4 Steps to Achieving a Pay Rise

By Career Savvy

We all want to make sure our salary reflects the efforts we put in, but broaching the subject of a pay rise with your employer can be intimidating and dangerous territory. However, if you let the fear of approaching your boss prevent you from asking, you risk not reaching your earning potential, leaving you disheartened and frustrated. To ensure you handle this sensitive situation in the best possible manner, Career Savvy have come up with four steps for achieving a pay rise.

1. Know Your Worth
Before you put forward any argument it’s always best to do your research first, and this instance is no different. First, you need to establish whether you are receiving the average salary for your role by using services such as Reed.co.uk’s salary calculator. You can also compare roles advertised on job boards that require the same qualifications and experience as your position, and which are located in similar areas (city or rural, north or south). Also take into account the size of the company offering the salary; bigger businesses may be able to offer larger salaries for example. Once you have discovered whether your salary is fair you can begin to determine how much of a pay rise you believe you deserve.

2. Evidence Your Experience
In order to justify your request for a pay rise, you will need to present valid reasons to your employer. Therefore you need to assess your skills and figure out what your strengths are and how you’ve progressed so far. Furthermore, think of times where you have provided financial benefits for the company or acquired any new business. Other aspects that warrant a pay rise include any leadership roles or additional responsibilities, such as training new hires or being the first aid or fire safety representative. Once you have gathered all your evidence, be prepared to present it to your boss in your meeting.

3. Prepare to Negotiate
Being flexible is an attractive quality which is sought-after by many employers. It’s therefore important to think about your base point and the ultimate dream. If you are asked what sum you would like, start high and then you can negotiate a figure with your employer that sits nicely between your base and dream figure. If you’ve discovered evidence of higher salaries for the same job at rival companies, then it would be good to bring this to their attention as it could affect their staff retention. It may simply be that a raise isn’t possible right now, so negotiate with benefits such as your working hours, annual leave, or set targets for you to aim for.

4. Just Ask
You can make all the efforts in the world to try and impress your boss enough to encourage them to offer you a pay rise, but there’s still a good chance they’ll be too occupied with other matters to notice. Therefore, rather than waiting for a pay rise to come your way, simply ask. If you’re too scared to ask them directly, then consider asking when your salary will next be up for review. Or if you have an appraisal approaching, use this as an opportunity as your employer will be completely focused on you and your position.

So if you believe it’s time you received a pay rise, make sure you’re aware of your worth, your potential and the best ways of broaching this subject with your boss. By following these four steps you can present a credible argument in a mature way, which has far more chance of succeeding than simply making demands.