How to Get the Compensation You Deserve!!

In my coaching practice I have the pleasure of working with some amazing leaders. Despite the wide range of salaries, asking for the money they deserve is a common struggle. Talking about money is hard for most of us, especially when you have the opportunity to transition into a more fulfilling role.

Here are a few common scenarios and suggestions that have worked for my clients navigating their way to the compensation they deserved.

Scenario One:

You are asked to take a promotional role or a lateral role with significantly more responsibility.

Your supervisor does his job and positions the new role in terms that are appealing to you. Good for him.  He did his job. Now it’s your turn. You have to determine if the juice is worth the squeeze.

If you are fortunate to work for an organization with a transparent compensation system, then your job will be straightforward. Simply identify what the range is for top performers and ask for this. Smart managers only ask their top performer to take on a promotional role. So know you are worth a top performer’s compensation.

If you don’t know where your compensation falls relative to other top performers ask your manager to do little work.

Here’s your script notes:

1. You will be getting 100% of my commitment in this new role
2. I will put in the hours needed to continue to be a top performer
3. I will hit the ground running so you won’t have to spend much time training and ramping me up.
4. For all these reasons my expectation is you pay me commiserate to other top performers in this role
5. Can I get your commitment to do that?

Scary? A little but let’s be honest, you will be taking time away from your family while contributing a lot more and extra value to your organization, right? Then you deserve more.

Scenario Two: 

You are killing it in your current role and the whisper down the lane is you are getting paid less than your peers.

If you truly are a top performer here are your script notes:

1. You know I’ve been 100% committed in this role and my results speak to that
2. You can count on me to continue to deliver excellence so managing me will continue to be easy
3. I need a favor from you. Would you please review my total compensation to make sure I am getting paid the equivalent of other top performers?
4. As one of your top performers can I count on you to do this for me?

In both of these scenarios it’s important to give your manager some time to do his research but you owe it to yourself to follow-up.

In the meantime, shop around to determine what the market will pay for your services. I know, this sucks. It does. It does not mean you are disloyal or will leave. Top performers take the time to figure out their value. They know they are worth it. This is something you need to do periodically to make sure your contribution and compensation are aligned.

If none of these scenarios seem to apply to you it probably means you don’t know how your performance ranks relative to your peers. Most of us have a gut sense of where we stand.

Either way, here is your script notes to confirm your self-assessment:

1. You know I work hard and give my all to you, our clients and the organization.
2. My career is super important to me and I realized I don’t know how I am doing relative to my peers.
3. I really respect you and I want your honest assessment on my performance.  I promise to be open, and to use what you share as data to improve my performance.
4. How would you assess my performance relative to my peers? (drill down for more if you get a vague answer:  would you call me a top performer, a solid performer, or potential unrealized?)
5. What would I need to work on to improve my performance?

If you found out that you are a top performer, smack your boss (just kidding) read scenario two again.

Most of the time the cash will follow the great performance.  When this does not happen, remember it is up to you to nudge the system to get the compensation you have earned and deserved.

Keep Reaching high,

Ron

P.S. my passion is unleashing Peak Performance in the workplace.  I believe that the world is a better place when more people are happy doing the work that they love.  Please pass along my blog to your friends and colleagues