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Few employees have bargaining power to substantially increase their base (starting) salaries and benefits in most organizations. Once hired, most individuals have little say in determining their salary increases, unless they possess critical, hard-to-replace skills and are in danger of leaving for greener pastures. However, most people are replaceable. Employers attempt to be both equitable and secret in determining salary increases. The equitable strategy results in treating all employees  the same on the question of salary – give them cost of living increases as a percentage of their base salary. This equitable strategy is also an administratively expedient one that best conforms to the rigid systems found in many organizations. It s also politically expedient should employees discover how much others in the organization received in comparison to them.

Initial starting salaries are the major determinant of future salary increases for most employees. This means that your starting salary will be your most important salary today and tomorrow. Most employers will continue to figure salary increases as a percentage of an employee’s base salary. Therefore, it’s imperative that you start at the highest salary possible, because this initial salary will affect future salary increments within the organization. Unless you become indispensable to the organization or receive a major promotion, the next time you will receive a significant salary increase is when you quit your job and get hired by another organization that is willing to pay you a substantially higher salary.

Document Your Performance: If you do want to negotiate, you need to prove your value.  If you verbally emphasize the importance of performance determining compensation, you must first document your performance - create a portfolio of performance which include examples of Your Performance achievements. Documentation gives you the necessary supports for justifying what you're worth.

You should document both your past and present performance by keeping records on your achievements. Your past achievements should be documented as part of your self-assessment - one of the first things you should have done in your job search. If you did not complete this critical step at that time, better late than never. One of best ways to do this is to keep a note of your achievements. Complete the questions below for each of 10 major achievements related to your previous work. This exer­cise helps you identify your motivated abilities which are also your strengths. When focusing on achievements relevant to particular jobs and employers, your motivated abilities and strengths become your performance. By addressing the questions in this form, you detail each of your achievements around employer's major concerns.

If, for example, an employer asks you during the interview "What are your major strengths? ", you will be prepared to detail at least 10 strengths that also explain your past performance. You should do more than just list 10 discrete activities you engaged in that demonstrate some degree of performance. Indeed, if you go one step further and synthesize all of these achievements into two or three common strengths, you should be able to communicate a picture of past performance that also constitutes a pattern for predicting future performance. Much of the informa­tion you generate from this exercise should appear on your resume.

You should also document your present performance as well as prepare to continue doing so in the future by keeping records of your accomplishments. While you and your employer may complete a standardized performance appraisal form for this Purpose, you should go one step further in keeping a performance diary that details your accomplishments. Again, avoid the ten­dency to list duties and responsibilities that are on-going activities related to your job. You want to emphasize outcomes and benefits from your performance. Include these categories of information in your performance diary:

 

Achievements:

1. How did I get involved?
2. What did I do?
3. How did I do it?
4. What did I especially enjoy about doing it?
5. Who benefited from what I did?
6. How was I recognized and rewarded?

 

A  Date:

1.       What did I accomplish?

2.       Who was involved?

3.       Who or what benefited from what I did?

4.       How did I communicate this accomplishment to my supervisor?