The key and first thing: asking for a raise with reason is necessary and important. It’s interesting that in all my years of work, 9 out of 10 candidates admit during an interview that they are not ready to talk with their manager on this topic and are going to leave their current job for a higher salary without trying to discuss the possibility of career advancement within the current company.
“If the manager doesn’t understand that I deserve a raise in salary and/or position, then I’ll go where I’ll be rated higher,” is how most employees usually reason.
The manager thinks completely differently: “If my employee were dissatisfied with the conditions, he would have come to me long ago and asked the appropriate questions. But since he is silent, it means he likes everything.”
At the same time, it is rare for a boss to initiate such a conversation and openly ask whether the subordinate is satisfied with everything. Most often, he doesn’t really want to deal with this issue, since the increase will need to be argued before his superiors, and in addition, discussed with the personnel department, which, in turn, will remind you about the staffing table and the lack of a budget for the coming year.
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And it’s good if the company has a centralized, regular process for discussing career plans and salary growth. However, if there is no such procedure, then you need to regularly raise a conversation with your manager once or twice a year about your career desires, indicators and projects necessary for promotion.
Otherwise, we have a situation: a subordinate who expects his boss to read his thoughts, and a manager who is confident that his employees feel great. And since the issue of your career primarily concerns you, you will have to deal with it.
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Case No. 1
The head of a large retail company left the press service. One of the department's leading specialists decided that this situation was an excellent opportunity to ask for a promotion. First, he talked to his ex-boss: he asked for feedback and an objective assessment of his potential leadership abilities.
After this conversation, the boss, who was about to leave, promised that he would recommend the candidate to his boss, and helped organize a meeting between the subordinate and the marketing director.
The leading specialist prepared a presentation - a short report on his key achievements and roles in projects, as well as several ideas that he is ready to develop in his new position. After this, the specialist was asked to undergo competency testing, which helped determine the employee’s strengths and weaknesses.
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As a result, the marketing director decided not to hire an outside professional, but to appoint an acting specialist. head of the press service for a period of six months with the previous salary retained. If the specialist performs well, then in six months he will officially move to the position of head of the press service.
Case No. 2
The HR director of a large Western manufacturing company worked for the company for four years and received two interesting job offers in Russian businesses. Also, according to the scenario, I scheduled a meeting with the manager, where the main argument for raising salaries was specific alternative proposals coming from other market players.
In addition, he reminded the CEO of the main major projects implemented thanks to him.
The CEO took a week's break to think and eventually returned with a promise to increase the salary in three months if a complex and not very realistic business project was implemented to move part of the team to another region.
The project was eventually frozen through no fault of the HR director, but this situation became a reason not to increase the salary. The candidate moved to another company for a higher salary, and his deputy was promoted to a director position.
Increase in wages at the initiative of the employee. Action plan.
First of all, if an employee wants to increase his income, then he must take the initiative and evaluate his achievements in his work life.
Next you need to proceed as follows:
- draw up a memo;
- send it to an authorized person who resolves such issues;
- transfer the document through the office or human resources department, with a receipt stamp on the second copy (personal delivery to the manager is allowed);
- The reply is in process;
- receiving the results of reviewing the note.
You should not expect an immediate response; the company’s management has 30 days to consider the request. You should be prepared that you may receive a refusal. In this case, it is necessary to analyze the reasons for this decision.
According to the provisions of the current legislation, the manager’s refusal can even be appealed to the labor commission. But you can count on a positive decision only if the procedure for increasing wages, enshrined in the company’s local documents, is violated.
What laws should I refer to? Justification of requirements
It is imperative to review industry agreements. Such documents often spell out the nuances of payroll and indexation. For example, the Federal Industry Agreements on construction and the building materials industry provide for indexation of at least 1.2 times the subsistence level. The document also regulates other allowances and additional payments, depending on the rank and length of service.
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You should definitely study the collective agreement, regulations on bonuses and other local acts providing for salary increases. If one of the points is suitable for a particular situation, then it should be referred to.
How to write a memo? Sample
If local documents do not provide a sample document, then it can be compiled as follows:
Head of the enterprise, full name
(from) Full name, position, structural unit, branch
Please consider the possibility of increasing your salary from...date.... From...date... a new production line was launched, and as a result, an additional 5 people were hired, production volumes increased by 50%. These circumstances entailed an increase in work and increased responsibility, and the number of people under his command doubled. Based on the above, I ask you to increase my salary by 10% or express your wishes in monetary terms.
Current salary... rubles.
Allowances by order or by agreement (if any).
Position, full name and the author's signature. Date of preparation.
It is recommended to submit the document through the office so that the secretary can mark receipt if the company does not have electronic document management.
