Five Ways to Increase Your Salary

There are numerous ways to increase your salary and or pay benefits. We have researched our top payed members and talked to HR executives from leading Australian companies to provide our top five ways you can increase your earning power.

1. Ask for a raise
2. Find ways to increase your value to an organisation
3. Increase your skill set
4. Be enthusiastic
5. Know your market value

Ask for a raise

High paid employees always take the opportunity to discuss their salary requirements at annual/biannual reviews. Be proactive don’t be left behind, be sure to include a discussion on salary during your review. If you can’t wait until your next review, set up a meeting with your boss and request a review of your salary. Many employees within organisations receive differentiated pay scales both on the upside and the downside simply because these people either express their pay preferences to their employers or fail to do so.

In most large organisations a pool of funds is allocated at the end of each review period to pass onto employees in the way of increased salary. The allocation of this pool of funds is often up to the discretion of the managers in charge. If an employee does not ask for a salary increase there is a good chance they will either miss out or receive the low end of the range being offered. Put yourself in your boss’s shoes. Ultimately as a manager you want to reward those employees who are the top performers and provide most value to the organisation. However many organisations are full of over achieving staff who are under paid relative to their peers. Often it can be because many of these overachieving staff fails to insist on being paid accordingly.

Increase your value to an organisation

- Understand your organisation’s business model
- Think of all the expenses your organisation commits to on a regular basis. Develop strategies on how you can make a difference in this area.
- Think of ways you can increase either volume or the margin of the products and/or services your organisation provides.
- Take credit for these initiatives and where possible measure the outcome.

With exception of government departments and not for profit organisations, a business operates in order to provide a return to its owners. How your organisation makes this return to the owners is known as a business model.

No matter what it is you do for your organisation, if you want to be a high income earner it is very important that you understand what it means to make a return for the owners of the organisation for which you work. If you do not completely understand how it is your organisation makes its returns, then ask one of your colleagues’ to clearly explain it to you.

Once you understand your organisations business model, it may become clearer to you how you be more valuable to your organisation. If you are a service provider within your organisation e.g IT or HR, you are still in a position to affect your organisation’s return. Find ways to improve efficiencies and reduce waste expenditure

Increase your skill set

Update and maintain your skill levels through training.

Having formal qualifications can provide a distinct advantage for certain professions. The cost of continuing formal education can often be off set through contributions by your employer, seek guidance and apply for study support through your organisation; most educational expenses are also tax deductible. But remember it is the long term investment in your self development which should be considered when deciding whether or not to commit to formal studies.

Learning and development is not restricted to formal qualifications, there are countless ways to expand your skill set and knowledge in any particular field or topic. Some items you may want to consider in order to boost your industry knowledge, skills and value to you organisation are;

· Online tutorials for software applications (ask HR for links to these products)
· Attending conferences and industry events
· Online and physical Journal and Magazine subscriptions (If your organisation is unwilling to pay for these items, you may find that these can be tax deductible)
· In house company training courses

Be Enthusiastic

Bring a positive frame of mind and be enthusiastic in the work place. Communicate with your colleagues, accept challenges with rigour. Avoid negative sentiment and making negative comments about your work place and people who work there also making associations with others who are seen to undermine the organisation and its management.

Good managers will seek to reward those employees who participate and engage at the workplace. Put your hand up for extra tasks and learning, speak up in meetings deliver on your assignments and get involved.

Know Your Market Value

Research your industry and understand what others in your field are making. Use this information as leverage against your employer if you feel you are under paid. A number of the leading recruitment firms prepare salary statistics annually. Use this information as a tool for negotiating your next pay review.

These surveys only provide an indication or range of what median, upper and lower band employees are paid in your industry and profession. They should only be used as a guide, each employee is unique and some positions do not follow industry norms.