What do you do when your manager says this after asking for a promotion and pay raise?

First, you take a deep breath. Next, you ask, “Tell me more. What do I need to do to be considered for a promotion?” Then, LISTEN and take notes.

It is easy for employees today to look at job postings and see if a similar job to theirs is paying more and then use that information when they talk to their manager. But that doesn’t represent all the employers who have employees doing similar work. And that one employer’s pay range doesn’t represent the full external market for talent.

Your employer uses statistical data published by reputable vendors in salary surveys to determine how much to pay their employees. This external market data (not one job posting) is used to develop grades, base pay ranges, and bonus or sales incentive targets. It may also be used to develop long-term incentive targets for senior leaders.

AND pay equity and pay transparency laws require employers to consider how they are paying other employees when changing your pay. They can’t just consider the external market.

For instance, the Colorado law requires businesses to provide equal pay including benefits to all employees performing substantially similar work.

So, while you can advocate for yourself and negotiate, your employer is going to consider your pay request vs. the pay of other employees along with the external market. This doesn’t mean you won’t get more eventually, but it may mean you have to time the conversation to when the employer does their annual compensation review.

And listening to your manager after they say “no” is critical to your successful pay negotiation.

Of course, you could also hire a Pay Negotiation Coach like me to help you with your conversation.

#payequity #rewards #compensation #negotiation #humanresources