In the last few weeks, I’ve heard two great stories regarding employees asking for a raise that boggle my mind.
The first story is from a manager who told me that an employee who was on a corrective action plan came into his office and stated, “Since I’m handling two additional assignments, I feel I deserve a raise.” This manager correctly handled the request by responding, “We do not consider requests for raises from employees who are currently on corrective action plans.”
The second story comes from a CEO who told us that one of her employees came to her and announced, “I’m not happy working here and I’m thinking about leaving. The only way I would consider staying is if you were to give me a 30 percent raise.” In this case, the CEO felt that she couldn’t live without the employee and gave in, giving up 30 percent more salary to ensure the employee stayed with the company.
Asking your manager for a raise is a high risk maneuver. Although people tell employees that, “It never hurts to ask,” the reality can be harsh. If the answer is no, the manager could harbor resentment about being asked for a raise by an ungrateful employee and the employee could be disheartened because the manager doesn’t see the value in their contributions. When this happens, the negotiation has a high potential to end up in lose-lose.
At some point in their career, every manager has had an employee come to them and ask for a raise. It’s usually requested at a time when the manager hasn’t had time to think through an appropriate response to the request. So what should they do?
