-1

Ok, So I have been doing very well at my job and have proved my value to my employers a lot of times. The last year in particular has been very good for me. In the current scenario, my employers have seen a few people leave the job and I was called in today to negotiate my compensation. Out of the blue, I got the "how much do you expect?" question with an added "we want to keep you happy" quote. Not sure how to answer it I asked for more time to think which I feel was the way to go.

I am now thinking to ask for a 30-35% raise and I feel very justified to ask for it since I have proved to be worth it. (I have also been feeling that I was underpaid currently). What would be considered asking too much or being too greedy ? Or is it even possible to ever ask for too much. I understand I cannot open up with an unrealistic ($1m) amount, but if I am in 30-35% increase range is that considered too much ?

Any advice will be highly helpful

EDIT:

Circumstances and more details:

1) I was awarded the employee of the year 2) I have been here with my employer taking up the most critical projects 3) Recently the employers have seen people quit and hence are wanting to hold on to me as an asset.

Ron
  • 155
  • 5
  • 2
    I think it would be hard to answer this question without knowing your exact circumstances. There is no "golden hike number" that can be used across the world. It would depend on how well their business is doing, how easily you could be replaced, and a bunch of other peculiar factors. – Masked Man Dec 31 '14 at 04:42
  • 1
    possible duplicate of How should I properly approach my boss if I'm feeling underpaid? – gnat Dec 31 '14 at 08:12
  • 3
    I don't consider it a dupe, it's a different set of circumstances and I think there is enough detail there to give a sufficiently 'votable' answer. Let's invert our thinking people and find reasons why questions should stay, not why questions should go. – Venture2099 Dec 31 '14 at 08:38
  • I think this clearly isn't a dupe as suggested as your employer has already started the discussion. But it's still not a good question as we don't have a clue what you're paid, how valuable you are to the company (if you're a C level exec, $1m isn't unreasonable) or what someone with your skills could fetch in another role in your location. Any answer is just going to be "some", but you seem to be looking for a yes/no as to whether 30% is reasonable. – Philip Kendall Dec 31 '14 at 09:04
  • @PhilipKendall - all valid points. OP; can you add more detail please ref PK's points. – Venture2099 Dec 31 '14 at 10:05
  • After a period of personal and professional success I have been invited by my employer to suggest possible figures for a raise. The context is that my employers have seen a few people leave the job and I was called in to negotiate unexpectedly. The question "how much do you expect?" was qualified with "we want to keep you happy". I have asked for time to consider my response.

    In light of a favourable set of circumstances, which techniques can I employ in order to secure the most favourable outcome. <<< I cannot make the following edit the question. Is it too much?

     – Venture2099 Dec 31 '14 at 14:44
  • This question is basically a dupe of http://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/896/how-can-i-determine-a-reasonable-salary-to-ask-for – IDrinkandIKnowThings Jan 02 '15 at 14:35

1 Answers1

4

The first number to be raised in these circumstances becomes the anchor.

That is, all negotiation will be based on the anchor point and moving either above or below.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchoring

I am typing on a phone so this won't be lengthy and a number of other posters will give you the etiquette side of the conversation but I would stress 3 brief things.

The first is, know what you are worth. If you have a figure in your mind and the company are not willing to meet it; are you prepared to leave?

If not, you are in a considerably weakened negotiating position although your company does not sound combative on the issue so it's not a bad thing. Just something to be aware of.

The second is - whichever number you pick use the sentence

Is there something there we can work with?

Within negotiation it is very difficult to get away from that particular phrase because it removes the potential for a zero-sum outcome (it sounds win-win) and also because anyone saying "no" automatically sounds unreasonable and it takes an extremely tough negotiator to be willing to sound unreasonable.

Hi Boss, given the great year we have had and the projects I have worked on, which I am really appreciative of; I think that $xxxx sounds about right. Do you think there is something there we can work with?

They may sure and offer you non-cash benefits (stock, vehicle, other) which you might be willing to consider. They may say an increase of that level requires a promotion so here is your new desk. The point is you are giving them options to pay you the money in the best way possible. Whatever happens do not speak after you have framed that question. Let them speak.

If the number seems high and they offer a rebuttal then counter with

I understand it seems like a leap and I want you to know my high performance will always continue here at Company X. Could we explore a scenario where I accept half of the pay rise for the next 6 months and if I perform then I am eligible for the full increase?

The third thing is, if you are not particularly comfortable with negotiation and you enjoy/trust your company then let them set a range or ask for a split-rise. Especially if you work for a start up.

Say to your Boss

The truth is, I love working here and the money is not my motivator. It's a great team and the projects are awesome. I know you have a department budget and I want the company to be in the best shape possible; what do you think is fair?

The benefits of this approach may not manifest themselves as monetary reward but it could lead to greater respect, trust and company culture.

Venture2099
  • 884
  • 7
  • 15
  • 1
    It is true. It's absolutely true; however anchoring is not a magic solution that overcomes all reasonable expectation. If you are disagreeing with anchoring you are disagreeing with agile story estimation, wideband Delphi reasoning, all military interrogation techniques and the majority of the worlds negotiation literature. Source: Me - former military interrogator and now Agile Coach and Scrum Master. I don't need to prove anchoring; it is so well established you need to disprove it. – Venture2099 Dec 31 '14 at 14:25
  • The link I posted @JoeStrazzere has 29 cited references, which reference are you refuting regarding the anchoring bias within human beings? – Venture2099 Dec 31 '14 at 14:33
  • 1
    Anchoring is more than a "psychological" process every book written to help people come better at negotiation explains price anchoring, once an anchor is set, every price will be above or below that price, there are other elements to negotiations which is far more than a psychological concept, additionally any organization behavior book will explain this – Donald Jan 01 '15 at 06:00
  • @JoeStrazzere - anchoring does not overcome all rational thinking, but it will hugely distort any conversations within reasonable bounds. It is exactly why agile teams refuse to anchor work estimates. – Venture2099 Jan 01 '15 at 12:18
  • Not really; it is exactly the same principle with two parties on either side vying for the best possible outcome for themselves. – Venture2099 Jan 01 '15 at 15:22