But you’ve been doing that for several years now. And in that time, the cost of your health insurance has gone up, along with college tuition, gasoline and a host of other things. Your pay, meanwhile, has been stagnant.
Asking for a raise is hard enough in normal economic times. But now, you can’t help wondering: does the mere act of asking for more money come with its own risks?
“If you are a good-performing employee who is contributing, I think it poses zero danger,” said Mike Zwell, a consultant and author of “Six-Figure Salary Negotiation” (Adams Media, 2008). “The worst that will happen is that they will say no, and give you some reason for it.”
There have been some encouraging signs on pay lately. Only about 9 percent of companies have put pay freezes in place over the last 18 months, a rate more in line with historical levels. That’s down from the nearly two-thirds of companies that had pay freezes in place in January 2010, according to research conducted by Buck Consultants.
“The reality is that most companies have responded very quickly and effectively to the changing economic conditions,” Mr. Zwell said. “So the feelings of scarcity are much greater than the actual scarcity for those who are employed.”
Still, compensation budgets remain tight, and the employees who are getting raises tend to be their company’s top-performing stars with unique skills — in other words, the employees who stand the highest risk of being poached by competitors.
But even if you are one of the lucky ones and your request is granted, the rewards aren’t likely to be nearly as generous as you may have hoped. Most recently, the typical merit increase has been 1.9 to 2 percent on average, whereas the highest-performing employees are getting closer to 4 percent, according to Stephen Mork, principal of global compensation and benefits at Buck Consultants.
By contrast, in 2007, the average merit increase was about 3.8 percent for a midlevel manager, which was largely in line with raises across all employee levels. “Four percent was the good old days,” Mr. Mork said, noting that in 2006 and earlier, raises of 4 to 5 percent were not uncommon.
How can you set yourself apart? Much depends on how you are perceived and your overall approach when you pop the question. So before you walk into your boss’s office, several career gurus suggested considering the following:
ARE YOU DESERVING? Well before you ask about a raise, you need to get a sense of how you are perceived. Most workers have said their employers don’t provide enough feedback, according to Buck Consultants. And as much as that says about supervisors’ lack of communication, it also shows that employees aren’t doing enough either. “If you are not getting those measures, then you are not managing your career properly,” Mr. Mork said, “and that ties into your pay and asking for merit increases.”
So if your employer doesn’t have formal performance reviews in place, set up a time to ask your supervisor about how you’re doing.
THE PREPARATION Once you’ve decided that you are deserving, take the time to build your case. Ideally, your higher-ups already have an idea of how you’re doing, which means you’ll need to engage in a modest amount of self-promotion over the course of the year. “You need to have an internal and external P.R. strategy,” said Jeffrey Pfeffer, professor of organizational behavior at Stanford’s business school and author of “Power: Why Some People Have It — and Others Don’t” (HarperBusiness, 2010). “You need to build a reputation. You need to have people know who you are.”
You should also keep a file of the “attaboy and attagirl” letters from associates or clients, which will help justify your request. And keep track of any additional responsibilities you’ve taken on, perhaps because others were laid off or your role has simply evolved or expanded.
Meanwhile, try to frame your contributions in measurable ways, said Marty Martin, an associate professor of human resources at DePaul University and a financial psychologist at Aequus Wealth Management in Chicago. That is easier to do in some positions than others — like sales, for instance — so you may need to get creative.
Putting it all down on paper will help you organize your thoughts. On one side, make a column listing all of your responsibilities. In another column (which should be considerably longer), list what you’ve accomplished in order of importance, said Kate Wendleton, president of the Five O’Clock Club, a career coaching organization.
Going through this exercise will help you develop a strong case for your supervisors, many of whom don’t even control the company purse strings. So make their job easy. “To give you a raise, your boss must ask his or her superior, which is probably just as nerve-racking for your boss as it was for you,” Ms. Wendleton said.
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