Mistakes In Business Communication:How You Shouldn’t Ask For A Raise

Money is largely the driving force behind our reason to work. We work to earn a living and to enjoy ourselves. In a perfect world, we would all be paid exactly what we deserve, and we would receive pay increases without even having to ask. Sadly this is not the case! There will undoubtedly come a time in your working life when you have to ask for a pay rise.

Maybe you have taken on an increased workload but have not been compensated in monetary terms. Alternatively, maybe economic inflation has meant that your pay has not kept up with real-world costs. Whatever the reason, you must have a plan, and you must understand how to ask for a pay rise. When it comes to this difficult task, many people often fall short and make mistakes. To help you avoid making such errors, we have listed 6 common business communication mistakes people make when broaching the subject of pay:

1. Giving your company a deadline and ultimatum

There is nothing more obnoxious and off-putting to your managers than slapping them in the face with a big fat ultimatum. If you say to your manager “I want X pay rise by Y date, otherwise, I am leaving for Z company” you are setting yourself up for failure. Giving your company an ultimatum COULD work, but it is hugely risky. What happens if you call their bluff and pretend you have another job offer and they refuse to give you a rise? You will then look stupid, and you may have broken their bond of trust. Be forthcoming, but don’t pressure your company or make your pay wise black and white.

2. Being narrow-minded and only considering a salary increase

Consider this – is your salary the ONLY thing that you can benefit from? If you say yes, then you are being overly narrow-minded. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your salary is the be all and end all – are there any other perks that your company could offer? What about the holidays? Could you potentially ask for a few more days of vacation? What about additional qualifications you could take to improve your job prospects? What about the possibility of working from home for one or two days a week? Think outside the box and have alternatives ready if a pay rise isn’t looking probable.

3. Failing to take into consideration your companies interests

Your salary is an immensely personal thing. A salary is essentially a monetary figure that denotes you perceived worth. When approaching your superiors for a salary you should not take a personal approach, however – let’s be honest, your companies bank balance doesn’t care about your mortgage or food bills. Always try and take into consideration your business and how they will prosper from giving you a pay rise. Can you give them increase effort? Can you bring them increased revenue or custom? Think about how your company will view your pay rise request!

4. Failing to research and prepare adequately

Asking for a pay rise is much like a job interview. You must prepare what you are going to say beforehand. Furthermore, you must perform research. Look at similar jobs to yours on the market – what is the current salary for this type of job? Moreover, what are the general duties associated with this type of job? Are you doing too much? Are you vastly underpaid in comparison to the market average? Use these facts and figures to add weight to your argument – if you have cold hard evidence that you raise is valid, your company will be much more flexible.

5.Mentioning your weaknesses and personal failings

 

This is one of the golden rules when asking for a pay rise. If you show signs of weakness, then your company could use this to adopt delaying tactics. If you state how you have improved their business and why you deserve a pay rise with quantifiable data then fantastic. If you also mention your shortcomings and areas for improvement then stop!

Let’s look at an example to explain. You are a content writer for a digital marketing company. You have received a host of fantastic reviews from customers, and you have brought in more work than the other employees. This is why you deserve a rise! You mention however that sometimes your article uniqueness falls short and that you haven’t made use of a plagiarism checker. Furthermore, you mention you feel you could benefit from a writing service such as anyassignment. Obviously, these pointers don’t look great – your company could easily say until you have sorted your plagiarism checker issue and writing help, you can’t receive a pay rise!

6. Being unrealistic in your demands

Consider this scenario – if someone who had a salary of $20,000 requested a $10,000 pay rise, how would you feel? You would feel that they were being unrealistic! How could they possibly deserve a 50% pay increase? Now, if that same person had asked for a rise to $21,500 the situation could have been entirely different. Do not overshoot your mark and ask for too much – this can just make you appear greedy and self-centered. It may also annoy your managers and show a lack of respect for your company.

If you have made any of these mistakes then don’t let them happen again! Take these pointers on board and ensure that you smash your pay review meeting! You can now approach your superiors with confidence and hopefully receive that pay rise you rightfully deserve!