Think carefully before presenting your case for a pay raise

With no hint of a salary increase after 18 months, should an employee approach the boss and ask for a pay increase?

I have been in the same company for 18 months and have not received a pay rise or even a hint that a pay rise will happen in 2015. Since joining I feel I have contributed a great deal to the team and the company as a whole and I think my dedication deserves a hike in pay. I understand from talking to colleagues that I am not alone in this. Do you think I should speak up or let my efforts speak for themselves? MAH, Dubai

Many of us spend a great deal of time worrying about this sort of situation, especially in recent times when business in many parts of most economies has been sluggish. We often feel that asking for a raise or promotion should not be something we have to do; our work speaks for itself and the reward and recognition that goes with doing our job well should come to us, rather than be something we have to pursue. That seems to be your position. But career-minded managers must realise that you have as much responsibility for managing your career as your employer does.

If you do go looking for that deserved pay hike, you must have a thoughtful, justified business case which is clear and airtight and must be based on something more than your own sense of ambition and self-worth, especially if you are one of several who currently feel under-rewarded. You must also anticipate the likely position and response of management. Sometimes, however much you deserve a raise, the funds are simply not available, and you not seeming to be aware of that just makes you look out of touch, or worse, simply self-serving. Even if the funds are there for you, management must also consider the impact of whatever they give you on others in the organisation. No company is keen to start a chain-reaction pay rise, and the individual who causes the first domino to fall is rarely popular.

So, plan both what you want, and how you will ask for it. Often the best way to approach negotiations around pay is to ask questions about the organisation’s view on you, your future and your potential within the organisation. Perhaps you will find that what you want is just around the corner. Equally, if the organisation has a very different view of your future than you, you may realise that asking for a raise is a futile exercise. Save yourself the pain of hearing that inevitable refusal. Perhaps you need to move on and find an organisation whose sense of your ability is more aligned to your own.

It’s really important that you understand exactly how these things work in your company. For example, in many organisations there are formal salary bands; movement within a band or to a higher band is subject to specific criteria that are assessed by a team of people. In this type of organisation there is a clear process to follow and little to be gained by trying to buck the system. In smaller or more informal organisations, it’s more appropriate to ask for what you believe you deserve because there is no structured system in place. Here you will need to influence and negotiate your way to a better package.

There are also some more indirect ways of getting to where you want to be. There is a difference between asking your organisation for more money and asking for more responsibility. A new title or new responsibilities at the same salary is often a more palatable proposition for management to consider. But you need to agree in advance that your salary will be reviewed after six months in the post, once you have proved yourself in a new role. Don’t do this and you end up doing even more for the same salary.

Properly done, asking for a raise or a promotion should not be traumatic. Ideally you should be in very little doubt about the outcome before you enter the meeting. The worst case scenario should be that you leave the meeting with a very clear sense of where and how you need to improve to get the promotion or raise you want. Try to get a timescale around this and an agreement that achieving the targets set will lead to a salary increase and/or a change of position.

If you don’t get what you want immediately, don’t act in haste and do something you’ll quickly regret. Being a bad loser will win you no respect among the decision-makers and might well undermine your chances of future success. Above all, don’t go into any meeting about salary threatening to leave, unless you really mean it. Hold a gun to your employers’ heads and at best, even if your conditions are accepted there is often a lingering sense of resentment.

Doctor's prescription: At worst, walking the talk could mean walking the plank.

Roger Delves is the director of the Ashridge Masters in Management at Ashridge Business School and co-author of The Top 50 Management Dilemmas: Fast solutions to Everyday Challenges. Email him at [e-mail] for advice on any work issues, whether as an employee, a manager or a colleague

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