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December 03, 2009

Successful Negotiation for Salary Raise

Linda D Tillman suggests in her philosophy of successful negotiation that “In

negotiating assertively, each person should feel that she/he wins. Each person should

get some of what he/she wants” (Tillman, 2007). It’s a quiet convincing statement which

refers to human nature where most of the times s/he inquires ‘what’s in it for me?’ and is

willing to get into details of the situation.

The case presented here is about asking my manager for increasing my salary.

It’s been almost two years that I have been part of the same organization on the same

pay scale; however my job role has changed multiple times, mostly increasing the job

responsibilities. Such duration was viable enough to prove my value as being part of the

organization and fight the case.

In the current scenario, I had an upper hand as recently my coworker resigned,

leaving his share of job responsibilities upon my shoulder. Earlier I was managing just a

single product line but now another one has been added, making my job role tougher

claiming double the time and efforts. I was the only resource my boss had left in retail

function, having the set of expertise and experience as I had. If at this point in time I

leave, my boss would be left with loads to handle all by himself. Hiring another resource
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was always an option but as per the regressive interviewing process, it would have

taken minimum of three months for hiring adding another three months for trainings and

blending in of the new resource.

The key here was to present my significance to the organization, specifically to

my manager making him believe that I deserve more then what I am getting right now

based on my capability of committing to extra amount of work., whereas saving their

cost which will be incurred over hiring of the new resource. This did require careful

measures, such that I don’t look too assertive, giving an impression of over-ambition,

nor too timid showing desperation.

I listed down the Do’s and Don’ts for my negotiation process before claiming

additional salary. After that I outlined the options for what I m willing to accept and ready

to offer.

I was demanding 40% increase over my current gross salary, which was

acceptable at 25% increase. Alternatives included bonus equivalent to two months of

my gross salary, organization paying for my college tuition fees, and one week paid

vacations to one of the countries. In return, I was willing to take almost half of the

responsibilities of my coworker who resigned or take up additional assignment, distinct

to my current job responsibilities.

If all above had not worked out, I was willing to take the counter offer I had in

hand, which may have been close to my demand if not exceeding it. However this

implied starting from scratch in understanding the way of work, getting in the flow and

most importantly proving myself once again to my new employer. For my current
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employer, doing so meant investing their valuable time and resources in hiring and

training two resources.

Another option was to deny taking additional responsibilities which eventually

could have turned out to be the reason for losing my job. My employer could have either

let go of me right at the spot or could have removed me till they get a replacement to

keep the job running.

It was definitely not a piece of cake getting the management team to agree for

paying me additional amount. I gathered the Do(s) and Don’t(s) needed to be taken

care of before presenting my case.

Negotiation Process - Do(s)

In order to make the negotiation process successful, it was essential to go

beyond my current working methods and exhibit my talent. Below are the steps I

followed to achieve the outcome:

Identify the objective

Just like a solution cannot be achieved till the problem is identified, results

cannot be attained till objectives are defined. To keep my manager’s attention focused,

first and the foremost thing I did was to figure out my objective and the desired

outcome.

Do Your Homework

This is one of the most important steps after setting out the objectives. The table

can be turned around if your manager believes that your performance is not meeting the
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required expectations. By coming in limelight, there were high chances of demotion or

loss of job all together rather than getting a raise. It necessary to avoid the

misconception you may have that your manager does not know how you are performing

if you have tried to cover your pitfall. I did a self-appraisal for myself to check where I

currently stand. I evaluated the functions where I can utilize my potential. I reviewed my

factual contribution towards overall sales increase and level of satisfied customers.

I carried out my own SWOT analysis to be prepared for any question I may

encounter. Knowing your strengths can always help you justify your case, but for

weaknesses proper responses need to be prepared.

After my SWOT analysis, I enquired about the company’s overall status, whether

they are in a stable condition or removing another resource will fit in to the overall cost-

cutting strategy. Third thing I did was to analyze how my manager’s relation with his

superior is. If his request has been bypassed, I have to go the other way round to bring

attention to my case. Lastly I initiated a job market survey to know how others are

getting paid for similar work as mine and if I move out of this organization, how well can

I get paid.

Know What you Want and What you are Willing to Offer

After analyzing self and market potential, I outlined options for acceptable results,

timeline and my action in contrast to desired results. Knowing what I wanted to achieve

retained my focal point before I could start bargaining for my argument. Along with my

demands, I also planned alternatives which I was willing to offer to make it a win-win

situation.
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Be Prepared

In my situation, being a junior resource, who has not even completed two years

with the organization, I knew my request for salary increase could have been easily over

ruled. So I prepared myself for the worst case scenario. This included willingness for

taking up extra assignments with a set deadline for accomplishment or moving to

another organization.

