If you go to work early in the morning and it is announced that your salary has been increased, you will definitely be happy. On the contrary, if you are told that your salary will be decreased, you will not feel happy. It is therefore the dream of every employee to have salary increment. No employee on the hand will be happy if his or her salary is decreased. Unfortunately, it is not within your power to determine when to get salary increment. It is left for the human resource of our firm or company to decide that. However, there are certain steps you have to follow in order to negotiate for salary increment.
Salaries are often determined by the value of each employee. Every employee has a value and this is normally determined by the employee’s skills, competence and most importantly his or her professional and academic qualifications. It is necessary that you know your market value before you can negotiate for your salary. In order to know your value, you need to make some research about your area of specialization or your field.
Find out what is necessary for you to be regarded as an expert in your field. This usually will include your academic and professional qualification. If you have a low academic profile and you have not taken any professional courses, then your market value will not be high. On the contrary, if you have high academic profile and you have taken some professional courses your market value will be higher. Higher market value implies higher salary while lower market value means lower salary. So, when you have knowledge and expertise in your market, you will be able to know your worth. This will help you to know how to negotiate your salary.
Every company has some laid down rules guiding salary increment. It is very necessary that you know what is obtainable in your company. It is your company’s pay raise procedures that will determine whether you are due for increment or not. This is why you have to know the pay raise procedures of your company so that you will negotiate for salary increment when you are due for that.
When you have known all these and you are sure that you are due for a raise, it is good that you discuss it with your boss or the human resource of your company. However, it is necessary that you approach him humbly. You should be mindful of what you are saying and how you are saying it. There are some words that you will use and it will show lack of respect to your boss and this will spell doom to your employment.
If you are negotiating for salary increment with your boss, it is also necessary for you to let him know what you have achieved in the company and also your qualifications. Do not play down on your achievements. Experience has shown that sometimes hard working employees may be overlooked during time for salary increment. This may not be out of malice. So, if you discuss your case with your boss, he will understand you. The truth of the matter is there’s no employer who will like to lose a hard working employee to another employer. So, if you tell him your achievements in the company, the likeliness of your getting salary will be higher.
When it is time for a raise, do you have the confidence it takes to talk to your boss about it? Do you have the skills and the professional development needed to qualify for a raise? There is a correct way and an incorrect way to talk to your boss about a raise. In order to help yourself in your discussion with your boss and also to avoid forgetting anything, it is advisable to write down your points or your achievement. List out what you have done and what an employee in your position is expected in order to get salary increment. Back your point up with the company’s policies on pay rise. This will make your case to look logical.
Many employers normally ask their employees to put their achievements, recognition awards, and any professional development courses completed in writing. So, by doing this you will not be delaying your increment. Once you are asked to write it down, you are already with it. You should remember to make your writing look official and professional. Use the letterhead of your company for your list because it will also make it look professional. Most of the time, it is normally filed so that it will be looked into. Some employees make the mistake of writing with any piece of paper they see.
When you are negotiating for the increment, you have to remember that you are still in the process of negotiation and therefore do not make a conclusive statement or threaten your boss. This is where most people spoil their case. Some employees sometimes threaten to quit the job if their request is not granted as they wish. By threatening your boss, you can arouse his or her anger. In most cases, they normally react by turning down the request.
The best way to do this is to leave it open for negotiation. This will enable the office in charge to look into your case. The process might favour you at the end.
Sometimes employees may be afraid to discuss such issues with their boss or employer. The best alternative for such people is to write a letter to the human resources department of their firm demanding for salary increment. If you are taking this option, you have to also include in the letter why you think you are good for salary increment. Always remember to mention your achievement in the company especially in helping the company to attend its goals and vision and mission statements. You should also include your professional and academic qualifications. These will help the human resource to determine your market value and know where to place you and what to add to your salary if they eventually decide to increase your salary.
You can also give a copy of the letter to your boss and your supervision. If you are taking this option you should know that it is not as effective as the former option because it does not give room for dialogue.
