Most people do not like asking for a raise, even though they want one.
But perhaps asking for a raise is the wrong way to get a raise.
Instead of asking for a raise, ask questions your leaders WILL want to talk about.
Try these steps and see what happens.
- Define your customers! Think about everyone that impacts your paycheck. Your immediate boss, your co-workers, other department managers, and perhaps people a few layers up. Figure out who you serve and list them by name. These are your customers!
- Go talk to them. Tell them you are trying to determine how to improve your work, so you would like to know what value you and your job adds to them and their job. At this point you are just looking to start a conversation – one few people ever have – to learn how you add value.
- Take their feedback and redesign your work plan. Think about how you can work less and be more productive and add more value. Then share this with your customers to get feedback. Will your changes really help them?
- Repeat. If needed, continue this process until you both understand your value.
I know, you are waiting for the step where you ask for a raise. I do not have that, at least not now.
Instead – do the above steps and repeat as needed and see what happens. These questions are the questions business owners ask of their customers. These questions have you acting like a business instead of an employee.
If you quit acting like an employee you can improve your earnings!
I absolutely agree and can attest to the method, or more so the mindset, that you are advocating. By truly having an understanding of your value and proving it, you will be rewarded (hopefully by a perceptive and good boss). And in my experience, it never hurts to open up this channel of communication with ‘customers’.
I wholeheartedly agree with this process I have experienced this personally. I work on the frontline in an entry level position but being very proactive and team oriented; I constantly look for ways to take ownership and improve my work processes and help others with overflow work. As a result when I reached my salary cap they changed my pay grade in order for me to be able to get a raise. It gave me the opportunity to ask for expanded job duties in order to further demonstrate my value to to my employer.
Thanks for the feedback. That view of work means you will never be short of work, jobs, or the opportunity to make money! Congrats! Everyone wishes more people like you worked for them.