Tips to Get a Good Salary Hike

Tips to Get a Good Salary Hike

1) Go for self appraisal

If things are not going the way you want, you should first go for self appraisal. Are you able to execute your work well? Does your employer values your work but does not let it get reflected in your pay hike? Or are there some areas where you need improvement? If this is the case, first work on your shortcomings and then seek results.

2) Remain focused to your work and organization

Whatever be the case, you would do well to remember that good performance never goes unnoticed. Therefore work hard, remain focused to your work and organization, and always show your willingness to take new responsibilities. These things will help you advance in your career and also pay in the long run, if not immediately.

2) Make the boss aware of your performance

You might be working hard and even harder than most of your co-workers. But are your seniors, especially your boss, also aware of your performance and all that you’ve been doing in connection with your job?After all, in today’s world and in many organizations, self-promotion seems to work more than the actual performance!

4) Get feedback from your boss

Keep getting the feedback from your boss as well as other colleagues regarding your performance and the way you handle a job. For instance, if your boss is not happy with a job executed by you, ask him/her how you could have done better on that assignment.


5) Mention your accomplishments at the time of appraisal

You might be slogging all year long, but how much time does it take to do your performance appraisal? Keep a list of your accomplishments, therefore, and talk up the most impressive ones. Emphasize on your proven commitment and the value of your contributions. If you can make the trailer impressive, the film might worth be a watch!

6) Changing department may be one option

If you are unluckily working under a boss who thinks that salary hikes are being given from his own pockets (this happens in many cases), try to join some other department in your organization which might have a liberal boss. But then you should also be prepared for the changes in your work profile as two different departments may rarely have a similar work and work culture.

7) Keep an eye on industry norm

If your organization claims to go by the industry norm and current market conditions, try to find out what other people in similar positions are getting in similar organizations and industry.


8) Talk to senior management

Sometimes talking to the senior management or the supreme boss in your organization also helps, if you feel that you are being denied your due. But then support your case with facts and solid examples, otherwise if proved wrong, this may backfire also and you may have to lose your job.


9) Get a competing job offer

One of the quickest and proven ways to get a hike is to get a competing job offer. But if things go wrong, you may have to leave your current job too. Take this route if you are confident of your abilities.

10) Switch to another job

If nothing seems to work, look for another job and negotiate your salary well. Mastering the proven techniques of salary negotiations also helps. Once you are confident of yourselves, make your next move. After all, switching to a new job is the most proven way of getting a big raise!

Assessment Questionnaire Instruments

There are some principles need to be considered when designing questions items for 360 degree assessment questionnaire. to be useful, they must be constructed carefully. A simple way to test each of your items is to ask if the item can be described as the following:

Unidimensional. This means that the item measures only one thing. Perhaps the most common survey-item error is the double question, for example, "To what extent does this person coach and counsel subordinates effectively?" Coaching and counseling are two different activities, of course, and they require separate measurement. The item should be recast as two; otherwise, how does the rater respond if the person being rated is effective on one but not the other?

Free of qualifiers. Words like "usually," "always," "never," and "good" can invalidate the rating scale. For example, if you use a "Strongly agree? Strongly disagree" rating scale, and an item reads, "This person always involves others in decisions that affect them," how would a rater respond if the person being rated sometimes does this, but not always! Such qualifiers should simply be eliminated.

Observable. The rater must have had the opportunity to see what is being rated. Asking raters to infer and judge is asking for contaminated data. The item, "To what degree is this person skilled in making his or her points clear under stress?" is preferable to "To what degree is this person good at handling conflict situations?" The former can be directly observed, whereas the latter represents an inference or summary judgment. The difficulty with items that require inferences and judgments is that raters will respond to them, but the recipient of the feedback may not be able to interpret the data or find ways to improve on those items.

Tied to the scale. If you use a frequency scale, the items must be written to conform to it. The item "This person shows competency in being able to locate prospective customers effectively" requires a degree scale rather than a rating of frequency.

