Money, money, money… Salaries are a subject that we all want to know more about, yet rarely do we talk to anyone about how much money we earn. This is a subject that often we do not even discuss with our closest. As we draw to the year-end, people are feeling stretched and often instead of asking for a pay rise, people look for an alternative role. How do we address this?

When considering a salary offer you have to take into account the whole package offering, including the workplace benefits, as well as the company culture, the challenge of the job, the working options/location(WTF)
and the career path opportunities. Organizations also vary with pay parameters, whether the industry is high/low paying, whether the company is profitable or bootstrapped, and dependent upon the company philosophy (e.g. rewarding well or providing lower pay but extra lifestyle benefits).

Three instances where we negotiate salaries:

1. Starting a role: This is often a vulnerable time as people seek the next step ahead. Make sure to list key strengths and capabilities that you bring to the position. UK Career Strategist John Lee stated that ‘when an employer extends a job offer to you, this is a critical moment’. Make the most of this honeymoon period, as any significant rise is unlikely for another 2-3 years. Employers need to make sure to include all salary package benefits to attract people aside from the base salary.
2. Being reviewed: This can be after probation, a yearly performance review or a promotion. Make sure that you have a list of your achievements and contributions. Have what is discussed in writing with a commitment from both parties. Employers should make regular reviews to ensure staff feel valued and heard.
3. When considering resigning: Research shows that 9/10 times, being counter-offered with a pay rise or a promotion is revoked, with a resignation, within 12 months. This is because people resign not over the money but over the other factors mentioned: company leadership/ culture, the challenge of the work, workplace benefits and career path options. If you know you are worth more with a competitor, then share your concerns with your employer privately. The only thing worse than a surprise resignation is an unwanted surprise resignation. Regular reviews will prevent surprise resignations. You may not be in a position to offer more money but you may be able to offer other benefits to support your treasured employees.

How to find what you’re worth? Here are some quick tips to help you on your way:

• Review average salaries using PayScale; Salary.com; LinkedIn Salary, Career Bliss.com and Glassdoor.com
• Ask an expert, (industry-specialized recruiters can help). Mondo Search has a sound knowledge of pay scales, as we have interviewed over 24,000 Executives.
• Research the level of demand for your skills in relation to you and the job market. Seek has helpful information on this.
• Believe in yourself.  If you’ve done your research and assessed your market value thoroughly, you’re in a stronger position to negotiate.

Use these tips when negotiating your salary:

• Pick your time – make sure you book the time for the “ salary conversation”
• Always be positive, note your contributions and achievements. Speak with gratitude and excitement about your future. Show them a plan to make a huge impact in the future – new business initiatives, ideas and ways to further improve, innovate or grow the business or help the organization.
• Set a range by establishing your target salary and being clear about your absolute bottom line. Be upfront and smart about when you flex your expectations within that range.
• Determine what other benefits are important to you, rank them by priority and value (such as extra annual leave, health benefits and flexible hours) and consider whether these are negotiable.
• Listen to your gut as it can anticipate whether a decision is right or wrong for your future.
• View negotiations as a joint-problem solving conversation.
• Never burn bridges even if you (kindly) say no, as your career path could one day cross their own.
• Believe in yourself:  If you’ve done your research and assessed your market value thoroughly, you will be confident to justify your expectations and be in a stronger position to negotiate when the time arrives to negotiate your salary. As an employer support your staff to share their wins and contributions. Try to create ways to reward these contributions, even if it is nonfinancial rewards, employees will feel heard, supported and will be less likely to resign.

For more information please contact info@mondosearch.com.au or 1300 797 917 and ask to speak to Simone, Carmela, or one of our consultants.

The cost of losing a good employee is a minimum of $23K and almost one years salary, if you hire and get it wrong. A study by AHRI* of more than 1,500 human resources professionals has revealed the cost to hire an employee has more than doubled over the last 12 months. The loss of IP, customer relationships, team morale, productivity, stakeholder engagement and time to reappoint and induct is enormous. The current creeping inflation, talent shortages as companies are also accelerating growth plans, post pandemic. Now more than ever it is critical to find ways to engage your employees.

Workplace motivators appear in many forms and ironically we like to use the acronym FORM to categorise workplace motivators:

F = Flexibility. Allowing staff to have flexibility outside of work commitments such as family, health, personal finance, cultural and or religious engagements is helpful. If an employee feels supported with time for outside activities, the employee will be more focused and committed when working on the job and will go the extra mile, with after hours meetings, when required.

O = Occupation is everything – think of career challenge tools to support the employee: mentors, career path opportunities, further career studies. Allow employees to feel supported, heard and mentally stimulated.

R = Respect. Build trust and engagement by listening, to ignite employee creativity, show appreciation, encourage input and don’t micromanage. Focus on facts and results, rather than the process. Publicly recognise employees on their achievements, celebrating birthdays; providing positive reinforcement.

M = Money is important, but not the only factor to engagement. Nowadays we are finding the first question about a role is “where are they located and are there working from home options? Remuneration is still important. People need to feel their time is rewarded accordingly. Your capacity to pay will depend upon your business cash-flow. Be creative with performance incentives, bonuses and rewards to motivate and attract talent.

When thinking about making jobs sticky, think about making good FORM in the job. Track employee productivity and identify who stands out, then invest in those employees by providing these aspects. Providing good FORM!

Employees want to know that you’re listening to their feedback. Use engagement tools such as TINYpulse, Culture Amp and Officevibe to survey how workers are performing and generally feeling. Then respond to your employee feedback in a timely fashion.

​* Australian Human Resource Institute