If you want to ask for a raise, do it better at 11 in the morning

If you're convinced you've earned a raise, forget looking for that propitious moment to sneak into the boss's office and, with nice words, recount your great achievements from memory.

It will not work.

Getting a salary improvement involves a full-fledged negotiation for which the employee often does not prepare.

Asking for a formal appointment, making a strong case for your contribution to the company, and researching the value of your position in the market are just the starting point for starting this complex conversation.

Despite the uncertainty, the rise in costs, inflation at 5.8% and the forecast of clearly slowing economic growth, the beginning of the year is still the best time to request a review of salary conditions.

You can also wait for performance evaluation as long as there is a clear definition of the functions of each position in the company.

In this scenario, 82% of companies are already thinking about salary increases, compared to 17% who are going to maintain them, according to the 2023 Labor Market Guide, prepared by the Hays consultancy.

The study also highlights that 55% of employees are not satisfied with their salary and 65% consider that their salary is not commensurate with the work they do.

In an environment of "optimism", according to the Hays Guide, in which 60% of companies hope to increase their turnover, there are those who consider asking for an individual improvement in their remuneration.

However, talking about money is always uncomfortable, so if this decision is firm and documented, it will be important to choose the most appropriate time, form and place.

In the current situation and before a serious negotiation, the recommendation of Antonio Núñez, a partner at Paragon Partners, suggests that the proposal for a salary increase "does not exceed 10%."

A figure in which he agrees with José Carlos Díez, director of Orfin, chair of Thinking Heads at the University of Alcalá de Henares, for whom, if the company is in a solid financial position,

The first requirement to request a salary increase demands a certain exercise of introspection.

There is no one like yourself to measure the contribution and impact of your functions on the company's results.

If a training process has been completed to improve personal skills in the face of the challenges that companies face and if these are the ones required in the workplace and in future sectors, it is an asset to play.

It is also convenient to assess whether new responsibilities have been acquired and with what result.

Preparing this meeting also requires researching the salary bands that move in the market with respect to your profile, to assess if you really are below and by what percentage to request the increase.

Request the meeting

If the answer to all these questions is positive, it is necessary to request a meeting with the boss.

A study by the UK Biobank, a biobank that collects biological samples for research, established eleven in the morning as the best time to do so.

This meeting must always be requested in person, in the office and with the immediate boss.

"Nothing to bypass him and go to human resources, because he is the head of the department's budgets and the one who will defend your rise," warns the president of the Spanish Association of Human Resources Directors (AEDRH) and director of People at Telepizza, Jesus Torres.

Other mistakes that are made repeatedly and without results are "entering into comparisons with other colleagues and using aggressive arguments such as 'I have received another offer," adds Torres.

This expert makes a caveat: "If the competition has really touched you, you have to say it delicately, always making your commitment to the company clear."

For the manager, establishing a clear and well-structured roadmap can make the difference in successfully concluding a negotiation where there is always a lot of tension.

"It is better to give up until you develop an argument that justifies the salary increase, never go with a timid or negative attitude or request a disproportionate increase," advises Torres.

But it's not all numbers.

There are other aspects that superiors handle to assess a salary increase.

"It is evaluated whether the candidate has contributed to improving the perception of the company, the attachment of people to the brand or if with their contribution progress has been made in some strategic development objective," says Núñez.

The arguments that always work, according to this consultant, are those that link the salary increase to "future projects in strategic sectors" (sustainability, digital transformation, diversity).

Although he also advises that this conversation must be approached with assertiveness and an open mind to accept a possible no and know how to "listen to proposals that are more feasible at that time, such as bonuses linked to results, participation in actions, training, career plan or social benefits".

For his part, the president of AEDRH recommends, when faced with a refusal, "ask why and try to build a plan for the future with career promotion to achieve that increase later."

If, even so, the candidate persists in obtaining this improvement and does not achieve it, "it is not convenient to rule out looking outside for other opportunities."

According to a study by software company PayScale, wanting more pay and not getting it is the number one reason people leave their jobs.

“And it will always be easier to achieve an increase in income in a new professional opportunity,” concludes Torres.

The fight for the agreements

The inflationary crisis exerts great pressure on the shopping basket and lowers the purchasing power of workers.

This context has unleashed a wave of claims for salary increases in the agreements.

"The negotiation tries to pass on said loss to wages and defer the impact of inflation in three years so that companies gradually assume an increase of close to 4%," says José Carlos Díez.

“We will have to wait for the economy to go well, sales to increase and companies to be able to pay for it,” he adds.

Thus, of the more than 5,500 collective agreements in Spain, close to 3,000 have been resolved in the past year with an average salary increase of 3.5%.

A percentage "that we hope to improve if we negotiate increases in line with the CPI,

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