"SHOW ME THE MONEY"

Today FM: Talking about management issues brings me neatly over to Rowan Manahan of Fortify Services and Rowan is going to tell me, and the listeners, a couple of the high points on how to negotiate a good deal. A good deal in remuneration - and you have specifically used that term - so it's not just about getting a good deal on your wages, your salary, is it?

Fortify: Hi Conal; no it's not just about the pay packet any more - not for some long time now. It's about looking at the overall package, it's about comparing your total remuneration in Company X now and in 5 years' time with moving to Company Y and looking at your immediate and medium-term prospects there. They may have a very good education policy (referencing what you were talking about earlier on); or they may have marvelously creative accounting principles for benefits-in-kind.

They key factor to bear in mind when you are looking at moving jobs now is that in a period of continued low inflation and with relatively high economic growth right now, moving jobs is one of the few opportunities that you may have to generate a decent, double-digit pay rise in middle ranking (or some senior executive ranked) positions. So your move and your contract negotiation as part of that move needs to be part of a considered, medium-term, plan.

Today FM: OK, what if I don't move? What if I want a pay rise and I go in and I'm told, "No"?

Fortify: (laughing) Well, did you pick your time well Conal?

Today FM: But surely most people who ask for more money are going to be told no?

Fortify: You'd be surprised. Recent research has demonstrated that between half and two-thirds of those who do summon up the courage to ask get told, "Yes." But experience shows that too few people ask. Most people seem to sit there, fuming, furious that the organisation hasn't offered it - "Why aren't they giving me a damn pay rise?" They don't ASK! You have to ask - that's the fifth law of negotiation: If you want the the business, ask for it.

Today FM: OK, so I'm going to go in and ask. Do I do the usual - I want 10 per cent more, so should I ask for 25 per cent?

Fortify: No, in almost any sector, that would be considered a frivolous request. If you look at Sun Tzu (Art of War), he said if you want to go into a battle unafraid, "Know yourself. Know the terrain. Know the enemy." If you are asking for 25 per cent of a rise, you are not following those rules.

You have to do good background digging on this. You have to have an acute awareness of where you slot into the organisation if you are looking for a pay rise. As I said, timing is critical in this regard. Plus an awareness of what it is you have done, what value you have added to the organisation. Most people who are asked about this, say at a job interview, aren't able to give a very concrete answer: "Oh, I manage the department. Most of the time. Generally." And they are not able to quantify what value they deliver, what constitutes success in their role. They talk about responsibilities rather than accomplishments or contributions or even, take it down to the lowest level, just a few suggestions that they have made that might improve the business in some way.

Today FM: ... So I go in and I tell the boss that I really am driving the company and that no-one out there does it like me and he says, "Go away. I don't believe you."

Fortify: (laughing) Well, is what you are saying true? Do you know yourself? Back to first principles here: is what you are saying about yourself consistent with how you are perceived in the organisation? Most people have a disproportionate sense of their own importance within an organisation and puff their chests out: "Ha! They'd go under without me. If I was killed by a bus tomorrow, the company would fold."

The fact of the matter is, if you look at the intellectual capital of an organisation, the real Core Competents who drive a company; research across the world shows that they will account for less than 1 per cent of the employees in a large organisation. The rest are servicing that one per cent who make the difference. Back to Edison's model - 99% perspiration, 1% inspiration. Bill Gates has gone on record as saying that there are 19 pivotal people in the global Microsoft corporation and if he were to lose all 19 of them in a train wreck, the company would die.

Today FM: Interesting. But what if they still say no? I really believe that I am a valuable contributor to the company and they still turn me down for more money. Do you actually put it up to you boss and say, "I'm going to walk ..."?

Fortify: Ultimatum!

Today FM: Would you recommend that?

Fortify: Well, you would want to have a pretty big lifeboat ready to jump into before trying a line like that because there are plenty of sharks out there in the water ...

Today FM: So, if that's not such a good idea, give me a few of the top tips.

Fortify: Whether you are moving job and negotiating better terms and conditions or going for a significant rise within your current job, the rules of negotiation are essentially the same.

Number one. It is imperative that you are working to a plan. Have a clear objective. Know exactly what it is you want, how much you need and how much you think you might be able to get away with. Have three lines drawn in the sand, as it were ...

Today FM: (laughing) Three lines? Cheeky!

Fortify: Second - be creative! Remuneration in the 21st Century is about much more than just your salary. There's bonuses and stock options and profit sharing, overtime, time in lieu, car and travel allowances, and all kinds of other benefits that you can start playing around with. And you can be sure that the management a few rungs further up the ladder are getting perks of that nature. Why aren't you? Well, probably because you're not asking.

Today FM: Is it that simple? Ask and you shall receive?

Fortify: In many instances, it is. And if they put up a protest - we frequently encounter clients who tell us that the company said, "Oh we'd love to do that for you but we couldn't because ..." Hang on a second. The bottom line on this is very simple - is everyone's remuneration in this company an open book? Does everybody know what everybody else earns and what perks everybody gets? Of course they don't. So HR will always trot that line out, your direct manager will always trot that line out to justify a "No" answer. It's bull! Anticipate it and be ready to overcome it. Know yourself, know the terrain, know your enemy.

Today FM: Makes sense. You said that timing is everything. Is it best to ask on Friday evening, Monday morning, is there an optimal time of the month or year ...?

Fortify: ... allowing for biorhythms and diurnal variation or fluctuation in your boss! Timing is everything, but you really have to gauge your moment. Clearly if you are at the end of a reporting period and things have gone swimmingly well and you have been a significant contributor to all that - yes, great. Asking at the end of a reporting period when the SEC is investigating your company for significant reporting irregularities - probably not such a smart move.

It is all about understanding the mindset of the person on the other side of the table. When I lecture on the subject of career management, I ask a rhetorical question near the beginning of the lecture. "Who matters here? Who is this process all about?" and my answer to that question is one slide with two huge words on it - NOT YOU! Whether it be job-hunting or asking for a rise, it's not about you. Now I recognise that fundamentally, and from your perspective, it is all about you; but not to them. Not to the people who have the power to give you a new job or give you a pay rise in your current job.

Today FM: OK, I'm ready to knock on the door - do I do it formally or should I pull the boss aside in the pub and say, "Listen, I wonder is there any chance of maybe ..."

Fortify: "A few more shekels?" Every situation is going to be different. My final point on this - if you understand what causes your boss's ulcer to flare up; if you understand what it is that causes your boss to reach for the migraine medication at two o'clock in the afternoon and if you can present yourself as a solution the problems that are causing the ulcer or the migraine, rather than yet another set of problems walking in the door - then your boss is going to see a reason to want to hold on to you, to want to keep you happy and to remunerate you accordingly.

If you are aware of what organisational norms are and, more importantly, what sectoral norms are for the kind of role that you fulfil, you have an advantage in the negotiation. If your job description no longer reflects what it is you actually do - and this is a common situation - maybe in the first instance you should be looking for a titular change and then you can start talking about money to reflect that new title

Today FM: OK listeners, off you go, Monday morning: "I want the cash and I want it now." That was Rowan Manahan of Fortify Services; you have a book coming out on all of this and more don't you? Where's My Oasis? I believe it's called ... When is that coming out?

Fortify: I understand it's hitting the shelves in the next few weeks Conal.

Today FM: Well, the best of luck with that - I'm sure it will go very well for you. And that's all we have time for on the show today.