How to negotiate a pay rise

Jan 16 2008 By The Journal

How to negotiate a pay rise

Melissa Coutts, Manpower's regional manager for the North-East, answers questions on how to engineer yourself a pay rise.

Is it important for employees not to burn their bridges with employers when demanding a pay rise?
Yes, you must be careful when approaching your employer about a pay rise as you don’t want to sound demanding. If you remain polite and focus on the business benefits of giving you a pay rise you won’t burn your bridges. Try not to come across as aggressive and certainly don’t threaten to leave, as you will burn your bridges with your employer.

Do employees run the risk of ruining their relationship with their employers if they ask for a pay rise but are rejected?
Absolutely not, sometimes it will actually reflect well on you if you have shown that you understand your worth and your ability to do the job. Sometimes, however much an employer values you, it might not always be possible for them to offer you a pay rise, but if you persevere that might change in the future.

Should employees also consider other non-financial benefits they could request - gym membership etc - before asking for more money?
It depends what’s important to the individual, sometimes a firm would prefer to offer non-financial benefits like gym membership or subsidized travel which actually would save employees money and might therefore be more beneficial than a pay rise.

What are the major 'don'ts' when asking for a rise?
Don't: Threaten to leave if they don’t give you a rise.
Be too demanding, always remain positive and calm.
Never compare your salary to another employee’s salary, you need to have a valuable reasons behind your pay rise request.
Don’t go unprepared, make sure you can prove your worth and know what the industry average salary. If you know that you’ll be in a better position to negotiate.