I’m happy where I work, but know I’m not getting paid what I’m worth. I checked an industry salary standards book and I’m earning significantly less than others are in my same position and geographic market. How can I get paid more without having to quit?
Answer:
This one can be tough. First, you’ll need to do some research on your own company. Find out how they’ve been doing financially over the past five years. This may be an eye-opener for some.
If your company is publicly held, you should be able to get a copy of the annual report, one that they give to stockholders. You can also do some digging via the Internet (www.hoovers.com) and the public library. What’s been their performance financially? Have they had a downturn, major slump, lost major accounts, etc.?
If your company is privately held, you may be able to find out some of the above information, but research may be more difficult. You can also use your own department’s history to assess the situation. What’s been happening in your department or in your surrounding departments? Has production slowed? Has there been significant downsizing? Has there been a problem paying invoices in a timely manner? Another method is to get annual reports of your company’s competitors. Has the market really been in a slump?
If none of these issues are true, the reason you’re not earning what you should be is probably not the company’s lack of resources. Therefore, you’ll have to examine your own performance. Sometimes you’ve got to blow your own horn to get the decision-maker to hear you.
This is hard for many, not just because they think their bosses already know how great they are, but because they’ve been told to be modest. Never brag.
Well, there are ways to tell people about your achievements without sounding like a braggart.
First, start wracking your brains for projects you’ve worked on, ideas you’ve brought to fruition, problems you’ve solved. List them.
I don’t mean just list them singularly, like: Developed a program. I mean: Developed a program that batched client files and enabled the user to retrieve singular data, which helped target specific clients in order to promote customized product lines. This resulted in a 20% increase in sales of key product lines.
You have now listed your project, told why it was done and gave the results. Do this for as many things as you can think of and start making a “me file” for yourself on current projects or achievements. That means listing them in the above manner, saving client commendation letters or boss recognition e-mails, etc. Also, if you work a lot of overtime, start documenting it on your calendar.
By quantifying and qualifying your achievements, you’ll have ammunition for that next performance evaluation. You can demonstrate what you mean to the company in numbers and performance specifics. You may be able to negotiate a bonus based on these achievement-related results.
You may want to obtain additional salary information of people in your field and in your geographic region who work for similar size companies as your current employer’s. This research can be effectively done on the Internet. Some salary websites are: www.salary.com, www.salaryexpert.com, and www.chiefmonster.com (they have a section on salary information). This will enable you to provide comparative information during your review session as well.
You’re ready for the review. You now have your lists and documentation, because you’ve been tracking everything all year long. What’s next? How do you present the material?
According to business guru Harvey Mackay in Beware the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt, Lessons 5 and 6: Let your boss talk first and go over his/her agenda. Then ask if you can present your case in your own words.
Here’s an example: “I have additional information, which you may find useful when making decisions concerning my future.”
Once you’ve made your case, ask for a specific number. You did your homework on others in your field, ask for it. Use standard overtime figures, if that’s another issue for your case.
Don’t take maybe for an answer. If your boss is putting you off, get a specific date and time as to when you can expect an answer – and follow up on it.
In Review:
- Do your homework on your company.
- Find out about your company’s competition.
- Keep track of your achievements and overtime hours.
- When documenting, be specific. List results.
- The performance review is set, let your boss talk first.
- Present your case diplomatically.
- Don’t take maybe for an answer.
- When given a time/date for the raise or “consideration” to kick in, follow up.