How to talk to management about a salary increase — tips from Ciklum, Jooble, and more HRs

A good job should be well-paid, so it’s understandable that all professionals expect their remuneration to increase over time. So what’s the best way to ask for a raise? How to argue, and what is better not to mention? HR specialists from well-known companies answered these questions and gave advice on how to act in such a situation.

Experts from Ciklum, SKELAR, Jooble, Boosta, Brainstack_, AllCares, ITExpert, and expla told how to prepare for a conversation with management, what to emphasize, and why «bank loans» and other offers — bad arguments.

Tetiana Hyriavets, Global Head of HR Partners, Ciklum

In order to avoid misunderstandings and maximize the chances of success, Tetiana advises finding out in advance how the company reviews salaries. It is important to know whether there are defined cycles throughout the year and whether the manager can take into account the employee’s expectations in this process.

«When planning such a conversation with a manager, you should be prepared for a reasoned discussion. Appeal to your achievements, contribution to the company’s development, and your professional growth,» HR advises.

Instead, Tetiana does not recommend resorting to manipulation (e.g., ultimatums), comparing yourself to others, or making up stories about offers from other employers«It looks unprofessional and causes a negative reaction. It is important to understand that the organization is interested in keeping qualified, experienced colleagues working as long as possible. However, any organization is first and foremost a business with its own strategy, processes, and budgets, which are the basis for all business decisions, including the review of remuneration,» the expert explained.

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Anastasia Khyzhnyak, Talent Enablement Director at Jooble

Anastasiia advises to justify your request for a salary increase based on one of these factors or a combination of them.

• A business value you have created recently. For example, a project was completed that the client liked very much, and because of this, the company has the potential for future cooperation with them.
• Skills that you have developed recently and the value they bring to your role, team, and the company as a whole. For example, you took a course and learned about new approaches that you were able to implement in your work and help your colleagues
• Role change and additional roles or responsibilities. For example, you started mentoring newcomers to the team so that they could get involved in the work faster.
• Changes in market salary levels for your role. However, if you have recently had a review and use this reason alone, it may look rather weak. It is better to use it in combination with others and with the understanding that market levels are rather arbitrary: the specific skills and level of responsibility in the role are more important. In different companies, even for roles with the same title, they can be very different.

The specialist notes that you should not base your request solely on personal reasons (for example, a housing loan).

«By hiring you, the company expects to receive some value for a certain financial investment, if it’s very dry. So, if your circumstances change, think about how you can create more value for the business, and then receive higher compensation», Anastasia added.

She noted that an open question about the value you can still create can be a good start to an open conversation with a manager and help them plan the budget for the team accordinglyInstead, Anastasiia does not recommend trying to find out what colleagues’ salaries are and comparing yourself to them for a promotion.

«You may not know all the factors in choosing this particular level of compensation for your colleagues, but only present everything through your own prism without all the facts from the company. This approach will also show that you are willing to spend time on this type of activity instead of thinking about possible improvements in your work,» the specialist believes.

Igor Shikhov, HRG and co-founder at IT recruitment agency ITExpert

Igor noted that for him, the dialogue about salary — is not about «asking for».

«This formulation builds a specific hierarchy between a specialist and a manager that has long been irrelevant,» he believes.

Shikhov named three main strategies for raising salaries that are well received by managers and do not cause negative feedback: argue its value, point out the expansion of functionality, or ask about such opportunities.

For example, you know about the growth opportunities in Team Lead. You can ask what else you need to do to grow in this area and what kind of salary increase you can expect. Mentoring newcomers can be an argument why you are the right choice, HRG added.

The easiest way to understand this is when the company has internal grades (levels) — you know what you have to do and over what period to expect a promotion. Or when there is a culture of creating individual development plans or performance reviewsperformance evaluation tied to salaries or bonuses. However, as the expert explained, not all companies have such processes in place systematically.

What HRG advises against:

• believe that they should be paid extra only for years of service in the company;
• passively wait for a dialog about salary with the manager without showing any initiative;
• suddenly asking a manager about their salary when they are unprepared for it (it is better to do this in one-on-one meetings);
• coming to an employer with an offer from another company and expecting to be «bought» — sometimes it works, but not in the long run, the expert explained.

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Kateryna Yurchuk, HRD at Brainstack_, says

If your company has an established, agreed-upon process for reviewing remuneration, build on it, study the rules and deadlines for the review, and prepare for the meetings, Kateryna explained.

It is worth initiating a conversation on this topic if your workload has increased, you have taken on additional responsibility, the results of your work are outstanding.

Kateryna also advised on how to prepare for the meeting and whom to contact.

1. Analyze and describe your achievements in terms of specific tasks completed or KPIs achieved, and the timeframe for achieving them. If possible, digitize the result of the tasks performed and their impact and value on achieving the company’s goals.
2. Initiate a 1-1 with your line manager or at the next meeting, discuss the issue, voice your arguments, and ask for feedback.
3. Mention this request to your HR for further discussion of a possible promotion

What you should definitely not do.

• Compare your remuneration with various ratings of similar roles and years of experience. Kateryna explained that she doesn’t believe in the relevance of these ratings because each company has its own requirements for the level of expertise of candidates, different tasks, and different performance evaluations.
• Base your request solely on your personal financial needs during this period. It is better to base your request on the value you bring to the company.
• Use threats and gossip such as «I’m going to look for a new offer», «my colleague is not working well». Kateryna explained that this looks unprofessional.

Natalie Ten, Chief People Officer at expla

Natalie advised to research the market first, because in most cases, companies focus on the market order of amounts.

