"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.