No matter how “tough” your boss says it is at your company regarding finances (translation: “no raises this year), your boss can and will find money for raises for those who truly deserve it.
Read below for five tips on how to ask for and receive a raise.
- Understand that you truly must deserve this raise. Your performance must have been stellar for the past year. You must have gone beyond your job description and provided real value for your employer. This is easier to quantify for some types of workers than for others. After all, if a sales person has a boffo year, it will show up in his or her sales figures. A pallet jack driver may have a harder time quantifying the additional value he or she has provided an employer, but it definitely can be done.
- So look at how your work saved or made money for the company. Taking the pallet jack driver example from above, take note of how much faster you are moving product off and on shelves, how many accidents you are not having, and so on. Going faster (so long as your accuracy doesn’t decline) saves a company time, which saves it money. Not having accidents also saves a company money. Aim to put these accomplishments in a chart, comparing last year to this. In other words, quantify your efforts in black and white and show how they add to the company’s bottom line.
- You don’t have to wait for your annual review. If you find that you’re underpaid (and, again, you’re going need documentation for this), you can approach your supervisor at any time of the year.
- If you do decide to wait for your annual review, send quarterly or even monthly reports about how your efforts are adding to the company’s bottom line. We recommend that you send these reports to your supervisor no less frequently than quarterly. This way, when you have your annual review, you can bring these to your boss and can discuss them.
- Before your ask-for-a-raise meeting (and these always should be conducted in person, by the way), have a raise amount (or percentage in mind). Know the going rate in your area and business sector for what you do. Know if you’ve been underpaid for a while. If not, you’re going to have to rely on your exceptional performance to help your case for a raise.
Moving to another company also can be a great way to get a raise. If you’re thinking you’d like to look at new opportunities in your field in the Anchorage, Seattle, Tacoma, Chicago, Lake Oswego, or Portland areas, send your resume to the recruiters at the Opti Staffing Group. We look forward to hearing from you.