--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [..HOME..][..TOP POSTS..][..NEW DROP LIST..][..LINKS..][..ADVERTISE..]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Negotiating for a Pay Rise, the Three Stages of Negotiation

'
We all want our bosses to pay us better. That is certain. However, if you do not communicate your intentions for better pay, your boss may not get the message.

You will have to take matters into your own hands and negotiate for the pay rise that you deserve.

But how do you do this? You will first have to understand some aspects in the negotiation process. Recall in a previous post, i gave an introduction to negotiation.

What is negotiation anyway? How is negotiation defined?

Well, negotiation is defined as a process between two or more parties in which they consider alternatives to arrive at a mutually agreeable solution(s) or reach mutually satisfactory objectives.

We need to treat negotiation as an agreeable process. Without it, you cannot do or achieve what you want.

View negotiation as a process. Without the other party, you cannot achieve what you want.

Treat negotiation as an opportunity to work together to achieve a mutual goal that would have been impossible for either one person to achieve alone.

Now, let us look at the three stages of negotiation. They are,

Preparation, Interaction and Agreement.

1st Stage - Preparation

In preparation, the situation is established such that both parties understand the entire situation.

2nd Stage - Interaction

In the interaction phase of negotiation, both parties establish rapport, verify assumptions and information about the situation and work towards establishing a mutually beneficially situation.

Rapport is important as it is important to establishing a positive relationship between both parties.

3rd Stage - Agreement

In this final stage, the parties come to an agreement.

Sound simple, it is. Let us see how this is applied to a negotiation for a pay rise.

Negotiating for a Pay Rise

In stage one, you will have to know your objective. Know how much to ask and how much to settle for before hand. Find out if you are able to throw in any sweeteners that you can throw in on your part such as offering to take up additional tasks or responsibilities.

Finally, do find out the hiring limitations that are imposed on your boss. For example, your boss may not be authorized to give pay increases, but may be authorized to dispense other benefits such as additional paid leave.

In the interaction phase of stage two, know beforehand what to say before you step in to the office. Perhaps you could schedule a meeting to discuss the review to ensure that your boss has the free time and will be mentally prepared to discuss the situation in an objective manner.

Have material ready to verify any assumptions that your boss might make. Have quantifiable evidence to justify your achievements over this period.

The final agreement phase, you will discover whether your boss is ready to meet your requests.

Strive to agree. If your boss denies your request, do find out what is the limiting factor and agree to review the situation in a few months time.

I do hope that the next time you negotiate for a pay rise, it will go well for you!!! Do bookmark this article if you found it useful.

If you are interested in this post, do consider checking out the related posts in the negotiation mini series.
- An Introduction to Negotiation
- Negotiation Tactics - Part 1
- Negotiation Tactics - Part 2

7 comments:

buju said...

Hi ,
I got ur comment on my blog (http://idle-hours.blogspot.com) that u have added my link in ur blogroll.But i didn't see it ur blog ???
Well my blog's URL is : http://idle-hours.blogspot.com and Display Name will be : Cool Funny Stuffs...
Hope u add me and I will add u too :)
Thnax in Advance

Anonymous said...

Ah, if only I had tried to do this...I kept telling myself I was going to negotiate and when the time rolled around, I chickened out. Great advice, though!

Anonymous said...

Good points you shared here. But, it is not really practical to ask for pay rise in today's trend.

Reason is:
- There are millions of new, young, fresh graduates looking for job each year.
- The competition among colleagues to perform best is huge.

The best way to ask for pay rise is by applying for a new job opportunity.

Once get the job, demand our boss to give better salary or else you might wanna shift to other company.

Then, at least we have a back up plan if our boss got mad when asking about pay rise.

Unknown said...

I think the faster way of having a pay increase is to change your job. I think it's still difficult to really 'negotiate' as it can get abit confrontational.

The point is if your boss has got a budget, he/she will not be able to increase your pay regardless of what you have to say.

Anonymous said...

Hi - I am really happy to find this. great job!

Anonymous said...

I'm new here @ communicatebetter.blogspot.com and wanna say hi to all the guys/gals of this board!

Anonymous said...

Awesome post it is without doubt. My friend has been looking for this information.