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How to Get the Pay Rise You Deserve

Pay Rise

You’ve been in your job for a couple of years and you’re thriving. You’re smashing all your targets, and ticking all the boxes in your performance appraisals, but your success is not reflected in your pay package. Rather than threatening to down tools unless you receive more $$$ on the spot, hang in there and plan ahead. Here is our step-to-step guide to asking for and getting the pay rise you deserve.

BUILD A h2 CASE

First, check out your job description. Are you meeting and exceeding all the requirements of your role? Have you taken on additional responsibilities that are not mentioned in your job description? Have you made suggestions that have been implemented in the workplace? If yes to any of these questions, then start to build your case. Make a list of your achievements and, if possible, quantify them. Highlight how many benchtops your team have made; specify the total client billings you have generated over the last six months.

Next, look outside your workplace at the wider employment market. Look at job ads for similar roles in the area; study online salary surveys and trends. Find out whether you could potentially earn more elsewhere and note important data. This research will not only help you to justify your request for an increase, it will also help your boss escalate that request to senior management.

BOOK A MEETING WITH YOUR BOSS

Rather than catching your boss on the hop, book a meeting with her and specify that you are wanting to discuss your performance and pay. Timing is crucial here. Fix a day when your boss is not submerged with work; you want her to be open to discussion. Equally, ensure that the current business climate in your workplace is conducive to talk of a pay rise. If the CFO has just quit, or a merger is looming on the horizon, you’d be best to hold off!

BE PREPARED TO SELL YOURSELF

If you don’t ask, you won’t get it! Asking for a pay rise can be a confronting and challenging experience, which is why some employees never get around to it. But you’ve done your homework and you know you’re worth it. So, go into that meeting with courage and confidence. Be upfront about what you bring to your role and the company and support your argument with the research you have carried out. Have a clear idea of the pay package you are after but go in higher so there is room for negotiation. Once you’ve stated your case, ensure you listen to what your boss has to say and respond appropriately. This should not be a battle, but a reasoned discussion between two professionals with a positive outcome for both sides: you receive your pay rise and your boss gets to keep a valued employee on her team.

CONSIDER YOUR OPTIONS

All being well, you’ll get the pay rise you are asking for, but what if the response is ‘no’? Don’t lose your cool! First, ask your boss what you can do to achieve that increase in six months’ time. Perhaps there is an aspect of your role where she feels further development is required or perhaps she is privy to company information about future expense cuts and frozen pay. In both instances, consider whether you are best off staying in the role and working your way towards a new pay review or looking around for a new position in another company.

Good luck! We hope you get the pay rise you deserve.

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How to be an effective mentor in the workplace

Mentors have existed since time immemorial. Many claim that the word derives from the name of a character in The Odyssey, an ancient Greek epic poem that was probably composed around 700BC. The elderly Mentor was a great friend of Odysseus and trusted advisor to his young son Telemachus. Similarly, today mentors are often senior figures entrusted with providing advice to younger, more inexperienced employees. The aim: to help their mentees progress within their role, within their organisation, and – ultimately – within their chosen industry sector.

Mentoring can have significant benefits for the organisation, notably in terms of promoting a positive company culture, enhancing productivity and improving employee retention. Both mentor and mentee also stand to gain from a successful mentoring relationship through open, honest communication and feedback. Here are a few tips on how to get it right as a mentor:

Set a clear framework from the outset

In consultation with your mentee, decide how often you will meet and for how long. Also consider which communication channels you wish to use between meetings. Will your door always be open to your mentee, or would you prefer to receive emails from her on a particular day at a particular time?

Define goals together

Discuss and decide your mentee’s personal and professional goals with her. Your mentee’s input is a crucial part of this conversation; your role is to guide and support her in implementing a plan to achieve these goals.

Listen and learn from each other

It is often said that the mentor/mentee relationship is a ‘two-way street’ where the mentor has just as much to learn from the relationship as the mentee. Give your mentee the opportunity to express herself openly and honestly. Every individual has different ways of thinking and doing – and you may pick up an invaluable tip or two!

Let your mentee make mistakes

Provide honest, constructive feedback to your mentee, but allow her to follow her own vision and make mistakes. Learning from errors is essential to personal and professional development. Help your mentee analyse what went wrong and she’ll be able to move forward with confidence.

Be a positive role model

Lead by example not just in the mentor/mentee relationship, but in the wider workplace by demonstrating confidence, respect for others and clear, open communication. Celebrate your successes with your colleagues, but also share your failures. They show what you have overcome to reach the place you are today and will provide your mentee – and others – with a realistic perspective.

Being a mentor is both a privilege and a responsibility. Done right, it can benefit mentee, mentor and the wider business organisation.

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Are You Ready for the New National Minimum Wage?

From 1 July 2019, the new national minimum wage (NMW) will be $740.80 per week or $19.49 per hour – an increase of 3.0%. A significant number of workers stand to benefit from the change. Currently around 2.2 million employees in Australia are paid the NMW or a modern award minimum wage, which is also set to increase by 3.0%.

Over the next few weeks, the Fair Work Commission will be providing more information about how the increase will affect modern awards. They will also be updating their pay tools with the new pay rates. So, keep your eyes on their website or subscribe to receive email updates from them about changes in your industry sector!

There are also some changes to penalty rates for Sunday work from 1 July 2019. These will affect employees paid under the Hospitality and Retail awards. Starting next month, full-time and part-time employees covered by the Hospitality award will receive 150% of their base pay rate, instead of 160%, for Sunday work.

Under the Retail award, employees will be affected by reductions to penalty rates for Sunday work from 1 July, as follows:

  • Full-time and part-time employees who aren’t shiftworkers will be paid 165% of their base pay rate for Sunday work, instead of 180%.
  • Casual employees who aren’t shiftworkers will be paid 175% of their base pay rate instead of 185%. This includes their casual loading.
  • Full-time and part-time shiftworkers will be will be paid 185% of their base pay rate instead of 195%.
  • Casual employees who are shiftworkers will be paid 215% of their base pay rate instead of 220%. This includes their casual loading.

Further changes to penalty rates for casual employees who aren’t shiftworkers will come into effect under the Retail award from 1 October this year. These retail employees will benefit from a 5% increase in penalty rates for Saturday work and Monday to Friday evening work from 6 pm.

Detailed information about the NMW changes can be found on the Fair Work Commission website.

Click here for more information about changes to penalty rates under the Hospitality award.

Click here for more information about changes to penalty rates under the Retail award.

We would love to hear what you think about the new national minimum wage ? 

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