Experts provide pay rise tips

Davidson Recruitment chief executive officer Rob Davidson said putting in the time to prepare negotiation strategies and well thought-out arguments was essential to the negotiation process. “As a negotiator, you need to know what your negotiation position is and what your worst case scenario is. That is the minimum you would be prepared to accept,” Davidson said. “Typically, people spend almost no time preparing for a review other than a bit of a chat at the water cooler or coffee shop with one of their colleagues.”

“If you go to the meeting and say, ‘I have been reading the latest salary review surveys’ or ‘I have been scanning the jobs on the internet for the last three months and this is what I understand to be the salary bands for positions at my level’ and submit it as a written document, it becomes more a commercial negotiation with a much higher chance of success and it invites a really serious and considered response,” Mr Davidson said.

Hays senior regional director for Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, Nick Deligiannis, said bosses sometimes have their hands tied.

“Sometimes it’s just not possible to offer a pay rise at a given time, despite how much your boss might like to give you one,” he said.

Mr Deligiannis advised against using threats, intimating you will work harder if you get the raise, or trying to justify more money with
personal reasons.

Chandler Macleod executive consultant Leslie Alderman, who specialises in career management, says an argument of entitlement will also fail.

“Some people believe that because they have been at a workplace the longest, or for a few years, they deserve a raise. It is not a valid reason for an increase,” she said.

“They do not do the research and find out what the market rates are for a person in a similar role in a similar industry so they can compare.”

The experts urge employers to stick to the “evidence”. For example, if you and your boss set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in a previous appraisal, you can clearly demonstrate your achievements against these markers and justify your request for a raise.

If no KPIs are set for you, compare your current responsibilities to those originally listed in your job description. Any extra responsibilities completed successfully are examples you can use to justify that you deserve a raise.