Clear and understandable. Ideally, every rater needs to interpret each item the same way. That means avoiding any language that is ambiguous, jargonistic, or at too high a level of comprehension. Good rules are to use easy, common words and to write at the lowest educational level of the personnel who will respond to the instrument.

Ratable by the data sources. Since 360° feedback interventions often involve such disparate sources of ratings as self, bosses, peers, subordinates, internal customers, external customers, trained observers, and friends and family, it is critical that the items cover what these raters know something about; otherwise there will be many holes in the feedback. Our practice is to determine the sources of ratings before constructing the instrument, so that we include only those items that respondents are qualified to rate.

Developmental ("So what? Now what?"). Instrument items should center on things that the feedback recipient can do something about. The goal is to generate reliable, valid data that will be useful for developing self-directed action plans for improvement. Getting feedback on "To what degree does this person display an attitude of optimism?" would probably not be so useful to feedback recipients as one that asks, "To what degree is this person able to assist you in analyzing your problem situations at work?"

Aligned with the organization's vision. The item set should concentrate on what is critical to realizing the hoped-for future of the organization. The connection between what the instrument measures and what the organization stands for and is headed toward should be obvious to all respondents. In a sense, 360° feedback instruments are strong organizational messages about what is important: "If you're going to stay here and flourish, you need to become highly competent in these areas." This approach obviates the need for "importance" ratings; every item has already been decided to be critical to carrying out the organization's intentions.

Content Areas

Developing instruments for 360° feedback entails choosing appropriate content, If you choose to measure other dimensions of individuals, here are categories to consider:

Skills: Sets of behaviors that are shaped toward "objective" standards. Examples: designing meetings, writing objectives, listening, repairing a machine.

Competencies: Developed abilities. Competencies are more general than skills, and often subsume sets of skills. Examples: intervening in conflict situations, providing performance feedback, elucidating vision, strategic planning.

Traits/Characteristics: Descriptions of the feedback recipient as an individual?his or her "character." Examples: trustworthiness, intelligence, creativity/innovativeness, decisiveness.

Attitudes/Feelings: Inferred from behavior. Attitudes are predispositions to behave predictably toward an object or class of objectives. Feelings are emotions that are experienced in reaction to, or anticipation of, situations and events. Examples: "isms," optimism, patience, anger.

Behaviors/Leadership Practices: Observable: what the person actually does. Examples: involving people in planning, interceding for subordinates making "command" decisions, expressing caring.

Ref: John Jones and William Bearley

Self Assessment of Career Interest

Item from a self-assessment exercise to determine personal wants.

1. Select the three personal wants which are most important to you in your next job assignment and circle them below.

2. Select the three personal wants which are least important to you in your next career step and draw a line through them.

3. Add personal wants you don't find on the list.

Personal wants :
Free time
Power
Fun work
Money
Independence
Security
Professional Stature
Challenge
Freedom from Worry
Friends
Prestige
Cultural Opportunities
Geographic location
Recreation
Visibility
Climate
Educational Facilities
Leadership
Expertness
Time with Family

4. Does your present job setting offer possibilities for satisfying what you want most in your next step? If yes, describe how. If no, what setting is indicated?

5. Do you want your next job assignment to satisfy your wants? If yes, how? If no, why not?

6. Decide what you want most in your next job assignment and describe it.

7. Describe the major activities you can do and will do to gain what you want, but don't use job titles or positions to describe what you will do. Describe the type of activities you'll perform to achieve what you want. List at least five activities you can perform now.

Examples: I'll analyze data for financial records.
I'll collect more from creditors.
I'll marry the boss's daughter.

8. Do you need to develop some new skills or abilities to improve your potential for your next step ? It so, what skills or abilities would you develop?

