PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – While inflation has put workers in a tough spot with consumer prices outpacing wages, one expert says now is the time to ask for a raise.
Conversations about pay increases can be uncomfortable, especially now as the market is less favorable for employees and is more favorable for employers, said Andres Lares, of the Shapiro Negotiations Institute.
When asking for a raise, Lares says it’s important to prepare and follow through with the conversation rather than putting it off.
He adds that negotiating for a raise during an annual employee review is a good time as the employer looks at your past accomplishments and looks to your future contributions.
The negotiation expert says in order to prepare for the conversation, to prepare comprables — looking at how much others in your role make in your region, city and nationally.
He also says to prepare a script of the points you want to make and to avoid a “movie script” with every line planned out. Lares says to plan how you want to open the conversation, what you want to convey and how you will overcome likely objections to the raise.
Lares says after preparing, “you’re much more likely to be succinct, to be really compelling and to be effective.”
“You’re not necessarily on the wrong side of it,” Lares explained. “You’re not negotiating always against but sometimes with. So, on the other side of the table – your boss, HR – they may want to give you that raise but there may be some other things that are slowing them down; the macro conditions or any policy restrictions based on the market slowing down.”
The expert added that the key is to have empathy while negotiating — noting, “you may have to kind of take a step back and realize that sometimes they may not want you to have a raise, but sometimes other factors are at play.”