Is negotiating a pay rise on your current to-do list? Let us walk you through what not to do when speaking about salary increases with your current leader.

We know that in the current economy, the cost of living has increased. Whilst his is very much a genuine reason for negotiating a rise, your actual performance plays a crucial role in the decision. Don’t use cost of living as the sole, leading factor in your conversation. Time your conversation aptly with peak performance in your role. Ensure your numbers and team or departments numbers are where they need to be before asking and use this as leverage. Your KPIs don’t always need to be exceptional, but they do need to be hitting the benchmarks.

Don’t ask for a pay rise because ‘you’ve been offered more elsewhere.’ Whilst this can sometimes fuel an increase, you’re likely to be viewed as a flight risk and this will likely inhibit your pay rise request. From an employers perspective, they may think, why offer an increase if this person is job searching anyway? Flip your languaging and instead talk about your market value and the research you’ve done into your worth at your skill level.

If you are job searching, ensure you negotiate the right salary at this early stage, instead of banking on big increases later. It’s more achievable to secure the right salary as a new starter than it is to score a significant rise later. The average pay rise internally per annum sits at around 4%, so remember to negotiate your worth at the very start of your journey with the brand, and don’t ask for too much later.