We have all found ourselves in the position where we have needed to negotiate a salary. Whether it’s as an Employee looking to increase our actual and perceived worth or as a Manager looking to reward, motivate and retain our staff. In either case, both parties can find these meetings tricky!
It was the recent experience of a Director friend, who was approached by a valued employee for a 33% pay rise that led me to write this blog. The employee definitely deserved an increase however their approach and expectation left him wondering whether they did!
Negotiating a salary is something that a considerable number of people shy away from. We can often find it tricky to ask for what we want, fail to get to the point and therefore end up disappointed.
Many people find these situations confrontational and uncomfortable so how do we ease this pain?
Talk to the right people:
Where possible make sure you have all the key decision makers present for that meeting, it will save any unnecessary follow up meetings. If your direct line Manager is not able to authorise salary increases, then if appropriate request that you have the purse holder present.
Avoid going over your DL Managers head and involve them in the process even if they are not involved in salary reviews. They are likely to be one of your biggest advocates and therefore will be able to add weight to your request, ask them to provide a reference!
Get the timing right:
In order to lessen the possible perception of confrontation, timing is key.
You need to create an open discussion. That is one where both parties feel that they are able to be candid and direct without feeling uncomfortable.
Is there money in the pot: How well is the company doing? You want to aim for the best figure you can, without damaging relations with your employer
Reviews: If your company has an annual pay review or you have regular performance reviews, then this would be the most natural time to negotiate your salary and is most likely to be best received during this time.
Plan ahead: However if you work for a less structured company then make sure that you have prepared the meeting in plenty of time and been honest about what you are looking to discuss, this gives both you and the decision maker time to prepare and lessens the chances of leaving the conversation without any resolution
Mondays, Fridays and anytime before 11am is a NO NO. You want someone’s undivided attention for the meeting and therefore this is after they have cleared their backlog from last week and tackled those morning emails and definitely not when they are ready to dash down the pub for their Friday night tipple.
Ride on a success: If you have recently overachieved pre-set goals, landed a large client, billed an excellent quarter, won an award etc etc it’s time to ride on that wave of success.
Be prepared:You should approach this meeting like you would any other where you are hoping to influence and steer to a favourable result. It is better to be over-prepared and not use the information, than under and regret it.
Know your worth: Every product and service has a value, as does your role.
Peers: Research what others are being paid for doing a similar role within your business and sector. If you are able to have a comfortable discussion with your peers on their salary expectations, ascertain what they will be hoping for in their next salary review.
Recruiters: We have a wealth of salary information at our disposal, find the ones that are niche within your sector and get their advice. If you are working in the creative industry then talk to Saints!
Salary Survey: Also check out any salary surveys that have been conducted, make sure they are recent and relevant to your role.
Bandings: Many companies have set bandings dependent on the grade of the role, if you have just successfully presented a strong case to raise a band then it would be foolish not to ascertain what salaries are linked to this. It may be that there is further money in the pot.
Build a business case: You’re going to need a water-tight business case and evidence of what you bring to the role. Record significant moments and events including examples of your work and the projects you were involved on, how you work with different teams and your relationships with key people. You need to show that you’ve been working well on tasks that are beyond what everyone else is doing.
You should know by now how much I love a list. Write down an honest list of your strengths and weaknesses, this should help determine what you have to offer, and what weaknesses you need to minimize.
Attitude
Lose the emotions: This will be a business decision based on your ability to do your role therefore avoid linking it to emotional or personal requirements.
Remain calm and professional. This is a negotiation and therefore you will need to be prepared to be probed a little!
Use the art of silence: Take your time to respond to questions, don’t immediately react and when you do always use concrete fact – this is where your preparation plays such a key role.
Close
Summarize: Leave the meeting having clarified what the next stages will be. If they have offered a figure that you are happy with, establish when this will be actioned.
Should a further meeting be required to flesh out an offer or present further information, have this booked.
If you did not succeed in securing a pay rise it is time to plan for the future; know what expectations the company has of you and what you need to achieve in order to receive a raise; have these detailed and have review meetings set.
Going to leave you with one of my favourite little ‘arts of negotiation’ from Liz Tahir:
The 10-second strategy. Silence makes most of us uncomfortable. In today’s world, there is noise all around us, from the mobiles ringing, the Teams alerts or to chats around the water cooler. We are conditioned to noise, not being silent. Try this test: the next time you are negotiating with the other party, and they say something like “well, that’s my offer,” don’t utter a word for 10 seconds. It’s practically guaranteed they will jump in with another offer or more information, anything to break the silence. When you get comfortable with 10 seconds, bump it up to 20 seconds. The silence will hang like lead and drive ‘em crazy!
