How to get a raise

Here is an article I am writing for several business journals. Please feel free to tell me what you think, how I can improve it, what ever you wish. Lorne

How to Get a Raise

If you have a job, at some point you are going to want more money. It is a universal desire to earn more money as your career moves forward. You have legitimate reasons for wanting more money such as; you are providing more experience to your employer; you want to have a better lifestyle for you and your family, you want to save more money for retirement, but whatever your reason, there are many ways to get a raise. Wanting to earn more money is a good thing. I will tell you why at the end of this article.

Here is a plan for getting yourself a raise. The plan makes several presumptions and may not work for your particular situation. If you use it and get stuck, don’t get frustrated just send me an email with your specific story and I will walk to you through it, ok? My email address is Lorne@YoureHiredBook.com.

Organizations have varied and numerous policies on giving you more money for the work you do. Today my suggestions are directed where these three things are in place:

1. A policy to give raises based on performance.

2. Budget to afford additional wages.

3. The value you add is the only thing stopping you from earning more.

There are organizations where one or more of these three are not in place. If you are working at one of them, then this strategy will be more challenging to implement. If your employer will not give you a raise regardless of your performance, I suggest you asses your reasons for working their and consider moving on to a new job.

The Employers Perspective

Your employer views your salary as an exchange of money for services rendered. Each pay period they settle up the debt by paying your salary. Most do not consider giving you a raise regardless of your improved performance, productivity, or value to the organization. You may think that raises are random events based on subjective rather than objective information. If this is true in your organization, run, run, run away! I suspect it is not the case. Your employer will pay you more if you are worth more to the organization. The equation is simple. Your salary is a direct result of your quantifiable (measurable) results. The more experience, training, and ability you have, the greater your results will be.

You have all the power to modify the result of this equation because employers are buying your level of ability to get something done. You can change your ability to get something done, thereby increasing your worth to your employer.

Let’s say for example that you have $200,000 to spend on buying a car and you have three options from which to choose. You are looking at each option with the goal of getting the most value for your dollars spent.

You can spend $1,000 on a used vehicle and know that you are getting a car that may run for a while, getting you from point A to point B with a strong possibility that it could break down. There is a risk the car won’t work in a few years or maybe even months. The heater or air conditioning might stop working. There could be a hole in the floor under the driver’s feet (my first car). And I am sure there will be some smell that you can’t quite place, emanating from the back seat. You can buy 200 of these cars.

You can spend $25,000 on a brand new Toyota Prius and have a sure sense that this car works perfectly, will save you money at the pump, has air conditioning that keeps you cool in the summer and a heater for warmth in the winter. This is a reliable vehicle. One that you can predict with certainty will get the job done. You can buy 8 cars at this price.

Finally, you can spend $190,000 on a brand new Mercedes Benz. It accomplishes the same objective as the Prius and used car, getting you from point A to point B. However there are many added features. It is very comfortable. It goes from 0-60 in 4.2 seconds. It will obey your spoken command. You don’t have to manually operate many of the electrical devices as they will do their tasks automatically, like windshield wipers and seat warmers. Noise from outside will be nil and the feel of the car will be perfect. You can buy 1 of these cars at this price.

As the car buyer (employer) you are happy to pay for any one of these three options (employee) as long as you are maximizing the value (amount of work) that you are paying for.

More value, either perceived or real, is worth more money to the buyer.

Employers feel the same way. That is why they pay one person more than another.

What Value Do You Provide Now?

Establish on paper that your current compensation is fair based on what other people with your skills and abilities are paid. There are many factors to consider such as education, years of experience, geographic location, management ability, skills, knowledge, productivity, and overall ability.

There might be good reasons for the differences between you and your coworkers of thousands of dollars so keep in mind all the factors. Not everyone gets paid the same for the same task. Many companies pay higher wages because they are more profitable or demand more hours from their employees. So when making this determination, get as much data as you can. Get this data from friends who work at your company, other companies, the internet, your college or trade school, or any one who is willing to tell you what the market pay.

Your job is to:

1. Understand what you are worth now. Keep in mind a small percentage plus or minus.

2. Find out what added value your employer is looking for and how much money they place on those values.

3. Come to an agreement to whereby you get more money when you reach milestones and provide the added value. Be sure there are metrics in place that you both understand and that are measurable.

4. Start providing the added value and keep track (written) of your accomplishments.

5. At an agreed to date, review your progress and what you have added to the organization. Repeat this step until you have reached the milestones you and your employer agree to.

Other Conventional Ways to Get a Raise

Change jobs to another organization. Often when one changes jobs in the professional arena, the new employer will feel compelled to offer you a standard raise of 5 to 10 percent (or more).

Change jobs within your current organization. Often your skills in one business unit or department will not be worth as much as in another. Seek to find positions that might value your skills more or have more money to spend on salaries.

Employers want to pay you more if they know you are worth it. Good employers will not pay employees of the same skill level and ability different salaries, because when the one who is earning less finds out, they will quit or reduce their productivity.

Unconventional Ways to Get a Raise

When you have an employer who is unreasonable and will under no circumstances give you a raise, you have a few options that are no so conventional.

You can threaten to quit. This is effective if you are hard to replace. You can be hard to replace if your salary is under market rate or if your skills, education or ability are rare. If you threaten to quit, be prepared to do so immediately. Never bluff as you will loose all credibility and will place yourself in jeopardy if your employer needs to fire someone in the future.

What to Do When Your’ Feelings Stop You

Everything I have outlined here is a concise and depersonalized perspective of getting more money. I have boiled who you are down to facts. The truth is that we are more than numbers and facts. We are filled with feelings and emotions as well. And your feelings and emotions may stop you from asking for more money.

You feelings may be telling you:

1. You are not worth the raise
2. You don’t want to rock the boat by asking for more money
3. The company needs the money for other things
4. They won’t give it to me, so why bother asking
5. I should not be greedy and ask for more
6. Fill in your own reasons here!

There are millions of things you can tell yourself to stop yourself. All I can say is don’t listen to any reason you give that stops you from asking for more money. Why? They can always say no or give you less than you ask for. Give your employer enough credit that they can handle the request you make and that they have an appropriate response to your game plan for earning more money.

Why Asking For More Money Is A Good Thing?

I told you at the start I would explain why asking for more money is a good thing. Well here is my conclusion. If you get a raise, it means your boss sees you value as greater now, than it was before. Your added value increases the value of the company and combined with all of the other employees will be a key factor in the organizations long term success. If you and your colleagues are worth more, then the company is worth more and will grow, have greater success, and have stronger stability in the long term.