 Getting a bigger pay rise is an ordeal that most people hate going through. Yet, if you don't ask for a salary increase, at least in line with what other companies are paying, chances are you'll get paid less than you deserve. And unfortunately, if you are good at your job and create a lot of value, chances are you're being paid way below what you could be. Learn how to negotiate a salary increase and you'll be a lot better off. I'm sharing eight ways of getting a bigger pay rise and when asking to get a bigger salary, you have to overcome the reluctance of companies to increase their costs. The eight steps take you through a logical and tested approach to build a compelling case for a pay rise. Taking these steps will build your confidence and massively increase your chances of success. My name is Jess Coles and if you're new here, Enhance.Training shares people management expertise, resources and courses to speed up your journey to become a great manager. I've included links to additional videos in the description below as well as the video timestamps, so do take a look at these. And if you like this video, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe. The first way for getting a bigger pay rise is to work out why you deserve a pay rise. This is a really important step that many people actually don't do properly. You can't think in terms of yourself. For instance, you know, I've been working another year, therefore I deserve a pay rise. Or your inflation is at X percent and therefore I'm getting paid X percent less than last year and therefore I should get paid more. These thoughts may all be true and yet these arguments don't really work. You have to think in terms of the value you have created for the company. You know, for instance, firstly, where have you saved the company time and costs and pretty much everyone can achieve cost or time savings in their job. Secondly, where have you increased revenues either directly or indirectly? Third, where have you beaten targets that you've been set? Fourth, how have you increased visibility and understanding which has led to lower costs or higher revenues? And fifth, how have you specifically helped the company be successful? These are all framed in terms of how you've helped the company. Get specific and include numbers in how you frame the value you've created. Really think about your role and how you create value for your company. And as soon as you are clearly creating more value than your salary, you're in a great negotiating position to get a bigger pay rise. The second way to get a bigger pay rise is to know your worth. You're having worked out all the internal measures of your worth, i.e. your achievements for the company. Work out how the job's market values your role. Go to read.co.uk or a similar jobs website and find job adverts for what you do. Be as specific as you can. Look past the job title at, firstly, things like the responsibilities and accountabilities of the role. Secondly, the tasks, activities, problems and projects the role needs to deliver against. Third, who the role reports to and fourth, the dynamics of the company and where exactly the role is based. Match up your role as closely as possible to a range of jobs being offered by other companies. Compare the salaries and take note of the average and the range of salaries. Keep copies of all the job adverts you use so you can provide these to your manager later. A complementary option is to speak to a friendly recruitment consultant that you already have a relationship with and then ask them to provide you with their views on what salary you're worth on an email. Use third party market data to demonstrate your worth. The third way for getting a bigger pay rise is to be realistic. Keeping realistic adds to your credibility when asking for a pay rise. Your request is hard to ignore or dismiss. The company situation, the economic situation and the state of the jobs market all impact pay rises and I think it is sensible to consider each. If the company is doing very well, the company can afford to make larger pay rises. If the company has little profit or cash, then pay rises full stop may be in doubt. And externally, if there are many jobs being offered and few people to fill them, getting a bigger salary is a lot easier than if there are many people looking for jobs and few job opportunities. Your ability to go elsewhere to get a bigger salary is a key factor from the company's point of view when considering pay. Show that you're being realistic and have considered these factors when asking for a pay rise and you should be taken more seriously. The fourth way of getting a bigger pay rise is to build your case. Use the information that you've gathered so far to build your case for a pay rise and put it into writing in a document. Your boss will need this document to get sign off for your pay increase and we'll cover this more in detail later. Create a one or two page document setting out. Firstly, all the reasons why you should get a pay rise. Secondly, the actual figure that you're asking for. Don't provide a range and set it higher than your minimum. And third, all the market evidence that you're worth the figure that you're asking for. Get a friend outside of work to look at the documents to make sure that it makes sense and it is well structured. Keep