by Robin Throckmorton, M.A., SPHR
Because of the recession that began in 2001, many employees have sat idle in their jobs with no salary increase or even a salary reduction for a number of years. However, within the last year or so, things have been changing and employees have been getting salary increases again. If you aren't, why not?
According to Watson Wyatt Worldwide, salaries for non-executive white collar workers are expected to rise by 3.6% in 2006 and according to William M Mercer by 3.7% in 2007. When was your last salary increase? Do you feel that you are being paid what you are worth for the job you are doing and the value you are bringing to your organization? Do you depend on your boss to recognize that it is time for a salary increase or do you take the initiative to let him or her know that you deserve an increase?
Recently, Paula Toti from Cincinnati, Ohio's Local 12 News asked Strategic HR, Inc. what recommendations we'd make to individuals who are seeking a salary increase.
(Click Here to view the story online).There are at least ten suggestions that we identified that you should consider to help improve your chances of getting that much deserved raise:
Timing is everything. First of all, what is the company policy for receiving a salary increase? Do you meet the requirements? If not, why do you deserve an exception? What is the current financial state of the company? If the company is in a financially instable state, it probably isn't the best time to be asking for a salary increase. But, if YOU just had a big "win" or your boss is in a particularly great mood, the timing is prime! Also, keep in mind, if you wait until your annual review, your boss has probably already decided if you are getting a raise and how much by the time you get to the review. You need to plan ahead.
You need to research your job and determine how it compares to the market. You also need to produce examples of what you have done to help the company and compare that with what your boss thinks of your performance. In addition to talking to your Human Resources department, you can research the market via these resources:
- Salary.com*
- Payscale.com*
- Salaryexpert.com*
- http://jobstar.org/tools/salary/index.php*
- BLS.gov ("Wages, Earnings and Benefits")
- Professional associations
*Keep in mind that these provide "general" salary statistics and tend to be inflated by about 10% relative to industry and geographic specific surveys.
Be sure your reason for requesting a salary increase is business focused. Tie it to some measurable value whether it be to cost or time savings or revenue generation. Do not make it about a personal need. The best way to do this is by tracking your own accomplishments. If you can show a correlation between your accomplishments and your company meeting certain goals or objectives - that can be powerful.
Remember to be flexible when you present your offer or recommended increase. If you are going to put an ultimatum on the table, only do it if you are ready to live with it. Be creative, there are other ways to get your desired salary increase that may seem less "demanding" to your employer - delay the increase for a specified amount of time, spread it out over 3 or 6 month increments, or ask for more vacation time instead of more money.
If you are really willing to do what you need to do to get a raise, even if it means leaving your current job, you can seek employment elsewhere. If you find another opportunity paying a higher rate, use it to try and negotiate a higher salary with your current employer - your current employer may not realize that the market is dictating a higher salary for your particular job. However, a word of caution, be ready to go with the other employer if your current employer doesn't concede.
In order to be successful on your job whether you are trying to get a raise or not, it is your job to continuously market what you do. In other words, you need to "toot your own horn" - make sure your employer knows about the great job you are doing. Another word of caution though, do not exaggerate. It may be helpful to also seek relationships with members of "higher" management - this will give you more visibility and another avenue for "tooting your horn".
The best way to indirectly impact your ability to get an increase is to continuously demonstrate a positive attitude. The squeaky wheel doesn't always get the attention and sometimes the attention it does get isn't always good. You need to have the personal goal of always fixing or improving your persona. You need to be a leader in trying to help make change work for you and the company.
Always schedule a time to meet with your boss to discuss your raise rather than doing an impromptu discussion. Script your meeting ahead of time so you are well prepared with what you are going to say and what facts you will use to back up your request. It's a game of negotiation. Do not expect your boss to accept your request - put your top offer on the table, but be realistic so it is reasonable. Remember to put yourself in your bosses shoes. Your boss will have to justify your request to his/her budget or superiors too.
If your boss is resistant to giving you the salary increase, ASK what you need to do to get an increase in the long-run. Set clear expectations between the two of you so you know what you need to do to get an increase and by when.
Be sure to follow-up after your meeting with your boss by capturing your discussion in writing, especially the valid reasons that justify the increase. This will help your boss if he/she needs to write up the justification as well for superiors or HR.
To help validate these recommendations, we asked others what their personal experiences were with getting salary increases.
(Click Here for full results of the survey). We received over 100 responses from our readers. Below is a summary of some interesting facts from the survey responses. Of those that responded:
- 76% had received a salary increase within the last year.
- Only 10% approached their boss for the raise.
- The top two reasons that really made a difference in getting the raise they asked for were:
- The top resources that helped the most when researching their worth were:
- Salary.com
- Friends and colleagues
- Professional associations
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov)
We also asked those that manage employees what strategies they would recommend employees use when asking for a salary increase. Their top responses were:
- Positive Attitude
- Valid Business Reason
- Timing
- Research
Is it worth approaching your boss for a raise? The worse case scenario is that your boss can say "no". Of those we surveyed that said they approached their boss for a raise, only one person indicated they did not get a raise at all. The rest at least got a reasonable raise; what the asked for or even more. If you deserve a salary increase, don't wait for it - begin following some of the suggestions listed above to work toward getting your next raise.
Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR, a Senior Human Resources Management Consultant, is President of Strategic Human Resources, Inc. (www.StrategicHRinc.com) and Partner of e-HResources.com (www.e-HResources.com). If you have questions or comments on this article, you can contact Robin at Robin@StrategicHRinc.com
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