Salary increment is a very sensitive issue in an organization. This is usually the job of the Human Resources department, also known as HR. Employees are subject to evaluation by their superiors set by human resources. An employee is temporary employed for about six (6) months before they are permanently hired. Upon signing the contract, the employee can now get full benefits. This includes the salary increment set by the company. But every company differs with the benefits given to employees. Permanent status of an employee is also subject to ratings given by their superiors. Ratings depend on the performance of the employee. It can be as low as 1% or as high as 5%. The less percentage means lesser salary increase. Aside from the salary the benefits given are the same for all employees.
There are times that employee’s complaint about their salary increment. In order to avoid such complaint’s there must be an employee-employer dialogue. The employer is represented of course by the supervisor or line manager. Dialogues are important since this will open ways to improve one’s performance. This will also improve their relationship between them. Employees who have good relationship with their superiors are more productive. We expect a very good salary increment in an organization if their entire employees are efficient and more productive in their area of work. This means more sales and good profit for the company.
Salary increases can also be a great motivator for the employee. It will inspire him or her to push oneself to perform better and gives the employee a sense of fulfillment. Building a career in an organization is a step by step process until you reached the position you aspire for. You equipped yourself with extended education by attending seminars and workshops. This will be good in your personal profile and the possibility of promotion is inevitable.
In some cases the salary depends on the collective bargaining of employee union. A lot of companies have this structure where the employer will only negotiate to the union organization. If they have not reached an agreement, then employees will go on strike or worst case, the company will close. Also, some organization hires only temporary workers because the salary is only minimal and they can terminate them after six (6) months. But this depends on the government policies on labor. The company also avoids giving full benefits to temporary workers.
For full time employees they have a better and secured future because the company can give them the standard salary and benefits. Also, it means they passed all the requirements of a temporary employee. Since you become a permanent staff in your job means you have the pressure everyday to fulfill the task given to you. As workers in a certain company you must show that you can do the job or task assigned to you for this will their basis for your evaluation for the next pay increase. We also look at the government policies of wages.
There are many ways that you can build your career in an organization. Believe in yourself. Have a right attitude and confidence. Build good rapport towards your co-workers and to your boss. Volunteer in some other task that is not assigned to you. Management will surely know what you have done and eventually will promote you. This means when you are promoted, monetary increase will follow. Always put your best foot forward.
In my experience, the government usually orders companies to increase the pay of employees and the reason for the increase in due to rise in prices of basic goods or economic downturn. Of course this is a welcome move by the workers both in government and private organizations. Then the increase will also affect the basic salary of workers which then will be the basis for the minimum wage for companies. The level of salary increments of an organization depends on their salary bracket. An employee who has reached a certain salary cap cannot receive an increase. What the company usually does is to promote the worker or give him other benefits. This will also have an impact in income tax.
A small increase in salary may be a big tax cut in your salary. That is why sometimes salary increases is not a welcome move by some employees. This must be studied carefully by the employee as well as the human resources. Other companies give bonuses instead of salary increment. Bonuses are given to outstanding workers or if the company exceeds its target. Workers always appreciate bonuses.
In every department however, employees will differ in how one works. There is always a person in that department that deserves an increase. And at the same time there are also workers that are weak and slow. But the company will issue policies that in a certain department one employee can have a rating of excellent, one or two for above average and the rest just average. Department heads try to avoid a rating that is below average. The reason is that all the workers in a department contributed to the success in a certain project. But if there is a person below average then this is exceptional case. Then the ratings of each department will all go to the human resources to categorize and summarized all the results of the performance ratings. This is usually done once a year by companies.
Sometimes ratings are done twice a year if the company gives out bonuses to all employees. Other companies encourage the line managers or supervisors to discuss the ratings of their subordinates. This will remove all doubts on the ratings done and will pave a way for the supervisor to advice the employee or give pointers on how to improve their performance. Workers should look at this as a positive move for the part of their superiors and not something that will build a wall between them. The company always looks forward to have a fruitful year after year and always depends on the employee’s achievements. Let there be peace and harmony in every workplace for this is the goal of every company.