Sell Yourself

Finally, it was time to present my case, I called upon a formal meeting to present

my analysis to my manager as well as the managing committee and accordingly

demand a raise. I prepared a Powerpoint presentation with my set agenda focusing on

my objective for the presentation, strengths, weaknesses, desired outcome and offered

services.

Negotiation Process - Don’t(s)

It’s not always about following the right direction for your negotiation process; it’s also

about avoiding the wrong ones. Below are few of the major areas which were looked

into when I carried out the negotiation for my salary increase:

Speaking at the Wrong Time

A way to spoil a workable deal is to make demands at the wrong time. I had to

know that my manager is not going through a stressful time, making my request the last

thing he would want to hear, or that he isn’t too happy with my last task. This could have

caused me the chance I never had. I realized that the time to ask for a raise was when
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he is extremely happy with my performance. The time when he praised me over ‘job

well done’ was the perfect time to hit the ball. I waited for a situation which I could

encash. Then I called upon a one-on-one meeting rather than announcing it in public,

grabbing the opportunity at the right time.

Making it Personal

While demonstrating your value to the organization, it’s best not to build a guilt

trip on your manager. Even if you do not get a hearing soon, it’s best not to mix your

professional attitude with your personal belief otherwise there are high chances of

losing your potential chance of getting it later down the road. The last thing I wanted to

do was to get on the bad books of your manager. Statements like “so I m not valuable to

you” can go in the negative direction.

Speaking in Generalities

Never leave the ‘desired results’ portion empty when you are carrying out self-

analysis for the need of the increment. I had to be specific to what I wanted in terms of

percentage increase to my gross salary, alternatively the bonus I was looking for or the

tuition fees I wanted my employer to pay on my behalf.

Ignoring Your Market Value

You will not be in a better bargaining position till you figure out what other

companies are willing to offer. It’s a possibility that you may be getting more then market

value. Over here, pause and think of alternatives you can ask for except a salary
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increase. Perhaps you are not illegible for purchasing a company car at book value but

your performance can help you win it.

Skills Utilized

Above criteria consisting of Do(s) and Don’t(s) would not have worked out in my

favor, had I ignored the fact that “it’s not what you do, it’s how you do it”. Initially, I called

upon a meeting with my manager. I discussed the situation in person and asked him for

a time for presenting my case to the respective decision makers. I got a date confirmed,

sent out meeting invitations and started gathering data to build up my case. I formulated

a presentation for the invitees, kept an interactive session where I can be questioned

and provide examples for what I was presenting. I exemplified all my strength with real

case scenarios that had occurred and left the weaknesses part for them to discuss.

Since I kept it on a professional note, I got a leverage of taking authority of the

situation and lead the next forty-five minutes discussing my achievements and

professional commitment. This captured my manager’s undivided attention, leading to

success towards my desired goals.

Conclusion

I would consider myself partially successful, as I got a 22% raise to my basic

income effective in 45 days after I presented my case. This was an acceptable outcome,

since it was better then what I was getting earlier though a little less then what I asked

for.
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It was crucial to evaluate the success rate of the negotiation strategy I used.

Measuring it is as equally important as offering a win-win situation. One way to measure

my success in the negotiation initiative was by tracking the contrast of not being in

agreement with my manager to my desired outcome.

Another important analysis needed was to evaluate the outcome as compared to

the objective standard. This implied to measuring the percent of outcome achieved to

what was asked initially. By comparing the result of my strategies used to earlier

statistics, gave a feasible way to measuring the success.

“Negotiation is an important tool, that all of us use at different times, at different

phase of our life, to achieve different goals. It is a skill set that requires a far more

sophisticated approach”. (Illenden, Sep 2009). I have my scenario justifying the above

statement.
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Citation

Maddux, Robert. Successful Negotiation: Effective "Win-Win" Strategies and

Tactics. Thomson Crisp Learning, 1995. Print.

Churchman, David. Negotiation Tactics. US: University Press of America, 1993.

Print.

Tillman, Linda. “Seven Steps to Successful Negotiation.” Self Growth – Self

Improvement Articles. 28 Jul. 2007 SelfGrowth.com. 3 Dec. 2009

<http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/tillman4.html>

Illenden, Clive "Negotiation Tactics - 5 Simple Rules." Negotiation Tactics - 5

Simple Rules. 29 Sep. 2009 EzineArticles.com. 3 Dec. 2009 <http://ezinearticles.com/?

Negotiation-Tactics---5-Simple-Rules&id=3003581>.