It’s end of year appraisals time and you can already hear the jingling of currency as next year’s budget takes shape. Salary tools such as Bayt.com Salaries platform are a great way to assess your current market worth and compare your compensation with others in your field. Bayt.com Salaries gives you vital crowd-sourced, up-to-date information about salaries being paid by country, industry, company and position; all key insights as you plan for salary discussions for the year ahead. Here are ten great reasons to ask for a pay rise today:
Information gathering is the first step in the salary negotiation process. You need to gather current information about what peers in similar positions and with similar skills and seniority are being paid so you can approach the negotiations fairly and objectively. If having checked leading salary sites like Bayt.com Salaries you find your salary is below industry averages and maybe low even as per the company’s own salary scales, you can approach the negotiating table with a valid excuse for a more equitable package.
Pinpoint what you did recently that saved your company time or money and quantify those savings. What did you re-configure or invent or re-invent or create or fix that increased efficiencies significantly? It can be as simple as creating a new filing system; or as complex as a new website or software or training manual or doing away with paper and spearheading policy for a more eco-friendly company. Whatever it is be prepared to give concrete evidence and elaborate on what you did to achieve these savings.
There is nothing like excellence to deserve praise and promotions! If you have consistently and demonstrably outperformed and exceeded expectations you are well positioned to ask for a raise. Just as you have invested time and effort to make a larger impact in your role, the company needs to show appreciation by investing incrementally in you.
Finally, you are done with the online courses, part-time MBA, or skills training you have put so much effort in and are ready to apply your valuable new knowledge in the context of your job. Be clear and concise when you expound on the value-added and incremental benefits you can now bring to the table.
Yes we all know the competition for top jobs is fierce and that no one is really indispensable, but some professionals are that much more competitive and skilled in their roles than others. If through your experience and learning you have carved a unique niche for yourself in your company and industry and have earned a reputation as an expert, thought-leader and master practitioner in your domain, you are in a far better place to negotiate a salary increase than a less skilled or less seasoned professional.
There can be no substitute for emotional intelligence in client-facing roles and some professionals have it in abundance. If it’s clear that your great interpersonal skills are keeping clients happy and inducing them to return and repurchase time and time again, the company will probably do all it can to keep and nurture you along with your portfolio of accounts.
Perhaps the company went through a period of downsizing and slower growth but now the pace has picked up and you find yourself doing the work of two. Perhaps someone left on a maternity leave or sabbatical and you are doing their job and yours. Whatever the reasons you find yourself in this scenario, you are in a good position to ask for pay commensurate with your output, productivity, hours, and effort.
You may have been very shy in the past about blowing your own trumpet about your work achievements and accomplishments and as a result were frequently overlooked for a raise. This is the time to assess your successes objectively, package them well, and ask for the long-overdue raise you feel you deserve.
A bigger role is in sight and along with the added responsibilities come added risks and challenges. Make sure your pay reflects the new efforts required of you and the additional returns and benefits you will be bringing to the table.
Companies do not like to see their prize employees energetically shopping for other jobs to use as bargaining chips at the negotiating table. If, however, you are a highly valued star employee with a legacy of loyalty to the company and have been approached by another company with a plum offer that you feel better reflects your interests and market worth, you can ask your company if they can match it or at least meet you at a compensation level that you are comfortable with.
