How to Ask for a Raise

Having to ask for a raise is uncomfortable and goes against my natural tendencies. My parents raised me to “be thankful for what you have,” but at the same time, I have a need to feel valued and appreciated. If you’re not paying me what I think I am worth, then no amount of thank you’s or praise in front of the team will make me feel valued as more money in my bank account.

I’ve been denied multiple requests for raises in my career, and I couldn’t understand why my argument wasn’t apparent to my managers. It wasn’t until I spoke with my mother-in-law, a top HR leader in the healthcare industry, that I realized I was doing this all wrong. So here’s a summary of what I’ve learned throughout my trial and error. If you like what you read, be on the lookout for Erin O’Connor’s episode on Season 2 Feed Learning People Podcast. 

What we’ll cover:

• Understand the perspective of the decision-maker

• Determine how you’ll frame your request

• Remove these phrases 

• Have a contingency plan

1. Understand the perspective of the decision-maker 

It’s a zero-sum game. The way it typically works is each year, managers receive a budget to spend X dollars for the team, and it’s a zero-sum game--meaning, you getting more means someone else may get less. 

It’s cheaper to give you a raise than to replace you. The cost of replacing an employee can range from one-half to two times the employee’s annual salary. (Gallup) A good manager knows that it’s going to take a lot of time and work to replace you, so giving you a 10% raise to avoid having to search for someone new is ideal--that is, if the manager values you.

It’s all about timing. Many organizations have an annual compensation season when all raise and promotion decisions are made. If you missed the timing, you might have to wait until the next cycle, so it’s important to ask during this time so your manager puts you into consideration. Some companies are more flexible than others, but generally, it’s easier to ask for a raise during the compensation review period than off-cycle. Make sure you get your request in before decisions are made. Often by the time you are getting your review, the die has been cast.

TECHNIQUE: If you don’t know your organization’s compensation process, ask your manager or HR: “When and how does the company make decisions around pay raises? Can I get a framework to understand when decisions are made and how they’re contemplated?”

Your boss answers to someone else. Your boss often does not have full control over your compensation, so be mindful before you push very hard. Sometimes a denied raise request may be a reflection of the relationship between your boss and their boss, not necessarily a reflection of you.

TECHNIQUE: To give yourself a better chance, ask your boss, “I understand you have to get approval from your boss. How can I help make it easier for you when you make this request to your boss on my behalf? I’m happy to supply any info you think would be helpful.”

Managers don’t like surprises. Managers would personally like to avoid losing a flight risk and be given a chance to retain you before you decide to leave the company. So if you’re unhappy about your pay, let them know. In general, people like to be given a heads up and not be placed on the spot. 

EXAMPLE: “Hi! I wanted to set up some time to talk about my compensation. Can I schedule some time on your calendar next week?”

2. Determine how you’ll frame your request

Next, let’s talk about the information you want to include in your request to your boss.

Compile your achievements. Iterate all of your accomplishments to the value of your boss, the team, and the organization. Quite often, your boss may not be very aware of everything you do, especially if it’s behind-the-scenes work and not things that directly impact the bottom line, i.e., onboarding, mentorship, helping with updating process documentation, etc. Rarely are these things formal expectations and goals of the role, but they bring a ton of value and are often overlooked by bosses. You own your development, and you own your career - no one will ever care about your pay as much as you do, so you should dedicate time and effort to manage it.

TECHNIQUE: Create a brag document where you add all of the awesome projects you worked on, the results you’ve achieved, and the impact you’ve made on the company. This is an ongoing document you add to over time and prevents you from accidentally forgetting your past accomplishments. Refer back to this document during compensation and performance reviews.

TIP: Only ask for a raise if your performance is in good standing or you have improved in the opportunity areas from your previous performance review. You will most likely be denied a raise if you have current performance gaps.

Do market research. Get your hands on salary ranges for the job title you are doing, not necessarily the job title you have. Let’s say your job title is Financial Analyst, but your job duties are what a Senior Financial Analyst is doing, then compare yourself to a Senior Financial Analyst. Sometimes the job title you find won’t exactly reflect all of your responsibilities, so use your best judgment. 

It is very valuable (for you and the company) to compare your salary to those of your direct competitors, or even those in your own organization if you have that data available. Managers generally know the internal and external market information, but knowing that you know makes your flight risk greater. 

Go into the conversation with a number you are aiming to receive and rationalize why that number. This number should be in terms of the value you’re bringing to the job. (Remember that your manager will most likely counter with a lower number, so adjust accordingly). 

TECHNIQUE: Google search job descriptions that match the title you’re doing and use compensation calculator tools like salary.com, payscale.com, or levels.fyi to research what others with this title are making.

