Five questions to get you a better pay
If you are employed on an individual contract and negotiate your own pay, here are some hands-on questions to ask your manager offered by negotiation expert Caroline Rønne.
Leave modesty at the door
She is an experienced pay negotiator with 17 years of experience from various commercial roles, one of which was as sales director for Deutsche Bahn, the national railway company in Germany. So she has sat on both sides of the table when pay is to be negotiated.
But her strong awareness of pay negotiations comes from a chance experience: she discovered that her colleague was paid DKK 10,000 more than her for the exact same job.
“I was both a little shocked and angry, but also ashamed,” she says, explaining that it made her explore the availability of books and courses about pay negotiations.
In Denmark, she found nothing but older books, many of which aimed specifically at men, with such titles as ‘Hit the jackpot at the next pay negotiations’ or pictures on the front cover of arm-wrestling men in suits.
"None of them appealed to me," she explains. Instead, she found some courses in Germany, where she is from, and that whetted her appetite.
The new knowledge she acquired subsequently led her to negotiate a pay rise of 60 per cent and a bonus of DKK 200,000.
Essentially, it is about leaving your modesty at the door and knowing your own worth, she explains.
"Asking for too little also says something about you. It might affect how your results and skills are perceived by others," she explains, before moving on to the five questions she believes you will do well to ask your manager.
1. What will it actually take for me to get a pay rise of DKK X?
A large part of a salary negotiation does not actually take place on the day of the scheduled salary review meeting but is instead part of a preceding process.
Caroline Rønne’s first question of what it will take to get a specific pay rise is relevant here too.
"You will force your counterpart to take an active stance on what you need to achieve to get a specific pay rise. Typically, the answer will be more than a simple ‘no’. If you ask openly, you are likely to get an answer," reassures Caroline Rønne.
She emphasises that it is paramount to do thorough research before the actual salary review meeting.
"Think carefully about what you're going to ask for and remember to make room for negotiation, meaning that you will get a little less than what you are asking for,” she explains.
Caroline Rønne suggests employees check the pay statistics with their trade union and to ask how much their colleagues or others in similar positions are paid.
It is also important that you make your achievements and skills clear so your manager is aware of your contributions.
"Try to talk out loud beforehand about the things you are capable of and the things you do. It has nothing to do with bragging – think of it this way: You can only be rewarded for the things people know you do," says Caroline Rønne.
2. What can I do to help you achieve your annual goals here at the company?
Usually, managers have goals of their own to achieve, Caroline Rønne points out. You are in a great position if you can contribute and help them achieve their goals.
"It signals that you are equally focused on your manager's goals, and you can say: 'I hope I can help you, and that you can help me, because all I need is DKK 3,000’," she explains.
Three tips for pay negotiations
For those starting in a new job, Caroline Rønne also offers some good advice that will serve them well in pay negotiations, emphasising that these tips also work in pay talks with current managers.
State a specific figure – not a range
Many will be inclined to mention a range between two figures when asked about their pay expectations. You might do so in an attempt to signal that you are flexible and willing to negotiate. But it might have an unintended effect, she points out.
“By stating a range, you anchor a fixed point in the manager’s mind. If I were to say that I'm happy being paid between 45,000 and 50,000, 45,000 is what will stick with the recipient," she illustrates.
Avoid round figures
When it comes to stating a figure, a non-round figure is better than a round one, says Caroline Rønne.
"If I say ‘Hi, I would like to make 50,000’, it sounds like I just burst out a figure randomly. A figure that isn’t round will signal that you have done your research," explains Caroline Rønne.
She also suggests including any bonuses and pension contributions in the figure you will be presenting.
"While it might sound like a lot if you say 'I expect DKK 65,000 including everything', it leaves room for negotiation, because what is salary, what is bonus and what is pension? You will avoid boxing yourself in," is the advice from Caroline Rønne.
Say it as if it were your name
As crazy as it may sound, Caroline Rønne recommends people practise saying what they would like to be paid in the same way they would say their name.
"You're used to saying your name without getting nervous. Try to make your voice sound just as convincing when you say 'Hi, my name is Caroline and I'm asking to be paid DKK 65,000'," explains Caroline Rønne.
After you have stated your expectation with conviction in your voice, it is important not to add anything else.
"Don't apologise or relativise. Maintain the silence that is most likely to fall on the meeting. Try humming Stayin' Alive in your head and hang in there," she continues, explaining that the trick is to make the other party respond.
"If the figure you mentioned is way off, either you didn’t do your research properly, or perhaps it doesn't fit their budget. If so, they will tell you, and you have the opportunity to bring alternatives to money on the table," Caroline Rønne points out.
Get more pay negotiation tips from Caroline Rønne here (In danish)
4. I sense that you don't completely agree – I'm just curious and want to understand your point of view. In what areas do we disagree?
Caroline Rønne explains that you should always expect a ‘no’ from your manager.
"If you get a ‘yes’ right away, it wasn't a negotiation, and chances are you didn’t set the right price to begin with. It’s possible that you could have asked for more," she says.
If you try to put yourself in the manager’s shoes, you’ll see that it’s not always a pleasant experience for them to sit across from an employee who is asking for a pay rise. Furthermore, they might not necessarily have trained for it.
"Perhaps they also want to get out of the conflict situation, which could lead to them saying 'no' more quickly, perhaps even before they have fully considered it," she explains.
Asking in what areas you disagree gives the manager an opportunity to get out of the situation in a good way.
"It gives the manager an opportunity to say: ‘Look, it has nothing to do with you. The current financial situation is such that I can't find the money.’ This is your opportunity to repeat the first question: ‘What will it take for me to get this pay rise?’”
5. If you had the budget, what pay rise would you be able to offer me?
In Caroline Rønne’s view, the art of negotiating pay is to keep the conversation going.
"You can only come to an agreement if you keep the conversation going," she says.
Consider that it might be beneficial to send an email after the pay talk.
It is an opportunity to write ‘I appreciate the talk. I've thought it over, and I have some follow-up questions’. You do not always have to sit face-to-face in a negotiation process, says Caroline Rønne.
The budget question could be a bit dangerous, explains Caroline Rønne.
"No one wants to make guarantees," she says.
But it may open the door to present some alternatives. In her consultations, Caroline Rønne gives her clients a list of no less than 70 alternatives to money to be negotiated in pay discussions.
"It offers flexibility and comes across as highly solution-oriented if you can present a ‘plan B’ in a salary review: ‘Right, so you don't have the budget for it. Do you think we can agree on something else?’ – such as a day off or something else that you would like,” she says.
She adds that you can consider asking this question when you're about to leave the company as part of checking your market value.
"You could try asking: ‘If you had had the budget when you hired me, how much more would you have given me?’” is the suggestion from Caroline Rønne.