9. Summarize what you personally want and what you can do and will do to satisfy your wants.

Elements of Career Planning Programs

Though programs differ, four distinct elements of career planning programs emerge. They include (1) individual assessments of abilities, interests, career needs, and goals; (2) organizational assessments of employee abilities and potential; (3) communication of information concerning career options and opportunities with the organization; and (4) career counseling to set realistic goals and plan for their attainment. Each of these elements is discussed in greater detail below.

Individual Assessments

Individual assessment of abilities, interests, career needs, and goals is basically a process of self-exploration and analysis. Individuals are frequently guided by self-assessment exercises.

The self-assessment process is basically viewed as an individual responsibility; however, organizations can aid in this process by providing the employee with materials and opportunities for self-exploration and analysis. A variety of self-assessment materials are available commercially, but a number of organizations, including IBM, Xerox, General Motors, and General Electric, have developed tailor-made workbooks for employee career planning purposes. Individual career planning exercises can be done independently by employees or in workshops sponsored by the organization. Workshops have the advantage of combining a number of career planning elements including self-assessment, communication of organizational career and development opportunities, and one-on-one counseling to ensure that career goals are realistic.

Organizational Assessments

A key issue in career counseling sessions is whether an employee's goals are realistic in terms of organizational possibilities and organizational assessments of employee abilities and potential. Accurate assessments of employee abilities and potential are important to both the organization and the individual.

Organizations have several sources of information for making assessments of employee abilities and potential. First is selection information, including ability tests, assessment center test, interest inventories, and biographical information such as education and work experience. Second is current job history information, including performance appraisal information, records of promotions and promotion recommendations, salary increases, and participation in various training and development programs. Organizations have traditionally relied on performance appraisal data as the primary basis for assessing employee potential.

Career Information within an Organization

Before realistic goals can be set, an employee need information about career options and opportunities. This includes information about possible career directions; possible paths of career advancement; and specific job vacancies. In organizations with informal career planning programs, employees learn about career options and opportunities from their supervisors within the context of developmental performance appraisal interviews. Organizations with more established career planning programs make greater use of workbooks, workshops, and even recruiting materials to communicate career options and opportunities. Career paths have been defined as logical progressions between jobs or from one job to a target position. They can be either traditional or behavioral.

Traditional career paths are based on past patterns of actual movement by employees. They tend to be limited to advancement within a single function or organizational unit, such as purchasing, sales, or customer relations. Years of service to the organization largely determine the rate at which advancement can occur. For example, a salesman might expect to advance to the position of account supervisor after five years, to sales supervisor after 10, to district manager after 15, and to regional manager after 25 years of service.

More flexible patterns of employee career movement are described by behavioral career paths, which are based on analysis of similarities in job activities and requirements. Where similarities exist, jobs can be grouped into job families, or clusters. Thus, all jobs involving similar work activities and levels of required skills and abilities form one job cluster, regardless of job title. Focusing on job similarities across functions and organizational units brings to light new career options for employees and greater flexibility for the organization in utilizing its available human resources. One organization, for example, was able to shift a number of its sales personnel to purchasing positions when sales declined in one major product line and opportunities became available in the purchasing department. This shift was undertaken when a job analysis showed behavioral similarities between the two previously distinct functions.

Career Counseling

It is in counseling sessions, typically with supervisors and managers in developmental performance appraisal interviews, that most employees explore career goals and opportunities in the organization. Supervisors and managers need accurate assessments of employee abilities and potential, as well as information about career options and opportunities in the organization. HR professionals may be involved in some informal career counseling activities, but basically their role is to support career counseling activities of supervisors and managers. This means providing supervisors and managers with needed information as well as with the necessary training to function effectively as counselors.

In career counseling sessions, employees seek answers to the following kinds of questions:

1. What are my skills and what are the possibilities for developing them or learning new ones?
2. What do I really want for myself insofar as work is concerned?
3. What's possible for me, given my current abilities and skills?
4. What's really required for certain jobs?
5. What training will be required if I choose to pursue a certain career objective?"

When counselors are equipped to help employees find the answers to such questions, realistic career goals can be set. Next, development strategies must be devised.