Yes You Should Ask for a Raise with that Promotion

Prior to filming my new on demand video course, Asking for a Raise at lynda.com, I was asked by several people how to negotiate a raise in pay when offered a promotion – and that question made it’s way into the content of the course.

But the question stumped me at first. I thought, who would seek or accept a promotion without asking for a raise? There’s no better time, right? But what people told me was that employers were promoting their people without offering them a pay raise at the same time.

If promotions mean greater responsibilities that translate into more value for the employer, they should also mean that the employer appreciates and values the work the employee is doing. So if a raise is not offered along with your promotion, what do you do?

You Ask!

Our advice is to approach the salary discussion with a focus on increased productivity. The promotion should also come with a new title. If it doesn't, take a look at glassdoor.com, salary.com or payscale.com to see what titles people with your new job responsibilities have. If your employer hasn't rewritten your job description, do so yourself. Tell your employer that you've benchmarked salaries for people in your new position and provide that data as part of your conversation.

At the table, you might say, "I'm assuming our company is paying market." And, "I want to make sure I'm not missing the opportunity to negotiate a raise that's commensurate with my new job duties."

If you get a flat "no," ask your employer whether there's something you should know about the company's inability to pay market. Do so while letting your employer know you'd like to be part of the solution to any problem that's keeping wages low.

As Harvard Professor Hannah Riley Bowles advised in a recent New York Times article, frame your request for a raise from your employer's perspective. 

“The key thing is to . . . think about what it is legitimate to [your employer] and what they value,” Professor Riley Bowles added.

She refers to this as the “I/We” strategy: You might be thinking about something from your perspective, but when you make the pitch, it should come out as “we.” This, she says, is good advice for men, too. It just may be particularly important for women.

With my private consulting clients and in “Asking for a Raise” I encourage people to treat the negotiation as a problem-solving process--to put the problem on the table and to figuratively sit on the same side, treating the request as a challenge both of you need to solve collaboratively. When asking for a raise, you should also think of yourself and your employer as facing the same challenges, partnering in finding the right compensation for your new job duties.

Remember that only 20% of the workforce is "engaged." That means eighty percent of your colleagues are just calling it in. You were promoted because you're valued and you should share in the additional value you're creating every day for the business in which you work.

Whatever strategy you pursue, please don't let the opportunity to seek a raise pass you by. A large part of the pay gap between men and women can be attributed to men's daring to ask for raises as women stay silent, not wanting to be rejected, harm relationships or create conflict.

Remember this too: your employer expects you to negotiate. They’ve promoted you because you deserve it, and they see your future potential. You deserve a raise for the very same reasons.

If you need guidance to plan your career, seek a promotion, land a new job or negotiate a raise, you couldn't do better than to watch Asking for a Raise. For $30 a month, you can watch the course, plus any of my other courses (Negotiation Fundamentals, Conflict Resolution Fundamentals, and Coaching and Developing Employees).

You'll make the cost of the course up many fold. Promise.

Lisa is a negotiation consultant and executive coach who knows how to bridge the gap between self worth and net worth. She is the co-founder of She Negotiates and facilitates her company’s signature course, Strategic Conversations: How to Network, Influence, Negotiate and Lead (next one starts July 10). She is the author of four titles at lynda.com, including Negotiation Fundamentals, Conflict Resolution Fundamentals, Coaching and Developing Employees and Asking for a Raise.