Questions Covered in This Blog Post
- What guidelines are used for salary negotiation meetings?
- How do you negotiate with your boss about your salary?
- How can you improve the chances of the salary increment process?
- What are the 7 key strategies for successful salary negotiation?
- How do you build a better relationship with your boss?
Significance of Salary Negotiation in the Workplace
Salary negotiation at the workplace is always considered to be a challenging situation for employees, particularly when the negotiation is between you and your boss about salary and benefits.
To make your salary negotiation successful, you must have a proper plan in mind, and the approach you use for your negotiation should be genuine.
It’s crucial that you keep a few critical things in mind, though, as discussing salary negotiations with your manager or employer is not as straightforward as it may first appear. Maintaining balance on expenses that arise in the form of employee salaries, bonuses, and other increments is specifically your boss’s responsibility.
In this Blog
We will discuss the complete strategy with practical examples for salary negotiation and the key factors that you must consider before you make an effective negotiation with your boss.
Let’s start the discussion.
Do Proper Research before Negotiating with Boss
We always emphasize research, even though we do proper research before writing any blog post. The same applies to you in this situation because if you know what the standard pay is for your position and what other companies pay benefits for the same role. This act will make your pay increment request reasonable at the time of meeting with your boss.
Here, you may think: How can I do research for a pay increment?
For example
You can check online surveys, read reports about your industry, and, most importantly, talk to other professionals in your field to get a better idea of what the standard salary is. This information gives you a solid base. When you’re negotiating for the pay you believe is appropriate for you.
Highlight Your Achievements during Salary Negotiation Meeting
When discussing your pay increment, you’ll have more credibility if you can show how you’ve improved the company’s operations. When you highlight your achievements in your organization in front of the boss or supervisor, it makes it easier for your boss to recognize why you deserve a request for a salary increment.
For example
Imagine you are a business development officer at Telenor. You can ask for a salary increment by showing a yearly percentage of your sales. You can even show the number of clients who are satisfied with you in the market. With this approach, your chances of getting a pay increment will be higher, and your boss will be better convinced of some increment in your basic pay.
Timing Is Crucial for Salary Negotiation
Timing always plays a crucial role when discussing or requesting a salary increment. Pick a good time to talk about your salary increment. Don’t bring it up when your boss is busy or the company is currently going through a crisis, which you know is short-term. So the point here is for you to understand that when you evaluate the situation that is favorable for you to do a salary negotiation, you have more chances of making this negotiation successful.
For Example
Imagine your student life when you need money from your parents. Of course, you look for the time when your father is in a good mood, and you also consider the timing, e.g., not the end dates of the month, because you know that if he is in a bad mood or it is almost the end of the month, then, of course, you would not be able to talk with him confidently and convince him of the situation you are going through.
The same applies to your professional life as well. If your boss is not in a good mood or the company where you are working is going through a tough time, then it is important to wait and evaluate the situation properly before presenting your pay increment proposal in front of your boss.
Keep your Confidence and Professionalism during Salary Negotiation Meeting
When you’re talking about your salary, be confident and professional with your boss. Explain to your manager why you think you deserve a salary increase, but don’t sound like you’re arguing because your boss is senior to you and commonly doesn’t like arguments at all. It would be better if you discussed how satisfied you are with your role and how motivated you are for the growth of the company in the future.
In this manner, the dialogue remains polite and concentrates on coming up with a solution that benefits you both.
For Example
Suppose you are working as a team leader in your company, and you are in a meeting with your boss where you are presenting your proposal for the pay increment. If you confidently negotiate with your boss for your salary increment in a way where you highlight your crucial current role in the company’s overall progress as well as your role in upcoming projects, then there are more chances that your boss will consider your proposal.
Be Flexible and Open to Compromise during Negotiation Process
Even though you have a specific salary in mind, be open to finding a middle ground. Your boss might have limits on what they can pay you further in the form of an increment, so think about other benefits that your boss may offer you if they can’t raise your salary right away. Being flexible shows you’re willing to work together to find a solution that works well for both sides.
For Example
Imagine you are a data analyst in your company, and you are not happy with your current salary package. You send a proposal to your boss for a salary increment, and your boss responds to you with some other offers that may also be beneficial for you, e.g., you asked for a 15 percent increment in your salary, and your boss offers you 10 percent but offers other benefits like working from home on certain days.
You should show flexibility because if your boss allows you to work from home for certain days, then you can simply reduce your daily travel costs. Always remember that even a 10 percent increase is still preferable to a zero increase or denial from the boss.
Practice Active Listening at work, Especially during Meeting
You must always work on your listening skills, especially in the workplace. If you are an active listener, you can develop a better understanding when you are meeting with your boss or top management at the workplace. You can use a better approach to responding to your boss if you are negotiating your salary agreement.
For Example
Your boss may reach an agreement with particular terms and conditions when talking about a pay raise. If you actively participate in the process and develop your understanding with your boss, then you can end up with a better result because, by doing this, you try to convince your boss about the importance of this matter. Further, you must understand that later on, you may not always get a chance to discuss your salary with your boss. So if you manage situations effectively, then you can have a win-win situation. Here, the question is:
How can you improve your engagement with your boss during a meeting?
If you’re feeling disengaged, improving your sensory perception can help you become more actively involved in your surroundings. By sharpening your awareness of sensory stimuli, you can enhance your ability to participate fully in the tasks and activities around you.
Write a Follow-Up to Your Boss after Meeting
After you and your boss agree on certain things, it’s a good idea to send a quick note summarizing what you discussed. This helps make everything clear and gives both of you something to refer back to later. Include the new salary, any extra benefits you agreed on, and the effective date of the modification. It’s an easy method to ensure that everyone is in agreement.
For Example
You can write a note to your boss that says I wanted to summarize our agreement in writing for our convenience. We agreed to change my pay to a certain sum, which will take effect on December 10th. I’m excited to keep contributing to the team.
Conclusion
To conclude this discussion with final remarks, it is important to know what you achieved from this blog post.
In your professional life, when you are concerned about your salary and you think that your salary should be higher than it is now, of course, you can talk to your boss about your salary increment without any hesitation, because talking about salary is not something that has a bad impact on your position.
You just need to prepare yourself and talk with confidence if you have already fulfilled your job and proven your participation in your company’s overall success.
If you follow these steps and guidelines and look at real-life examples, you can feel more confident when talking about your salary increment.
Just remember that good communication and thinking about what’s best for both sides help build a positive relationship with your boss and are beneficial in the long term.
What is the bottom line
The bottom line is that you can always negotiate with your boss for a salary increment without hesitation, but you must evaluate every aspect of successful salary negotiation before you plan to meet up with the boss.
What do we hope from you?
We hope that this discussion has improved your understanding of how to do a successful negotiation with your boss about your salary.
Note:
If you want to read in-depth about successful negotiation, we suggest you check out this renowned book by Jack Chapman: Negotiating Your Salary: How To Make $1000 a Minute. Available on Amazon Kindle.
If you have any questions to ask, you are welcome to leave a comment below or get in touch with us at support@workwisdoms.com
Leave a Reply