get a word in.
After a conversation with such a boss, subordinates usually experience a breakdown and emptiness. But the boss is transformed, his mood rises, his cheeks turn pink, and a sparkle appears in his eyes.
How to behave? The first and main rule is not to give in to provocation. Under no circumstances reciprocate the vampire's feelings, don't get excited and don't scream. This is exactly what he expects from you. Your weapon is calm and poise. As a result, he will break his teeth on you and leave you behind, they don’t like hard food.
Simple techniques will help make the task easier. “Close yourself”, just clasp your fingers, this will help save your energy potential. And at the most tense moment, just lightly bite the tip of your tongue seven times. Rest assured, it helps.
The right attitude
It is logical to ask for one or another increase to your current salary if:
- having to do more work;
- constantly correct the mistakes of colleagues;
- you received an additional direction for development.
Simply put, with any noticeable increase in workload, the salary must be adjusted.
In the modern world, salary is a determination of the value of a particular employee. Please note:
- its significance for the enterprise;
- real qualifications;
- potential;
- the average price of a representative of a particular profession.
If you are asking for a raise, then create an objective picture of the above components. Only then will a constructive dialogue with the administration be possible.
Management, for its part, will positively consider the issue of increasing earnings if it is convinced that the person applying is competent, hardworking and has a good reputation. You need to prove your usefulness with facts and figures.
Don’t rely on inspiration - prepare for the conversation with the employer ahead of time. Ask yourself: for what reason should you personally, as a specialist, raise your salary? The more competent and reasoned the answer to this question is, the better.
When is the best time to ask?
Many people ask for a promotion immediately upon joining the service, but this is not a very correct approach. Psychologists advise not to communicate with management until lunch. In the morning hours, you should refrain from raising any such topics, since it is during this period that management is at its busiest. Until the current affairs are done, the director will not talk about an increase. After lunch, your appeal will be received more complacently.
It is extremely dangerous to stutter about a promotion:
- in case of general unsatisfactory financial situation in the company;
- on the day the salary is paid.
It is convenient to ask a couple of days after the completion of the probationary period, during which you completed all the instructions “excellently” and proved compliance with the requirements. This moment is ideal to apply for a raise.
It is indecent to ask for an increase in wages for those who received it less than six months ago.
It is very short-sighted to hope for a promotion if shortly before the conversation you made a major mistake. The boss will remember your name and the negativity associated with it, which means the result of the conversation is unlikely to be acceptable. It is wrong to discuss a salary increase on the run - it is easier for management to brush it off and forget than to resolve the issue positively.
It is considered correct when an employee begins to ask his boss to raise his salary only after 2-3 years of work in a particular organization, provided that during this period no changes occurred in the motivation system.
What not to do
If you need a more substantial salary, then try to avoid common mistakes. There is no need to tell management in a conversation about a promotion:
- how hard you work;
- that others have been given a raise, but they work less, etc.
Your salary depends on your existing personal abilities and qualifications, and it is incorrect to bring third parties into the conversation.
You shouldn’t scare your bosses with dismissal if the answer is negative. We don't have any irreplaceable people. Threats of switching to competitors are also perceived negatively. In both cases, you will likely be asked to vacate your desk.
Fake Democrat
As a rule, he tries not to interfere with the work of his subordinates, giving them complete freedom of action, which makes him very similar to a true democrat. But don’t relax, such a boss, as a rule, does not explain what he really wants, and no matter what you do, it will turn out in the end that this is not what he wanted at all.
If a subordinate is suspicious and unsure of himself, such a boss can become a real punishment for him, and work will turn into a source of constant stress.
How to behave? The first and easiest option is to change your boss and find a new job. True, in this case there is a risk that the next leader will turn out to be even worse than the previous one.
The second, more complex, but also the most reliable - strengthen your nervous system, increase your self-esteem, work on yourself.
Everything has its place and time
Now about how to ask your boss for a salary increase on time. Take your time and place to talk seriously. It is believed that the best time to raise such issues is on Friday, after lunch break. At this time, the level of complacency of management usually goes through the roof.
This is, of course, a joke. Well, but seriously, feel out how things are going in the company. If the results of the last quarter leave much to be desired or your department did not meet the plan, asking for a raise at such a time is the height of imprudence.
The boss's mood is also important. If in the morning there were three punishments and two dismissals, it is better to wait it out, otherwise you risk running into rudeness.
