Asking For A Pay Rise

So you feel the time has come to ask your boss for a pay rise. You've worked hard all year and really put in the hours where it was needed. Now you want the reward of a pay rise. All you need to do now is Ask For A Pay Rise.

Going in for a pay rise review requires a strategy. Not planning ahead can cost you money and ultimately your job if you didn't get what you asked for.

When it comes to asking or a pay rise too many people accept the first offer that is made to them, if they get one at all.

Just like negotiating salary, when it comes to asking for a pay rise, you should have a clear idea what your value to the company is, what you can bring to the company and how you see yourself progressing there in the future. By now you've probably spent some time in the company and know what your role is, how you've been performing and probably know how your peers have been performing too.

It's probably best to use a diary to jot down everything you do at the end of the day. This way you can refer back to it when you are putting your plan together for your pay rise strategy.

So, the steps you might take to asking your boss for a pay rise:

Find out specifically what it is you have done for the company that you feel deserves mentioning when you go in to speak with the boss. Did you create a technical document that has helped users get around a system much faster, and have estimated a two hour time saving per man hour?

Did you reconfigure some software code that in your opinion was working at a less optimal speed? You re-wrote the software code on the system and increased product efficiency by 15%. That 15% value must have saved or generated some value somewhere in the company. Did it increase revenue? Did it allow for more time for others to perform other tasks? This will have a value. Try and find out what that value is.

Or perhaps you implemented new instructions of equipment ownership of staff members as too many pieces of equipment had gone missing or gotten damaged. Now the stationary bill and replacement parts bills have dropped by over 87%.

So now you know what you have done the past while, and the value you have brought to the company in that time. Now you need to decide what you want out of the meeting when you are asking for a pay rise.

Try to always do figures as a percentage, as it doesn't sound as high as if you were to do it in a monetary value. So rather than asking for €5,000 you might ask for a 10% pay rise.

But how would you go about asking for this?

Arrange a time that is suitable to both you and your boss where you can spend some time together talking through your requirements.

You could ask "Jane, when is a good time next week when we can sit down and have a chat?"

Always project it into the future as if you were told now was a good time, her schedule could change straight away without notice. This way you can book an allotted time slot with her and know that the time will be all yours.

You are in the meeting with your boss. You need to start talking about what you have done in the company up to now, and how you have managed to increase revenue or man hours or whatever it was you did in part 1 above.

It is also important to try and say, from the start, how well the company has been doing. Try: "Jane, XYZ has been doing great the past year. The company website tells me we are in talks with ABC on a merger, our stock value is up and the bookings are solid for the next 3 years".

What you are doing here is letting your boss know that you know the company is doing well, so as they can't turn around and say that they are doing poorly right now, which they may say to you.

Now you need to start talking in depth about how you have increased profits or productivity which in turn has increased revenue. You could say:

"Jane, from when I started here right up to this morning, I have estimated that I have increased profits into our department by 77%. That's increased revenue of over 1.1 million euro. Many outside consultants charging thousands of euro a day aren't bringing in this sort of revenue and they are probably getting 1000% more than what I am on!"

You continue:

"I wouldn't be looking for anything like a 1000% pay rise! You would hand me my notice if I were to look for something like that. No, I am not even looking for 500% of a pay rise. I understand my role here is a permanent one and I want to keep on here as I enjoy working with the staff. I feel a 40% pay rise would be a fair amount when we take into account what I can do for this company and how much proven revenue I have brought in and can bring in."

What you have done here is letting your boss know that you know the value of outside consultants, and that your job has brought in as much if not more than what they have brought in, but that you are only looking for a fraction of what they charge.

Initially Jane would be thinking you were looking for a 1000% pay rise, and then when she heard the 40% she was probably relieved!

The key here is to know what you are worth and to know what you want. You may be happy with a 20% rise, asking for 40% will allow Jane some room for negotiating so she too can get a "win" from negotiating you down.