Part of assembling your skilled team is mastering the art of salary negotiations. The goal of any negotiation is for both parties to be satisfied with the outcome. Failing to reach an agreement can lose your company great talent. Here are a few tips to navigate these negotiations.
Researching market value
It’s crucial to know the current going rate for the position in your specific industry and in your geographic area. Evaluate how your company determines salary ranges. Do you know the market value for the position? Payscale or Glassdoor provide online resources to check the market value for many industries. Your potential employee will have already done extensive research into the market value for their skills. Offering less to a talented potential employee can cause you to lose them to your competition.
Determine expectations
Pay attention to what the other person is saying to understand his or her needs and incorporate them into your offer. Listening to the other party during a negotiation is almost as important as your offer and argument. Asking some diagnostic questions at the beginning can help you understand the potential employee’s true needs, preferences, and priorities. Asking questions like, “What are your main priorities right now?” can help you make your offer more appealing. Negotiators that fail to ask these “diagnostic questions” limit their negotiation power.
Making the offer
When preparing for negotiating, get in the mindset of thinking about the situation from your potential employee’s perspective. You know the amount that has been budgeted for the position and the market value of the position. The first offer should be around that amount with room for a counter offer. If the potential employee you’re negotiating with reacts negatively to the number you put on the table, ask open ended questions to keep the conversation moving and show you’re willing to work together. Reaching a fair amount is a critical determining factors for your potential employee to take the job and feeling valued in that position.
Non-monetary elements
Make sure you have included the company benefits and perks with your offer. Great health insurance benefits and retirement savings accounts are important to employees. Perks like cell phones, corporate discounts, gym memberships, and laptops can be included in the potential employee’s total job offer. Some potential employees are attracted by offering them the option to work partially remote. Working from home part of the week can off-set the commuting cost, and time. Many employees appreciate these perks and these can help you if you don’t meet their desired salary requirements.
Final Offer
Any negotiation should be approached in a professional and reasonable manner. If a potential employee’s requests are excessive and not in line with what the company can offer you have the option to withdraw the offer. It will never be easy, but it’s important to know when to do it.
Let your potential employee know they are valuable to your company. When negotiating salary, you are also negotiating the foundation of a relationship, so you want to get off on the right foot. You and the potential employee must come to an agreement that you both feel is fair.