How to Negotiate a Salary Increase in Singapore

Negotiating a salary increase can help you maximize your earnings in the Lion City. Although Singapore’s salaries are among the highest in the region, the cost of living is also high. If you are considering a salary negotiation, here are some ways to increase your confidence and make the task less nerve-wracking.

#1: BE PREPARED

Before entering any negotiation, it is crucial to do your research. Preparation can help you reduce your nerves. Research the industry’s average salary for your designation, the company’s financial performance, and any related economic factors.

You can use Salary Comparison tools online, which are designed to give you a comprehensive overview of key roles and their respective salaries. For instance, you can check out MOM’s Salary Comparison feature to compare your salary across organizations of various industries, establishment sizes, and employee types. This free feature comes with colorful graphs, which makes the information easy to understand.

#2: DESCRIBE YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS

When negotiating a salary increase, display your accomplishments to underscore the value you bring to the company. Highlight any projects you have led or have been involved with as well as the recognitions or awards you have received.

Do not forget to focus on the numbers! You can try to deny it as much as you want, but businesses revolve around making profits and growing numbers. Use statistics as direct proof of your contributions to the company. For example, in the past two months, I have brought in three new clients, which resulted in an 80% total increase in the company’s sales.

#3: IGNORE YOUR PREVIOUS SALARY

Ignore your previous salary. While it is always better to earn more than in your previous job, using your last drawn salary as a benchmark is by no means a good gauge. You have gained so much experience, skills, and knowledge since then. Instead, look at your objective value to the company.

#4: IMPROVE YOUR SKILLS

When talking about value, your added skills and abilities can help the company to flourish. Turn the tables into your favor by having appropriate education, expertise, and experience. Start by focusing on investing in seminars, workshops, and courses.

Best of all? Most of these resources are available at no cost. In the comfort of your own home, you can acquire Google and Microsoft certificates online. There are other online platforms that offer free courses such as Centre for Excellence and Coursera.

#5: BE SPECIFIC

When stating your intent for an increase, you need to be specific and provide a realistic range. This will give the company some flexibility in meeting your expectations while also opening the floor for negotiation.

#6: CONSIDER OTHER BENEFITS

As an HR Consultant, I often give a brief background about the company and emphasize its company benefits to draw candidates closer to the organization. If your company is unable to meet your desired salary increase now, you can consider negotiating other benefits such as flexible working hours, childcare allowance, improved health plans, training opportunities, or additional vacation leaves. Can you imagine having your company shoulder half of your childcare fees or overseas workshop costs? These benefits add to your overall compensation package.

Image Credits: unsplash.com

BOTTOMLINE

In conclusion, negotiating a salary increase can be challenging. However, with sufficient preparation and the right approach, it can also be a rewarding experience. Remember to do your research, highlight your accomplishments, be specific, invest in knowledge expansion, and consider other benefits. With these tips, you can successfully negotiate a salary increase and maximize your earnings in Singapore.

Sources: 1 & 2

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When to Ask Your Boss for your First Raise

Business Man Pondering

Asking for a raise is like breaking up. There really isn’t a “best time” for it, and a lot of awkwardness will be involved. Unfortunately, our success in life corresponds to the number of awkward conversations we’re willing to have. So if you want to climb out of that low income rut, you’re going to have to bite the bullet and ask–but do it the right way:

The Three Rules of Asking for Money from Your Boss

The first thing you have to do is make sure you don’t break any of these. If you do, the chances of failure are not only exponentially higher, but the consequences will also be steep. Even if you do win your raise while breaking these rules, you will incur the resentment of your employer and could pay for it throughout your career.

  • Always signal your intentions. Always give your boss forewarning. Drop a polite note saying you would like to set a time to discuss how you’re being compensated. If you corner your boss at the water cooler and ask for a raise, 99% of the time the answer will be “no”, or a polite brush-off.
  • Prepare justifications based on results, not on how hard you worked. You will need to make a list of achievements before negotiating. “Achievements” are not the number of hours you worked, or the personal time you’ve given up (we hate to tell you this, but most employers don’t care). Achievements are how much money you’ve made for the company, how you improved a product or service.
  • Always have help. Find a team or department leader whose schedule would be badly affected by your departure, and tell them about it first. If someone relies on you for budget reports, for example, tell them your plans to leave if you can’t get a raise. And then ask them to back your credentials when you negotiate with your boss. Here’s a secret: whether you get a raise is often dependent on how hard team leaders fight for you, not just how hard you fight for yourself.

Timing the Moment

Obviously, the best times should be just after a good performance review, or after a successful project. But things are seldom so convenient, so look for the following times instead:

  1. Wait About Three Working Days after Informing Your Boss of Your Intentions

As mentioned above, never corner your boss and discuss your raise on the spot. Send a short e-mail or, even better, meet her face to face and ask if you can talk about your compensation “later this week”.

Three days is a good interval, which will also give you time to prepare what you need. It will also give your boss time to reflect on your contributions.

  1. Ask about Two Weeks after a Big Win

Use the “halo effect”. When your department or you have performed well, you are in a good position to negotiate a raise. However, don’t do it immediately, as it will be too obvious that you are trying to capitalise on it.

  1. You’ve Just Heard the Report on Your Employer’s Financial Health

If you just heard a rah-rah report about your company doing better, try to time your request close to date you heard it. You can also obtain this information from a prospectus or annual report.

It is better if you make the request after it has been announced however, since it’s harder for your employer to use lack of money as an excuse.

  1. You’ve Checked and Compared Your Earnings

Use sites like Payscale to check your earnings compared to your peers. You might even want to go so far as interview for positions in other companies, to see how much they are willing to offer. In general, you are right to ask for a raise if you are on the low end of the pay scale (bottom 50%). If you are already on the high end of the scale, you had better have some kind of massive achievement of late to justify the request.

If the timing is right and you’ve prepared the right details, then go ahead and make your move.

Just remember though, if you do get a raise, don’t go crazy with it.  Your first priority should be to pay down any credit card debts that you have. Your credit card should be saving you money, not costing you money. If that’s not the case, drop by SingSaver.com.sg to compare and find the best credit card for your needs.

(This article is brought to you by Singsaver.com.sg)

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