Don’t ask, dont…

In advance of the Women At The Top Summit organised by the Financial Times this week – where Money Fight Club co-founder Lindsay Cook looks at women and pay – she blogs on the underlying premise – don’t ask… don’t get.

From pay rises to energy bills – how to get what you want

One of the few rules of Money Fight Club is that if you do not ask you do not get.
It applies to asking for better prices on insurance, energy bills, mortgage rates and fruit and vegetables in the market. We recommend that you allow yourself time, to do the research and then when your policy is up for renewal or your fixed rate energy tariff or mortgage is expiring go for the best rate available.
You can save hundreds if not thousands of pounds a year by consciously choosing a new deal instead of allowing your existing one to roll over at the price the provider wants you to pay.

Pay rises & how to get them

At financial workshops provided by employers in the workplace we have found that one of the one-to-one questions we are often asked is how to get a pay rise.
After years of sub-inflation pay rises many employees feel they need to fight for a better pay deal. Salaries are a sensitive area but they really are a case of don’t ask: don’t get.
Research in America last year indicated that 57% of people never asked for a pay rise. As a former managing director responsible for the pay of hundreds of employees I would say in this country that figure may be nearer 80%.
And then when employees do summon up the courage to do so they do it in a half-hearted way and may get a refusal.
This is not limited to those on the lowest rungs of the employment ladder. Anyone below senior management where salaries are set by a remuneration committee has to fight for themselves.

All financial negotiations

Like all financial negotiations you have to do the research. Find out what people are paid in the rest of the company for your job and what other competitor companies pay. If you are lagging behind you need to find out who is the person who can give you a pay rise and produce a business case as to why you are worth more than you are being paid.
Salaries go in phases those taken on before the financial crisis are likely to earn more for the same job than recent appointments.
But remember if you have brought in new business, made your department more cost effective, provided greater shareholder value, then you should be rewarded for it.
Do not keep it to yourself…
Do not expect your boss to notice what you are contributing and offer you a raise. But if he/she finds out that you are restless and feel undervalued when you put a convincing case for a pay rise then a calculation takes place: what will it cost to recruit a replacement and how much time will it take?

Women – less likely to go into battle

In my experience as someone who was once responsible for the wages bill at a large publisher, women are less likely to go into battle for a pay rise. Few knocked on my door asking for more.
And when they do ask they can often be bought off with better hours or a car parking space.
Those who do the research and make a proper case to get a pay rise also put a marker down for their next promotion. They have been noticed.

On Thursday, September 29, 2016, Money Fight Club will make the case for everyone who wants a pay rise. But it is going to focus on reducing the gender pay gap at the Women At The Top Summit organised by the Financial Times at the Renaissance St Pancras Hotel in London.
Money Fight Club co-founder Lindsay Cook will give practical advice on how to personally plug the pay gap 40 years after Equal Pay was enshrined in law and in the wake of a report that says pay will not be equal until 2069. Find out more