How To Ask For A Pay Rise When You Work From Home
We’re all well seasoned remote workers by now, and we’re sure we’ll be staying at home for a little while longer. It has its pros and cons but what happens when you need to ask your boss for a pay rise? Lucky for you, in this blog, we’ve rounded up the best ways to ask for a pay rise when you work from home.
With less face to face interactions, the connection between employees and management may seem to be lacking somewhat. Unlike the usual office based antics where your manager could walk by without any notice, we have to plan a video call or send a catch up email to alert them of any news or updates.
We’re communicating and collaborating with our colleagues less and the sense of team spirit seems to have gone AWOL. In an age where we rely so heavily on modern technology it seems we’ve lost the ability to speak verbally to one another.
Ask Yourself Why You Want A Pay Rise
With this in mind, this can cause problems for those wanting to progress further up the career ladder. Whilst at home, you may struggle to gain the same insights and leadership strategies managers or members from higher up your team may have. No matter where you start at a company, if it’s a junior position or a senior level executive, we all want to progress and seek opportunities within the company we work at. This gives us the opportunity to learn new things and become more skilful and knowledgeable employees.
However, with your new environment, it may seem a little awkward and forceful for you to bring up the idea of career progression and pay rises. But like most problems, this one can be easily tackled. Just as you would in the workplace, make sure to seek the right moment at the right time. Nobody wants to be asking for more money at an inappropriate time, take it from us.
Prepare A List Of Your Accomplishments
First things first, why do you think you’re deserving of a pay rise? Think about all the work you’ve done over the course of the year, how you’ve contributed to the organisation, is there anything that stands out? If the answer to this question is yes, then you might want to keep a record of all the marvellous work you’ve been doing. There are plenty of tools out there such as CRM systems to simply jotting it down in Excel. If you can show evidence of any improvement or growth for the overall company, then you’ll be onto a winner. Things you might want to look at could be, project status’ milestones and any other relevant analytics.
The aim of the game is to show how you’ve contributed to any goals that have set the company skyrocketing into success. Once you’ve gathered all your data and information you could even pop it into a presentation to show original creative flair. You should feel confident and comfortable to present your findings and should have nothing to fear when asking for your pay rise.
Research The Pay
Before you go wild, it might be worth scouring the marketplace to see similar salaries so you have a figure to aspire to. Just like when you’re interviewing for a position, the company may ask you what salary you’re looking for. If you familiarise yourself with the current salaries within your industry, this is a good place to start.
Schedule A One On One Meeting With Your Boss
Without coming across as too informal, we suggest you don’t ask for a pay rise over text or email, video works best. Make sure you schedule in a video call that suits both parties. Whilst conducting your call use this opportunity to share your findings. Share your notes, statistics or even share your presentation. Your boss will probably thank you for your efforts and be pretty impressed with the lengths you’ve gone to to get that pay rise.
All you can do is be honest, open and understanding. We’re in the middle of a pandemic so cash is probably strapped for a lot of businesses. Things are constantly changing and many businesses are having to diversify. You’ve probably taken a lot of work on this year and you don’t want your efforts to go unnoticed. But please keep in mind that your employer might not have the funds to reward you for these efforts. Keep an eye on your timing and work out when it is best to approach your manager.
Conduct A Follow Up
Once you’ve presented, all that’s left to do is wait. Give your boss some time to think over what you’ve presented. Make sure you don’t set your expectations too high and always make sure to do a follow up with your boss. Send over a summary of your meeting with any notes and action points. You might need to have a further video call.
If you don’t get that pay rise just yet, don’t worry. There’ll be plenty of other opportunities to help you get back on the right track and progress in your career. It’s just as important to instigate these types of conversations with your boss so you still get the appraisal you so truly deserve. They won’t forget it.
How Ampios Can Help
With more of us working remotely, you should definitely consider asking for a pay raise if you think you’re deserving of one. If your employees are approaching you and asking for pay rises but you don’t know how to deal with them, we can give you feedback on your approach. At Ampios we can give you personalised guidance on the best way to deal with pay raises and your remote workers.
If you need to get in touch, we’d love to have a chat. Give us a call on T: +44 (0)333 987 4672 or send us a message via our contact form.
