1. Be persuasive: It's hard
to force your boss to increase your compensation, and trying
to do so can potentially damage your working relationship.
On the other hand, it's much easier to persuade her or him
that it might benefit the organisation to pay you more, and
that doing so will likely improve the way you deal with each
other going forward.
2. Aim high, and be realistic: Many researchers
have found a strong correlation between people's aspirations
and the results they achieve in negotiation. At the same time,
you want to suggest ideas to which your boss can realistically
say yes.
3. Start off with the right tone: To be
persuasive, you want to let your boss know that you will listen
and seek to understand his or her views. At the same time,
you expect your boss to do the same for you, so you can work
together to address this issue. Avoid ultimatums, threats,
and other coercive behaviour.
4. Clarify your interests: Your compensation
should satisfy a range of needs, not just salary. Make sure
you have thought about other types of compensation that would
be valuable as well - like profit sharing, stock options that
vest immediately, a bonus, greater work responsibilities,
a quicker promotion schedule, increased vacation, or flexible
hours.
5. Anticipate their interests: Just like
you, your boss has needs and concerns of her or his own to
satisfy. To persuade them to say yes, your ideas will have
to address those interests.
6. Create several options: Joint brainstorming
is the most effective way to find ideas that satisfy everyone's
interests. Brainstorming works best when you separate it from
commitment - first create possible solutions, then decide
among them.
7. Focus on objective criteria: It is
far easier to persuade someone to agree with your proposal
if they see how that proposal is firmly grounded on objective
criteria, such as what similar firms pay people of like experience,
or what others in the firm make.
8. Think through your alternatives: In
case you cannot persuade your boss to say yes, you need to
have a Plan B to satisfy your interests. Part of preparation
is creating a specific action plan so that you know what you'll
do if you have to walk away from the table.
9. Prepare thoughtfully to achieve your
goals: This is the only aspect of your negotiations you can
completely control. To take advantage of all the above advice,
you have to invest a significant amount of your time and energy.
10. Review to learn: The only way you
can really improve your ability to negotiate is to explicitly
learn from your experiences. After you finish negotiations,
reflect on what you did that worked well, and what you might
want to do differently.
Poonam A Ashara, is a
23 year old from India with 1 year of experience in "Human
Resource Development". By qualification, she is Bachelor
of Commerce and Masters in Business Administration.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Poonam_Ashara
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