Basic writing mistakes
The most common mistake is sending a document to the wrong manager. It is possible that the immediate superior does not resolve these issues. If the hierarchical structure of the company does not allow an employee to contact the CEO, then it is better to write a statement to the immediate manager with a request to contact higher management. Such a memo also recommends justifying the need to increase wages.
The second common mistake is weak argumentation. Any ups and downs of life and financial problems of a particular employee are not a reason for increasing wages. If you need to repay a loan, but there is no money, you should not contact management to increase your salary, it is better to look for another way out.
The third mistake is trying to arouse sympathy from the manager by complaining about your problems. An experienced boss will never give in; perhaps he will only provide temporary help. After all, having increased the salary only out of pity for one employee, the rest will come the next day.
Therefore, before drawing up an application, you need to soberly assess your chances and analyze your achievements in your work life. Don't be greedy and refer to other employees who have higher salaries. It is better to ask for a small increase, but more often, than to immediately request a 2-fold increase.
There is no need to refer to the fact that you have to sit until the night at your workplace. Most likely, the boss will evaluate this differently; he will consider that during the day the employee plays computer games or communicates for a long time with colleagues, and does his work after the office is empty.
What should you include in the note to increase your chances of getting a salary increase?
In order for the manager to satisfy the request, it is recommended to supplement the substantiating part of the document with real achievements in work activity. For any manager, the main thing is not adjectives like “executive” or “I’ve been working in the company for a long time,” but numbers and facts.
It can be formulated as follows:
- I carry out an individual sales plan on an ongoing basis, which leads to a stable increase in the company’s profit by ...% or express the figure in rubles;
- Thanks to the creation and implementation of order-taking software by me, the company saved on call center staff in the amount of ... rubles;
- Thanks to the program I developed to attract new clients, the department managed to increase the company’s profit in the last quarter by ...%.
The main emphasis should be on increasing profits.
Case No. 3
The head of the marketing department grew up within the company from the position of assistant and was paid significantly below the market. In response to hints about a salary increase, the employee received vague comments that “he was already given a chance to become a director” instead of hiring an accomplished professional from the outside.
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The manager was not convinced by such arguments, and he decided to act more persistently. The key factor was the digitized presentation of the department’s achievements over the past few years, analysis of the company’s efficiency and results, thanks to implemented projects. As a result, the candidate managed to agree on both a salary increase and an improvement in the bonus scheme.
Wage increases from a legal point of view
In the Labor Code, Article 129 clearly defines general concepts in the field of remuneration, that is, what is salary, tariff rate, and other allowances that make up wages. The provisions of the article also provide for the opportunity for the employer to increase wages through incentive bonuses, bonuses and compensation.
Article 134 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides for the employer’s obligation to annually index the wages of each employee, due to rising prices for consumer goods. An increase in pay may be provided for by a collective agreement, local acts of the company, or regional agreements. An increase in pay may concern both an individual employee and the entire team or a separate structural unit.
Based on the above, the employer has the right not only to increase the tariff rate or base salary, but also, based on the internal documents of the enterprise, to award bonuses to employees, pay bonuses, and make additional payments.
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Reasons for increasing wages
Employees have many reasons to contact their employer regarding a salary increase, but each of them will have to be justified and proven that the wage level is indeed subject to an increase.
The most common reasons:
- serious increases in prices for basic necessities and food;
- actually combining two positions or performing additional tasks;
- expanding the range of responsibilities on one’s own initiative;
- long period of work in the company;
- if salaries have not been revised for several years, and they no longer correspond to those in other organizations;
- acquiring additional skills on your own initiative.
The memo contains a list of goods that have increased in price based on analysis of past periods
Article 135 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides for the employer’s obligation to index wages every year, but everyone knows that such an increase does not cover price increases. Therefore, you will have to justify your appeal in the memo. In addition to the official data from RosStat, it is better to provide a specific list of goods for which prices have increased, with an analysis of past periods. But these should not be luxury items, but vital products.
If your immediate manager constantly asks you to do additional work, then you shouldn’t expect him to decide to increase your salary. It is better to write a memo that clearly states the duties performed in addition to the main functions specified in the employment contract.
You can increase your salary by asking management to increase your workload. The ability to perform additional functions can be confirmed by completed courses and trainings.
A long period of work at an enterprise is not the best argument. As a rule, “old-timers” are paid extra anyway, without initiative on the part of the employee. If the company's management does not do this, then perhaps the employee is not considered as a valuable personnel.
In cases where the company has not revised salaries for a long time, this is a reason to write a memo asking for an increase. Moreover, this must be done if the approach to different employees is not the same; in a similar position, but in a different department, the salary is higher.
Personal characteristics and additional education that help increase the company’s profits are a reason to contact management for a personal bonus.
For example, a construction engineer completed courses and mastered working in AutoCAD. Now the company does not need to contact a third-party company to obtain services for small design and calculation of the volume of construction work. A sales manager can use personal connections in his work, bringing greater profit to the company.
