work consistently over the past
months or years and should be
ripe for a pay rise? Do you
believe that despite your work
the management may not just
give you a raise until you ask for
it? Then you probably should go
ahead and ask for a salary
increase.
Asking your employer for a raise
doesn’t guarantee you anything
positive from them. There are
several reasons your employer
might not feel like giving you the
raise you want: they don’t think
you’ve done enough to deserve
it; the economy is going down;
cashflow is tight, and so on. So
how do you effectively approach
your employer for a raise and get
it?
Think Like the Employer
Today, apparently no company
wants to be handing out money.
If you’re going to make them do
it then you must understand
how they think and what could
move them to hand over more
money to you.
An employer primarily will only
reward excellent performance
that plays a role in boosting
company growth and revenues.
They also want to be sure they
are not going to give you a raise
and not get even better
productivity in return.
If you think like an employer
before asking for a raise you will
also understand the importance
of data and analytics. Do you see
why there is always a target to
be met? By how much have you
exceeded the minimum work or
target expected of you? If you
can have the data at your finger
tips the better for your
argument.
Thinking like an employer will
help you base your arguments
on the things that matter to the
employer. No socialist thinking
here! Just real data and
information on what you have
brought to the company since
you were hired or since your last
promotion plus specific
information on how getting a
raise will spur you to achieve
more.
The premise is simple; employers
don’t care about all the socialist
bullshit lazy employees think.
They are in business to survive
and make big tons of money.
Thinking like them or trying to
picture their motivation and
reaction will help you make a
better argument.
Do You Have Leverage?
In most sectors it isn’t easy to get
a raise unless you have the
leverage. The leverage is
anything that gives you a leg up,
a bargaining power. Leverage
can be in form of a job offer
from another company (whether
direct competitor or not), being a
star employee (pulling in the best
results consistently) etc.
However if you must approach
the employer with the offer of a
job from another company as a
leverage you must be careful.
Many will not see it kindly and in
fact a few might see it as a dark
manipulative act (you wanting to
push them to give you more
money out of fear of losing you).
Then also you should be sure the
job offer is already cast in
concrete as the boss might want
to test your resolve and insist
you should go for the new job
because they won’t or can’t give
you a raise. If this happens then
you must be ready to walk.
Know What is Obtainable
It doesn’t help your cause if you
are going to ask your boss for a
raise and you make a demand
very much above the industry
rate average. Unless you are a
superman employee and they will
do anything to keep you in the
company.
And since that likely is not the
case you will need to have the
right information on what others
in similar positions could be
earning. The more moderate
your demand is the higher the
possibility that it would be met.
Doing the Asking
This actually is where the ball
rolls to a stop for most people. Is
it enough or even okay to send a
letter asking for a raise? Some
experts argue that simply writing
a letter denies you the
opportunity to make a case that
could appeal to the human
senses of the employer. So by all
means request for a meeting
from the person who could act
or request for action on your
request. When you have a face to
face with your big boss then
what?
Know Your Company’s policies
Does the company require
annual performance reviews
before they actually determine if
you are good for a raise? Consult
your employee handbook or talk
to someone at HR so you have
the right information before
going in for a talk.
Building a Case
Prepare a list of your
accomplishments in the past
year. Be definite and don’t come
with a long boring essay on how
you have worked your ass off for
the company. Simply outline data
driven list of notable and very
relevant stuff you have achieved
so far in your work. If you have
helped increase userbase or
revenues state clearly what you
have brought on board.
Here are some posers you could
use to develop your case:
Did you complete or help to
complete a tough project? And
get positive results from it?
Did you work extra hours or
meet an urgent deadline? Are
you continuing to demonstrate
this type of commitment?
Did you take initiative? In what
ways?
Did you go beyond the call of
duty? In what ways?
Did you save the company time
or money?
Did you improve any systems or
processes?
Did you support or train others?
“A rising tide lifts all boats,” you
can bet that most bosses will
want to keep people who make
others work better
It could help if you can memorise
the list and tell your boss verbally.
You can later on back it up with a
copy. Outline your proposed
future value to the company.
Timing is important
Aside from how you ask the
other very important factor to
determine your success is in the
timing of your asking. It’s all
about the timing.
Here are some tips on the timing
for asking
- Don’t ask too soon (you must
have worked for at least a year
with the organisation)
- Ask when your value is high:
choose successful moments to
ask for a raise such as when you
just pulled off a huge sale, when
you just organised a successful
conference for the company,
when you just did some fantastic
work that everybody can’t stop
talking about etc.
- Don’t ask when the company
just took losses or the finances
are taking a hit.
- If possible ask before the
budget for a new business year
gets decided.
- Don’t ask for a pay rise based
only on overtime worked. You
didn’t expect you’d go early
everyday did you?
- Ask for a meeting on Thursday;
for some reasons I don’t know it
seems the best day to do this
kind of talk. Monday will be too
busy for the week just starting,
Friday you may not get the
attention of the boss.
Tips & Ideas for Asking
- Present yourself well
- State your happiness at
working with the firm and doing
your best
- Follow up with discussing your
achievements. Be brief and
restrict to facts and figures
- Be specific with what you are
asking for: tell your boss how
much more money you want to
make in percentage terms (eg
10% of your current pay)
- Don’t be aggressive, be
diplomatic
- Whatever you do don’t threaten
your employer
- When your boss hears you out
his response might be one of the
following; yes, no or give me
time
- Thank your boss for his
patience and time in hearing you
out no matter what his response
is.
- If his response is positive (yes)
thank him and hold him onto his
word. Something like ‘I trust you
will do as you say’ might do
- If he asks you to give him
sometime then certainly you
must be patient. Perhaps he
cannot take the decision alone.
Let him know you are grateful
for his consideration and are
willing to wait for his response.
- If he says no that doesn’t mean
you go sour on him. That your
employer turned down your
request today doesn’t mean he
wouldn’t consider giving you a
raise in the coming months. Your
reaction to the ‘no’ will matter a
lot for future consideration of
your request. So don’t walk out
of the room and slam the door or
your boss would think he was
right not to give you the raise.
- In the event of a ‘no’ ask your
boss what you can do differently
as this shows your willingness to
listen to and take his opinions.
- Keep doing stellar work and ask
again for a raise in some months
time. If you have consistently
performed and then ask a
second time your chances of
getting a ‘yes’ will be enhanced.
After the Asking
Despite the response of your
employer during your talk send a
thank you message (email or
note) to your boss showing your
gratitude for the conversation. If
he had turned down your
request the thank you email will
prove to him that you took it
graciously and are not bitter with
him or the organisation.
Be Persistent
Now you have made it public that
you want a raise your boss will
certainly have it in his
consciousness. He will be
deliberating the possibility that
you may leave the company for
any better offer. He will also be
deciding if you are too valuable
to be let go. To further push him
towards making a decision
decide to put in even more solid
and spectacular work. Set a date
in future to ask him again but
before then make sure your
work does the rest of the
argument for you.
If Nothing Happens
If you work at your best for
many months and still nothing
comes you may consider quietly
looking for other options
elsewhere while still doing your
best at the organisation. Ideally it
should be better if you stay and
keep at it until you get the raise
you deserve but when you don’t
see that forthcoming you might
start networking to find other
opportunities quietly.
If you follow the above ideas and
your work is of great value to
your organisation then certainly
you should get the raise even if
falls below what you are asking
for.