The Professional Woman’s Guide to Successful Pay Rises
It’s a shocking - and little publicised
- fact that the pay gap between professional men and women in New Zealand
has actually widened this century! That’s despite women having children
ever later in life and despite their becoming steadily better educated –
two key factors often ‘blamed’ for the pay gap.
There is another cause we often hear about, though:
women are less upfront about asking for a pay rise. As a group we seem
to expect our hard work to speak for itself and be rewarded accordingly.
If you’re feeling like part of the gloomy pay statistics, read on
for some success tips on preparing for and negotiating a pay rise.
External benchmarking
Just like you’d do market research before buying a house, do the
same for your current role - or new one if you’re considering a
job move:
- Get hold of published surveys and reports. Visit
websites for specific industries/professions that have useful tools
e.g. Teamfactors for law. Other good sources include Sheffield’s
reports, and Statistics NZ’s website.
- If you’re taking a new role in your current
company, check with your HR department for pay rates for job bands.
- Ask around! You don’t have to be pushy. Talk
to others employed in the industry, recruiters you know, or relevant
HR professionals.
“Internal” benchmarking
Your position in reported pay bands, both in your current company and
beyond, will depend on your performance, experience, and credentials in
the industry.
To assess where you should be in the band you need to
honestly evaluate how experienced you are and what level of competition
there is for your role. Be honest, but don’t be overly modest. You
must also assess how good you are. We suggest you write out an accomplishments
list. Facts can help you feel more confident!
Preparation
- This is a good time to shine at work, so go the
extra mile.
- Pick your time carefully to ask for a meeting to
discuss pay. After a great review is good (!) and so is ahead of the
next budgeting round.
- Consider what you actually want. Don’t just
develop an opening salary request and a corresponding bottom line, but
think flexibly about non-monetary items too. For example, do you want
extra leave to cover you for when dependants are sick?
- Decide how long you’re willing to wait for
the rise and what you’re prepared to do if it’s rejected.
In the negotiation
- Be transparent about the research you’ve done
and how you came up with your opening figure.
- Be courteous but confident. Remember that it’s
more expensive for your employer to hire afresh than pay you a fair
increase.
- Consider brainstorming with your boss if you’re
prepared to accept non-salary improvements to your package e.g. a performance
bonus increase
Other tips:
- Flexibility - you can negotiate flexibility without
compromising your pay by shifting to measurable outputs to show you’re
still performing. If you opt for part time work, be staunch about taking
time in lieu when you work an extra day. Too many women move to a lower,
part time salary and end up working considerably more than they’re
paid for.
- If your new job is a big step up (or sideways) it
can be hard to negotiate as strongly at the outset. Ensure you schedule
a pay review within a fixed period, preferably after six months and
have it in your contract.
- Lastly, review what worked and what didn’t
to help you prepare even better next time!
About the Author:
Sarah Wilshaw-Sparkes and her business
partner Galia BarHava-Monteith are the founders of Professionelle,
an online community providing support and advice to professional working
women in New Zealand. Offline, Professionelle also offers consulting services
to employers who are keen to attract, develop and retain their talented
professional women. For further information about Professionelle’s
consulting services and online advertising opportunities, please send an
email to: contact@professionelle.co.nz
