7 Steps to Be Correctly Valued in Your Role
You’ve got a lot of experience working in healthcare. You always provide quality work. You’re great with patients, and pay attention to detail. You’ve eventaken on extra responsibility.
So why is it that you feel undervalued at work?
You feel that you deserve a pay raise. But for many people working in healthcare, negotiating a pay increase fills them with dread. Should you approach your boss about pay? Or should you allow the feeling of being ignored when it comes to money amplify until you resent your job and your employer?
Because this can be such a tricky subject to approach, we’ve put together this brief guide to help you when negotiating a pay raise in your healthcare job.
7 Steps to Negotiate a Pay Raise
When it comes to negotiating a pay raise,there are several key steps you can take to increase your chances of success. You need to be methodical and confident. This comes from planning your approach, knowing your value, and being prepared with what to say. These seven steps will help you get the pay raise you deserve.
1. Plan Your Approach
The first step is to make a plan. You’ll need to arrange to meet with your manager. This may not be possible immediately. It’s crucial to let your manager know what you wish to discuss. This way, there can be no excuses for your manager being taken by surprise.
Before you meet to discuss your pay, you should gather evidence of your accomplishments, accolades, and your market value, and carefully plan how you will make the case for a pay raise.
2. Set Expectations
Another important step is to set your employer’s expectations early and often. Don’t be coy about discussing pay, and make your manager aware of your expectations. You could talk about industry pay trends, and discuss during regular check-ins and performance reviews.
3. Know Your Market Value
Knowing your market value is also critical when negotiating a pay raise. Knowing what others are paid in similar roles will strengthen your case for a pay raise.
4. Make Your Case for a Pay Raise
Having gathered all your evidence, it’s time to make your case when you meet with your boss. It’s crucial not to make demands, or threats (for example, ‘If I don’t get a pay raise, I will have to leave’.).
Approach the negotiation like a discussion. Reaffirm your commitment to the company, your manager, and your colleagues. Highlight the positive impact that your contribution is having. Discuss your achievements and your record. You’re looking for agreement – it will be more difficult for your manager to refuse your request for a pay raise.
5. Negotiate Effectively
During your pay discussions, you should share the information about industry pay rates and salaries for comparative positions and roles within your company and elsewhere.
Be prepared to compromise, too. (A tip here is to know what you would give up to gain – for example, would you forego some of your desired pay increase for more flexible hours?). The aim should be to reach an agreement that is acceptable to both you and your manager.
6. Be Prepared for ‘Not Yet’
It may be that your manager says that it is not possible to give you a pay increase yet. In this case, you must be prepared to negotiate on the conditions that would make a pay raise possible. This means setting clear goals and timelines for achieving your desired pay and following through on these commitments. Set a date to review your performance and discuss pay again.
7. Know What You Will Do If You Are Unsuccessful
If your boss’s answer is an emphatic ‘no’, what should be your next move? If after your pay discussion you still feel undervalued and underappreciated, it may be time to consider exploring other opportunities in the healthcare industry.
Could a move to a new employer give you the job satisfaction and higher pay that you deserve?
To find out, contact Lakeshore Talent today. Yourinquiry will be treated in the strictest confidence, and you could be surprised at the opportunities that are available in the healthcare sector today.