Expert shares the five best ways to negotiate a pay rise with your boss

Many people will be struggling financially as inflation goes up and the cost of living crisis continues. Due to this, a lot of employees will want to turn to their employers for help.

If you think it's time to ask for a pay rise, an expert has shared her top five ways to negotiate it. Molly Dyer, director of People and Culture at Balance, has shared some ways that you will be able to bring up pay raises with your employer to help you battle a negotiation.

Among them are simple tips about asking face-to-face, as well as more complex things like how you add value to the company. Here's what Molly had to say:

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Do it in person

She said: “Always ask your manager, or HR manager, whoever is best suited at your business, for a face-to-face meeting. Emails could potentially catch them off-guard, or at a bad time for them.

"By doing something face-to-face, you’ll be able to deliver your reasoning behind a pay rise much more clearer, and it will also allow for follow-ups and further explanations which will help your case.”

Refer to processes

Molly added: "At Balance, we have a pay rise process which team members should refer to when making their case. This policy will outline things such as when the company do their pay rises, some only do pay rises at certain points in the year to align with budgets, or it may state how you should go about requesting a pay rise.

"However, if your company doesn't have this process and you feel as though you need to bring this up yourself, then spend some time preparing for that conversation as you increase your chances of success by being able to satisfy any questions or concerns.”

Create a business case

She said: "In the current climate, where money is tight for most businesses right now, you need to demonstrate activity that you've undergone that has either brought in money for a business, or saved money for a business, proving how you can continue this in the future.

"Schedule a meeting with your manager to run through a business case. This would ideally include evidence on why you should be eligible for a pay rise, with examples. Examples of evidence should include your PDP (Personal Development Plan), if you have one, showing how your skills and offerings have grown, as well as your original job description and outlining tasks that you're completing that are above and beyond.

"As well as focussing on past performance, it's also important to mention future performance too, your goals and actions you want to undertake to help grow the business and cut costs to further the business' growth.”

Look at similar roles

Molly added: “Also, look at similar job roles that are currently available and take into the account the salaries that they're offering in your area. Area is a key part in this as jobs in London typically pay more than other parts of the UK due to the higher cost of living.

"If you can demonstrate that other employers are paying a significant increase for the same work that you're doing, then you'll have a strong argument for a pay rise as the business won't want to lose you to another business, as ultimately it does cost more to recruit than it does to give a small rise to loyal staff."

Added value

Finally, she said: “In addition, go through what added value you can bring to the table that you couldn’t at the start of the role. This could be things such as discussing your progression, complexity of the work that you can now do that you couldn’t before, and how you can share your knowledge to help future proof the business.“

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