December 22nd, 2007
It is that time of year when companies complete performance evaluations and use phrases like “Bob’s communication skills both internally and externally were timely professional…” and “Bob aligns himself with the company culture and displays….”.
Those discussions naturally evolve into salary discussions and ultimately negotiations. Negotiations, as I understand them, ideally result in a win-win for both parties, and win-lose discussions and results are less than optimal for a long term partnership.
Why does it seem that salary negotiations are treated as win-lose, and rarely does the employee walk away from those discussion feeling like a valuable employee? In employment negotiations, it is fact that employees will always bid high while employers usually bid low?
Some key principles to consider before negotiating with any employer - it may not prevent you from entering into a win-lose negotiation, but hopefully the outcome is more mutually beneficial:
Do your homework. Look at what other companies are paying. Go onto job posting sites, monster, vault, headhunter.net and see what your competitors are offering. Also, go to salary.com and wageweb.com for detailed salary information.
- Know what your alternatives are. Do you have alternatives? Can you hire others with similar backgrounds? Can the job be modified? Can you shift responsibilities to others?
- Think interests, not positions. Don’t get stuck on principles that may or may not make sense, you need to be flexible!
- Create mutually beneficial situations. How can you come to a win-win solution?
- Separate person from problem. Look at what you are negotiating and understand why.
- Insist on objective measures. Be careful not to fall into a trap of “I like this person, so I will do this…”
Tags: negotiations, salary
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