The salary of a person has a huge effect on the general satisfaction that they derive from their work.
In fact, even if the person is working in the best company and has the perfect position, s/he may not be completely satisfied with his/her job because of being underpaid, or paid less the worth in the market.
Any company that respects its employees will always look at ways of rewarding their productive employees – either in way of appraisals or other types of recognition.
Many companies have a talk with their employees before they decide on a salary raise.
If you have your homework done for these kinds of meetings, you can actually negotiate the raise that your company is offering you.
But if this is not the case and no salary raise was offered to you when you feel like you deserve it, you would want to ask your boss for a pay raise.
In this case, you should prepare the tactic to approach/convince you boss with the right message – “I deserve a salary increase because of A, B, C…”
Moreover, you have to make a plan B – plan your next steps if you don’t get what you want from your superiors.
Refer also to – asking for a raise in writing.
How to Ask For a Pay Raise?
Here are some of ways in which you can ask a raise in salary – tactfully.
Ask for a meeting
You may prepare and send a letter on which you ask for a metting to discuss a pay raise.
Refer to – pay raise letter samples and templates.
Prepare a report of your contribution to the company:
A raise in the salary will be given to you based on your productiveness for the company and your performance value.
These are the most important aspects.
It is always suggested that you create a comprehensive, detailed and easy to digest report about your work in the company. The report should basically speak about how you have achieved the targets that have been set for you by the company.
Therefore, write about your performance level: goals you’ve reached, initiatives and solutions you’ve implemented, revenues you’ve met and the hard extra/non-paid hours you’ve contributed. You may also write about the tasks you took above and beyond your job requirements.
Your performance record will strengthen your case for a pay raise. If your boss is not aware of your achievements or deliberately prefers to ignore them, then let the works you have done speak for you – write it down.
Know the Market Rates of your Job profile:
Another important thing to keep in mind before requesting a pay raise is the market rates of your position.
While asking a raise, you should ensure that the amount that you are asking for is not too over and above the current market offerings for your job.
Also, while preparing the document for the market rate, make sure that you include only those instances where the employees have the same experience and qualifications as you do.
Do not haggle too much:
Too much of a haggling leaves a bitter taste for the employer as well as the employee.
Of course, this does not mean that you should not try hard to make your case convincing. Just try to ensure that your general approach does not seem to be only about the money that is paid to you.
Make it a point to put across to the employers about how you want to be even more productive to the company and what you see yourself doing for the progress of the company.
Therefore, you can consider asking for more responsibilities, if your current job volume doesn’t justify a pay raise.
Timing – when to approach your boss for a raise?
The best times to ask for a salary raise are after the annual performance review or right after reaching a major goal (successfully). Be sure your boss in the right mood.. And s/he is not having a high workload when asking a raise.
If your request is denied:
You may receive a negative answer for the pay itself but get the impression that other salary components are still negotiable. Therefore, consider asking for an improvement in benefits or bonuses, such as: vocation days, work hours, sales quotas etc.
You may also ask your boss for a future raise when and if you reach some performance objectives or getting new responsibilities.
Read: More responsibilities for getting promoted or how to get promoted at work?
If possible – Have an Offer in Hand:
To negotiate for a salary increase in the right manner, you should have a material picture of your worth in the market.
You can get this only if you actually apply for job posting and find out how much others are willing to pay you for the same profile. Remember that the individual worth and the worth of the work that you are doing for the company are two different concepts – and never the twain shall meet. Once you have the offer in hand, you will be able to ask/negotiate your salary raise in a better manner.
Lastly, be prepared to negotiate
I recommend reading this article - How to Negotiate Salary? Negotiation Tips and Tactics
After doing your homework, be prepared with an idea of the amount of the salary increase to ask – the high pay raise and the lesser one.
Good luck!