«Review the most targeted job search sources that can show salary data. These are usually job search sites or recruitment companies. You can also research networking professionals if they can share the data,» the expert explained.

Next, you need to prepare for a conversation with management. Natalie advises following this structure:

• the purpose of the meeting or conversation;
• description of achievements and contribution to the results of the department or company;
• strengths and goals for further development;
• presenting market figures and data from various sources (to understand why you want specific amounts);
• a proposal of what exactly you would like to receive and why the company will get an additional benefit if it agrees to your terms.

The expert advises to be prepared for an open dialogue and arguments from the management.Here’s what you should refrain from:

• Threats and ultimatums: stay calm, don’t start «waving a baton»;
• do not make your personal problems in life the main argument — this has nothing to do with you as a specialist. Talk about your achievements at work, not «loans in the bank»;
• unreasonable reasons — find valuable results of your work.

Also, keep in mind that raising your salary is not always a quick process, so negotiate a comfortable time frame and agree on all stages of the process and your expectations.

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Iryna Kozyaryk, HR Lead at SKELAR

Iryna gave the following tips on how to talk about raising salaries.

• Work through the feedback on your work (goals achieved, projects implemented, etc.) and use it to prepare arguments «for» salary increases.
• Work out arguments for possible objections from the manager.
• If there is an expectation of a promotion, discuss it in advance to level up expectations and, if necessary, be able to «pull up» what might prevent you from getting a promotion.
• If the terms of the promotion have not been discussed before, do not expect an immediate response from the manager.
• Work out the possibility of long-term agreements with your manager on career and financial growth. These can be long-term goals, a roadmap for growth within the company, etc.

What to avoid:

• lack of preparation on their part;
• the taboo nature of the salary topic and the lack of discussion of this issue the day before;
• ultimatums and bargaining.

Alina Kireeva, HR Business Partner at Boosta

Alina’s first and foremost piece of advice is to ask for a raise in advance.

«The worst case scenario is when you didn’t take the initiative earlier, and now you can’t wait any longer and are ready to quit. It should be understood that there are managers who do not initiate raids on their side, but wait for the employee to raise the issue on their own,» the expert added.

She explained that this should be done in advance because each company has its own unique processes. So, if you do not report directly to the CEO of the business, who can decide on the raise on his own, then it may take some time to approve the raise or you may need to budget it for the next month, quarter, etc. It also often happens that certain conditions are imposed for promotion (to fulfill something, to prove oneself in some way), so it is worth setting aside time for this, the expert noted. Alina noted that salary wishes should be voiced at one of the regular 1-1 meetings with the team leader.

«You can warn the manager in advance that you would like to discuss remuneration issues on the call. This way, he or she can prepare for the conversation,» the specialist explained.

She also advises to prepare arguments. Pay attention to good results over a certain period of time, KPIs achieved or exceeded, increased responsibility, long-term quality work without raids (more than a year or two, for example).

«Don’t be afraid to talk about your achievements. After all, even though the manager works with you and sees your work, they don’t think only about it. If you prepare a file with your results for the manager, it will be easier for him to make a decision and justify your rake. And you will additionally demonstrate that you are really interested in continuing cooperation,» the expert added.

If you have a trusting relationship with your manager, you can use arguments about your knowledge of remuneration in other companies. However, you should definitely not manipulate this because you work here, and each company has its own rules and opportunities. In addition, do not ask for a raise as an ultimatum, threaten to fire or say that you know how much your colleague is paid/

«Such people usually don’t get a raise because every company is primarily interested in motivating a specialist to work here. Also, do not forget about previous agreements, if any. If you come for a raise before the agreed upon time, it can reduce the manager’s trust in your words,» says Alina.

Lyubov Viktorenko, owner of the people agency AllCares

Liubov believes that when you ask someone for something, you are in a losing position in most cases. That’s why she advises to approach this issue as proactively as possible:

• to perform their work tasks efficiently, to go beyond and take on more tasks and responsibilities whenever possible;
• develop as a specialist — take trainings, courses, additional training, etc. (in order to always be «on the wave» of what is happening in the professional field);
• build good relationships with colleagues, subordinates, and managers;
• develop strategic and business thinking — understand how your actions or those of your department affect the success and results of the business.

«If you have good results in the above-mentioned points, you will most likely not even have to start a conversation about raising your salary. Any business that sees a person who delivers high results will raise salaries, pay bonuses, and promote people up the career ladder,» says Lyubov.

The expert explained that companies are usually afraid of losing such people and do their best to keep them working.

Iryna Mordovets, HR Business Partner at AlphaNovel by SKELAR

Iryna noted that talking about a salary increase can be stressful and awkward. Therefore, the right approach and preparation can increase the chances of a successful request to the manager.

It will contribute to success:

1. Preparation and analysis. Identify your achievements and the value of your contribution to the business. Always refer to specific achievements: indicate specific projects that have been successfully implemented, do not forget about facts and figures.
2. Extra value. Tell us what additional projects you worked on, took on new responsibilities, or exceeded your goals.
3. Add information about the market salary for your position if you believe that the salary does not correspond to the market situation.

It is better to avoid:

1. Demanding revision of remuneration without arguments. It is better to prepare arguments why you think you deserve a raise.
2. Deception or exaggeration of achievements. It is better to be objective and honest.
3. Negative tone of communication or manipulation.

«Try to be open to dialogue. Even if you get a rejection now — ask what you can do to get a promotion in the future,» Iryna summarized.

• Earlier, Ukrainian recruiters advised on how to stay motivated when looking for a job. Even if a candidate receives the same number of rejections for 100 responses.