the document focused on how you've created value for the company. And don't forget to think about all the elements of your pay, you know, salary, bonuses, benefits, share options, etc. The hardest area to get an increase in is your salary in my experience because from the company's point of view, if you do a rubbish job, you still get paid. Once you have your document finalised, you are ready to speak to your manager. The fifth way for getting a bigger pay rise is picking the right time to ask. Don't ambush your manager with pay rise requests. Always signal that you want to talk about pay before actually asking. And a good way to do this is to send your pay rise document to your manager and ask for a one on one meeting so you can discuss your pay with them. Always ask your manager for a bigger salary in private. Never do this in public. And don't send your requests for a meeting over on Monday morning or a Friday afternoon. You know, manager likes to get additional problems to deal with during these times. And after you've requested to speak to your manager about your pay, you should then follow up to arrange a specific meeting or bring up paying your next regular one on one meeting. Always give your manager time to think through your pay rise and to do a bit of research for themselves. The sixth way to get a bigger pay rise is to be ready to negotiate. If your manager just says yes, you probably have asked for too small a pay rise. Expect and negotiate on things like the amount of the pay rise in what form it takes, i.e. annual salary or bonus or other things, and thirdly, when it's effective from. Your minimum amount should be the figure that you'd be happy earning and feel as a fair exchange for the value that you've delivered for the business. Always ask more than your minimum so that you have room to negotiate and come away happy with the outcome. Don't provide an excessively high figure to try and anchor the negotiations in unrealistic territory. For more advice on negotiating, take a look at Seven Actions to Negotiate Effectively at Work. The seventh way of getting a bigger pay rise is to have a plan B. If you get a no after asking for a pay rise or a salient increase that you feel is below your worth, you have three main options. Firstly, accept the situation. Secondly, keep fighting for higher remuneration. And third, get a job offer paying more from another company. Consider switching your pay rise request to increases in your bonuses, holiday, health cover, pension or other benefits such as training and development. In my experience, getting a salary increase is much harder than getting increases in performance related pay, such as bonuses. There can be many rational and irrational reasons why managers or HR block increases in salary. Focus on other elements of your pay and see what increases you can negotiate. Another option is that you get a job offer paying significantly more from another company. You can then use this to force a higher salary and stay with your company, or you can move companies. The cost of recruiting, training and betting in a new employee will nearly always be a lot higher than the salary increase that you're asking for. And just bear in mind that if you have to fight hard to get a salary increase that you deserve, you may be at the wrong company. The eighth way of getting a bigger pay rise is to help your manager get sign off. A common situation is that your manager supports your pay rise request but struggles to get this signed off by their managers. By providing a document with the reasons you deserve a pay rise, written in terms of how the company benefits, you are arming your manager with hopefully a compelling case. Support your manager in getting the pay rise request through. Find out what the objections are, blocking the sign off and who is doing the blocking. Work with your manager to address the objections and speak to the individuals that are blocking the rise. If you are a good performer, there is nearly always an acceptable compromise to be reached. Negotiate and be flexible to a point. If building a compelling case and negotiating fails, then get a job offer from another company paying more. The company's willingness to compromise and reach a solution is a very strong indicator for how much you're valued. If you're not valued enough, find a company that values you a lot more. You and your career will be better off in the long run. We've gone through eight ways of getting a bigger salary at work. The better the job you're doing, the more likely you'll be able to successfully ask for and get a bigger salary and or other benefits. And if you don't ask, you don't get. Companies will usually try to get away with paying their staff as little as possible while still retaining their employees. Ask for what you deserve. To recap, the eight ways of getting a bigger pay rise are, firstly, work out why you deserve a pay rise. Secondly, know your worth. Third, be realistic. Fourth, build your case. Fifth, pick in the right time to ask. Sixth, be ready to negotiate. Seventh, have a plan B and eight help your boss get sign off. If you have any questions about how to negotiate a salary increase, please leave them in the comments section below and I'll get back to you. Thanks very much for watching and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.