If you were just offered a new job or your annual performance review is approaching, you might be thinking about how to negotiate your pay. But with recession-wary companies still pinching pennies and hesitant to open their wallets, your salary may be non-negotiable. Still, if a raise is out of the question, you can bargain for more benefits, instead.
"A perk can be defined a number of ways," says Marty Latz, author of Gain the Edge!: Negotiating to Get What You Want and chief executive of Latz Negotiation Institute. "Perks can vary from things like parking spots to who will be on your staff, to flextime. No matter what it is that you want, it's critical that your employer does what they can to satisfy your needs. If they can give you the perks you want, you will be happier, more productive and more efficient."
But keep in mind that some perks are more open to discussion than others. "Employees would be smart to ask for things that there is a greater likelihood that employers have the discretion to give," says HR expert Steve Kane. Employers have virtually no discretion over granting additional funded benefits in areas such as health care and retirement, and they are usually hemmed in regarding salary or target bonuses, based on internal compensation equity, he says. But they do have some flexibility on matters such as signing bonuses and non-cost items like work schedule, office or desk location, vacation time, or the number of high visibility projects you'll be assigned to. "These may be worth a great deal to an individual employee."
If you're a job candidate planning to negotiate perks, know that you should not start bargaining until you have a firm offer in hand. "If the employee gets too aggressive in the pre-hire process, the employer may believe that they are making an offer to an individual who expects too much special treatment," he says.
Another thing to keep in mind: whether you're a candidate or a seasoned employee who simply believes you deserve more, do your research and think carefully about what you ask for.
"With budgets so tight these days, I'd caution employees and candidates chanting the mantra 'everything is negotiable' to do their homework before taking that first step," says HR expert Lisa Rosendahl.
Medical, dental, and life insurance plans, which have varying levels of contribution and coverage to elect, are usually non-negotiable. Similarly, 401(k) plans and company matches tend to be off limits. Also, with benefits budgets tighter these days, perks with out-of-pocket costs are under greater scrutiny and may be more difficult to negotiate, Rosendahl adds. But it's not impossible to get them.
Perks that are commonly negotiated include vacation days, telecommuting, gym memberships, dry cleaning costs, child care, transportation expenses, professional society dues, education expense reimbursements, parking spots, projects, staff, and flextime. "Work flexibility is probably the perk most sought after by employees," Kane says. "Interestingly, it is the one most likely to be granted in some way."
If your company wants to recruit or retain the very best talent, it's likely to give in and grant more perks—but you may have to put in the work and put up a good fight. "In order to get the perks you want, you have to find out what kind of precedent exists," Latz says. "By doing your homework, you can find out what the company has offered employees in the past, and this would help you justify why it should be offered to you."
Another effective way to negotiate a perk is to identify how and why it will positively affect your performance and how it will benefit the employer, Kane adds.
"The best argument is that such perks facilitate or enable superior performance and may allow the employee to work longer hours more productively."
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