TIP: If it turns out your research indicates you are already paid at the market rate, you are going to have to come up with a very strong rationale for why you should receive a raise.

Quantify your value. Saying that you successfully created a product and launched it to millions of customers is not enough. That may be your core job, so why would the company pay you more if you’re just doing what you’re expected to do? Instead, if you can translate your value and impact to the company in a dollar sense, your request for a raise will be more justifiable because if your manager can see that you increased revenue or saved expenses, some of that money gained or saved can be given to you. It is important to understand what the company values and frame your request in that language.

EXAMPLE OF WHAT WON’T WORK: “It took me 750 hours to create 5 different professional development training courses for employees last year. The employees loved them. We received high NPS scores, and more employees are attending the training sessions than ever before.” (There are numbers in this statement, but none of those numbers talked about the business’s bottom line).

EXAMPLE OF WHAT WILL WORK: “The professional development courses I developed last year focused on aspects of psychological safety, emotional intelligence, vulnerability, and diversity and inclusion. We received only positive feedback from those sessions. By teaching our managers how to build trust on the team and encouraging career discussions, we reduced regrettable turnover by 6%. I am confident that our managers had those crucial conversations with their teams--they utilized the skills they learned from the training sessions. This 6% turnover reduction saved the company well over $2 million because we did not have to recruit, hire, train, and onboard a replacement.”

TECHNIQUE: Ask yourself these series of questions to help quantify your value.

• How did my accomplishments positively impact individuals, the team, and the company?

• How much time or money did the company save, or how much revenue did the company make, because of the direct or indirect impact I made on the company? 

3. Remove these phrases from your request

Don’t threaten to leave. You may have heard people say don’t threaten to leave unless you already have a job lined up. By saying “I’m going to leave if I don’t get my raise” or “I could get so much more if I go somewhere else” removes a sense of teamwork and camaraderie. I recommend not to threaten at all because the tension can build animosity towards one another. 

Don’t use entitlement language. Don’t say things like “I deserve a raise” or “I’m the best one here, so I should get a raise” or “I’ve been here for two years, so I’m due for a raise.” Your manager wants to see you succeed, but they can be taken aback by language that shows a sense of deservingness without gratitude. Triggering this adverse reaction can make others not want to help you. Instead, use more neutral or positive language that shows collaboration.

EXAMPLE: “I love working here and am invested in seeing the company grow. At the same time, I also want to feel that I am being paid fairly for the contributions and impact I made this past year.”

Don’t boast about how hard you’re working. Your main argument for getting a raise should not be “I’m working long hours and am doing the job of three people.” Bosses don’t always know all the effort you put into the work you do, so it’s good to give them some context, but the best way to help your manager see your impact on the company is with the dollar.

EXAMPLE: “I understand we had to cut several positions that took out 125K out of the budget. I’ve been fulfilling 50% of the roles that come out. Can we take 25% of that budget to allocate to my salary to fulfill the goals?” (Focus on the money and not the hours you worked). 

EXAMPLE: “My job title is Financial Analyst, but my more advanced job duties are more aligned to a Senior Analyst role. I believe my salary should reflect what I’m doing today, not the job I was doing six months ago.” (Focus on your job responsibilities and not the hours you worked).

4. Have a contingency plan

Always know your bottom line and what you’re willing to do if the answer is no. 

Your manager denies your request without explanation.

TECHNIQUE: If your manager says they don’t think you qualify for a raise, get a better understanding of the reason behind their decision, i.e., “Can you help me understand where I can improve to be better qualified for a raise next time?” If it doesn't seem like they can provide concrete details, consider going where you feel valued. 

Your manager says there is no budget. I’ve heard that money can be found if you’re important enough, but I also think there may be some legitimate times when the company can’t give you a raise due to issues such as the company not meeting revenue targets.

TECHNIQUE: If your request is denied, ask your manager when you can revisit the conversation. If you plan to stick around until then, consider requesting for other options that can help you feel compensated fairly without the extra money in the bank, i.e., working from home more, relief of certain project responsibilities, etc.

Your manager says they’ll consider your request.

TECHNIQUE: If your manager has not followed up on your request after 1-2 weeks, ask them, “Do you have an update on our compensation discussion?”

I get how it can be intimidating to ask for a raise. Not knowing what to say or do can prevent us from taking any action. Considering the techniques we mentioned above, you can increase your chances of getting that raise when you articulate your worth without being arrogant about it. 

Remember that you own your career. If you want something, don’t rely on your manager. You have to put the work into it.

I hope you found this blog helpful. 

Cheers,
Jesse