Articles

Do Research When Asking For a Raise

written by Michelle Reese for the TRIBUNE

You’ve worked hard on the project. You’ve met all the deadlines. You’ve exceeded your own expectations, and those of your employer.

You’re thinking, "I deserve a raise." So now what do you do?

The best times to ask for a raise are during a performance review, before agreeing to take on increased responsibilities or after you’ve exceeded goal and objective expectations, said Dave Lindbeck, a Valley career coach for the past six years and owner of InStep Coaching.

Career coaches agree employees must do their homework before approaching a boss.

Kathy Sweeney, certified professional resume writer, career coach and owner of East Valley-based The Write Resume, said employees should do salary research and prepare a proposal for their employers.

"Throughout the year, the employee needs to be documenting what accomplishments she has achieved, and, if applicable, what cost savings or revenue contributions the accomplishments produced. This is important since an employee that contributes to the bottom-line profitability of the company should be compensated accordingly. The accomplishments must be in the current year of their annual review," she said. Salary data can be found on the Internet at www.salaryexpert.com or www.salary.com. Employees should make sure to evaluate the information based on information similar to their own location, skills and career level. Employees must be able to show "the value you have brought to your boss, your department, your division or the company," said Pamela Roe Ehlers , vice president of American Career Executives in Phoenix. "A raise is based on merit and is earned through performance; it is not a cost of living increase. It is not a method to bring you to an equal salary with someone else, nor is it a reward for years of service," she said. The proposal needs to include justification for a raise. Roe Ehlers said employees might want to include data such as:

• Numbers or explanations showing how much more they’re producing each week vs. last month or last year.

• Information on projects completed on deadline or ahead of schedule.

• Financial statistics showing how much money the company has saved because of projects completed under budget.

• Sales goals met and exceeded.

"One manager used an example of having to reduce staff and then being able to meet the same production goals with fewer man hours, a savings of thousands of dollars each month with no reduction in production or quality. "A customer service representative documented that she had reduced the number of customers who demanded to ‘speak to a supervisor,’ over a six-month period. She was able to show that her improved ability to calm irate customers saved the company many hours of a supervisor’s time!" Roe Ehlers said. The data needs to show a specific, measurable result within a specific time period.

Make sure your accomplishments are in line with objectives for your company or supervisor.

"Motivational speaker Brian Tracy recommends scheduling just five minutes with your boss each week to present your priority list and check to see if what you are working on as priorities is the same for your boss. It won’t do much good for you to have a list of accomplishments that doesn’t match what is important to your boss," Roe Ehlers said.

Once this information is gathered, if you don’t have a review already scheduled, make an appointment with your boss to discuss a raise.

"The best time to ask for a raise is when YOU are ready. It’s important that you’re convinced that you deserve it, can make a case for it and are prepared for the conversation," Lindbeck said.

Convey enthusiasm for your job. Focus on the positive. Share your joy of being a loyal, long-term employee, he said.

"When your employer sees that you like working for them, they’ll be more inclined to respond favorably," he said.

Have a target salary or raise in mind and be ready to negotiate. If your proposal is completely shot down, don’t be afraid to ask why.

"This will set in motion clear objectives that when met will improve your chances for the next raise request," Lindbeck said.

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