Comments on: How To Ask For a Fair Raise or Pay Increase During a Recession http://www.simonstapleton.com/wordpress/2009/01/05/how-to-ask-for-a-fair-raise-or-pay-increase-during-a-recession/?&owa_medium=feed&owa_sid= I Help You Become a Higher Performer, Get Promoted, and Better Paid Sat, 28 Jan 2012 01:37:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: simonstapleton http://www.simonstapleton.com/wordpress/2009/01/05/how-to-ask-for-a-fair-raise-or-pay-increase-during-a-recession/comment-page-1/#comment-1127 simonstapleton Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:21:58 +0000 http://www.SimonStapleton.com/wordpress/?p=1219#comment-1127 @Ruth - thanks for your comment. If I understand this correctly, you would like some ideas on how you can influence your manager to keep your current pay rate and take a job with less responsibility. The role you're offered is not on a basis of pay you're happy with, right? Your manager will have a challenging situation to manage - not only does he/she have to find the extra bucks to pay you the extra wage, but he/she has a bigger challenge if you were to keep your supervisor rate because of either a) it would need to be kept a secret from other associates so that there isn't a known precedent (and it's likely all the other associates will want a raise) or b) setting the precedent and opening up the floodgates to claims for higher pay from your peers. Your manager will be thinking about fairness to other associates too. So with these things considered you will have to really help your manager justify keeping you on the supervisor rates. You could offer to take on other responsibilities, or demonstrate that you have a speciality that adds extra value - something like that. If you've been in a supervisor position, you must have been given the job because you have relevant experience and product knowledge that adds extra value - can you still leverage this as a regular associate? Maybe you could take another look at your job description to discover if there are particular competencies expected of you that you really excel at. Maybe you could train other associates? I think your answer is to discover what extra value you add above and beyond a regular associate that warrants the extra pay. The value you add (even if its just a perception of it) needs to be greater than the extra pay to warrant the exception made for you and to justify the extra management burden if word gets out that he/she has made an exception for you. I hope this has been help for you. Good Luck! @Ruth – thanks for your comment. If I understand this correctly, you would like some ideas on how you can influence your manager to keep your current pay rate and take a job with less responsibility. The role you’re offered is not on a basis of pay you’re happy with, right?

Your manager will have a challenging situation to manage – not only does he/she have to find the extra bucks to pay you the extra wage, but he/she has a bigger challenge if you were to keep your supervisor rate because of either a) it would need to be kept a secret from other associates so that there isn’t a known precedent (and it’s likely all the other associates will want a raise) or b) setting the precedent and opening up the floodgates to claims for higher pay from your peers. Your manager will be thinking about fairness to other associates too.

So with these things considered you will have to really help your manager justify keeping you on the supervisor rates. You could offer to take on other responsibilities, or demonstrate that you have a speciality that adds extra value – something like that. If you’ve been in a supervisor position, you must have been given the job because you have relevant experience and product knowledge that adds extra value – can you still leverage this as a regular associate? Maybe you could take another look at your job description to discover if there are particular competencies expected of you that you really excel at. Maybe you could train other associates?

I think your answer is to discover what extra value you add above and beyond a regular associate that warrants the extra pay. The value you add (even if its just a perception of it) needs to be greater than the extra pay to warrant the exception made for you and to justify the extra management burden if word gets out that he/she has made an exception for you.

I hope this has been help for you.

Good Luck!

]]> By: Ruth http://www.simonstapleton.com/wordpress/2009/01/05/how-to-ask-for-a-fair-raise-or-pay-increase-during-a-recession/comment-page-1/#comment-1126 Ruth Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:35:48 +0000 http://www.SimonStapleton.com/wordpress/?p=1219#comment-1126 Would you advise me how to keep my pay rate that I was earning before to get my supervisor position. Now that I ask my manager that I want to step down in my position and want to be a regular associate, they don't want give me enoughf hours, they are offering me a comision position that I don want to take and that will be getting a $8 dollars an hour plus comission plus if you do fail to met their quotas you will be fired. I ask if I can have my position as a regular employee but the cut pay is bigger, from $14.86 to $9 dollars en hour. How can I persuede my manager to be fair to me? Would you advise me how to keep my pay rate that I was earning before to get my supervisor position.
Now that I ask my manager that I want to step down in my position and want to be a regular associate, they don’t want give me enoughf hours, they are offering me a comision position that I don want to take and that will be getting a $8 dollars an hour plus comission plus if you do fail to met their quotas you will be fired.
I ask if I can have my position as a regular employee but the cut pay is bigger, from $14.86 to $9 dollars en hour. How can I persuede my manager to be fair to me?

]]> By: simonstapleton http://www.simonstapleton.com/wordpress/2009/01/05/how-to-ask-for-a-fair-raise-or-pay-increase-during-a-recession/comment-page-1/#comment-755 simonstapleton Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:27:09 +0000 http://www.SimonStapleton.com/wordpress/?p=1219#comment-755 @Drew - nice story Drew! It's great that you acted upon your needs and didn't hold back. Sounds like you work with understanding people, but you know what? I reckon 99% of people are like that too! Thing is, many people think it's only 1% of folks who are! @Drew – nice story Drew! It’s great that you acted upon your needs and didn’t hold back. Sounds like you work with understanding people, but you know what? I reckon 99% of people are like that too! Thing is, many people think it’s only 1% of folks who are!

]]> By: Drew Douglass http://www.simonstapleton.com/wordpress/2009/01/05/how-to-ask-for-a-fair-raise-or-pay-increase-during-a-recession/comment-page-1/#comment-754 Drew Douglass Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:31:46 +0000 http://www.SimonStapleton.com/wordpress/?p=1219#comment-754 This is great advice Simon. I recently landed a job at a nice web dev company and I made the decision to ask my boss keep my name in mind if talks of a new position or pay raise come about and he was more than happy to. I was happy I made the decision to ask him. Sometimes, I feel the best thing to do is just be honest and ask for something if you feel you need it. You'd be surprised how well people understand and empathize with you. Great to see you back after the holidays :) -Drew This is great advice Simon. I recently landed a job at a nice web dev company and I made the decision to ask my boss keep my name in mind if talks of a new position or pay raise come about and he was more than happy to. I was happy I made the decision to ask him.

Sometimes, I feel the best thing to do is just be honest and ask for something if you feel you need it. You’d be surprised how well people understand and empathize with you.

Great to see you back after the holidays :)

-Drew

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