Show me the money

Late nights, weekend work, big results… but you’re still on the same salary you were two years ago! When it’s time to talk pay there’s a number of things employees need to do to present the best possible case. By Bridget Gourlay
 

Be prepared

Firstly, go in prepared. Felicity Ryan, founder and CEO of Ryan Recruitment says to bring in evidence of the hard work you’ve done. For roles where you actively bring money into the company, such as sales, show how much money you generate. But if your role isn’t money-generating, don’t despair.

“Discuss the money you have saved the company or the quality of your work, the way you’ve trained new employees, or if you’ve won awards for the business,” Ryan advises.

And leave the personal life at home. If your wife is expecting another child, or you’re saving to buy a house, leave that out of the pay discussions.

“Focus purely on work related matters.

What is going on in your life is your life.

Your personal choices or decisions have no bearing on your job.”

Be honest

Employees sometimes get offered new jobs, either because they’ve actively looked for them or because they’ve been headhunted. Ryan says honesty is the best policy in this case.  

“It doesn’t pay to leverage one company off another. In reality it happens – sometimes unintentionally, sometimes it’s strategic. It’s bad form and you are not enhancing your future relationship with your current employer.”

Again be honest when negotiating the pay rise. If you earn $60,000 and expect a pay rise of five percent, don’t ask for more and then negotiate down to five percent. Forget the mind games and be honest about how much you think you are worth.  

Because discussing pay with your colleagues is bad form, Ryan suggests looking at other similar jobs advertised, or talking to an HR company that does remuneration reviews, so you can find out what the market rate is.

Be calm

If you don’t get a pay rise, there’s no doubt you will feel really disappointed. It might be tempting to lose your cool and threaten to quit, but Ryan says to keep emotion out of it.

Instead she suggests you calmly tell your employer you disagree and will investigate other options. “Think of the big picture of benefits; what are the benefits of your current job? If you’re with an airline company say, that has travel benefits – is an extra three grand a year really worth leaving that?

“Top employees should not have to ask for an increase, A top employer should go to you and make sure you are happy and well looked after. I realise how idealistic that sounds! But good employers should be initiating the conversation.”