How much are you worth money-wise?

At one time or another, almost all workers wonder about the pay they are getting and whether they are paid enough for the work they do. The truth is that the majority of employees cannot quantify how much value they put in the organization in in monetary terms.

For those who don’t even know where to begin, it’s time to learn how to get started and have the courage to ask for a pay raise that you’ve always wanted. Note that a company is always after the cost-benefit analysis when it comes to employees. Quantifying how much the business pays for your salary and benefits versus the contributions you give and your overall value is just one side of the coin. Therefore, you need to understand that certain factors are also at play. There are six points that you have to consider and remember to determine how valuable you are to your boss and the company.

 Measure against the enterprise’s goals

Quantifying your work is not always easy (unless you are in sales where your performance is measured mostly with numbers) no matter how hard you work. However, you can step up and get noticed by having a deep appreciation of the company goals and what your bosses consider important.

Once you know and understand these two things, you can now look at your talents and capabilities and identify how you can best work to contribute to the goals of the enterprise in a way that your managers like. Remember that your goal is to demonstrate that you’re worth the extra money. How? By making an effort to work towards what the company wants. An example may be volunteering and actively participating in an undertaking or a project to launch a certain product or service to boost sales.

 Your contributions vs. the bottom-line  

Business owners always pay more attention to the bottom-line. That means the profits that the company realizes at any given period. If your pay translates to the amount of work that you’ve put in, then asking for an increase would require further measure of other factors that impact the business results. Ask yourself:

• Did your efforts enable the company to save money and can you clearly show how?
• Did the change you introduced to a certain business process help improve efficiency and service quality?

It may be hard to assign numbers to your bottom-line contributions. However, it is very much possible to catch the attention of your bosses based on your drive, initiative, and focused efforts to help the company earn profits.

Your goal is to demonstrate that you’re worth the extra money by making an effort to work towards what the company wants.

 Learn to benchmark against the industry

You should find a way to get information related to your work, industry, location, experience, and skill levels. It is highly important to have an idea of how the market operates to know how to benchmark your compensation.

Some sources and sites can provide data regarding salary ranges, benefit packages, the scope of work, and industry. Salary research websites can provide meaningful information on different pays, pay levels, job classifications, and positions across different companies. You can also use your network to access the information you need. By getting all these data relevant to your pay, you would be in a better position to know how much salary increase you’re worth.

 Know how much your package is

Money isn’t everything. It isn’t the only thing either. You have to appreciate the fact that you enjoy certain non-monetary benefits and privileges such as insurance, loan facilities, vacation and sick leave days. Do not ignore these perks when asking for a raise. By looking at the bigger picture of your compensation package, you can have the flexibility and the option to request for specific improvements that may not necessarily be in the form of a greater paycheck.

When your self-worth goes up, your net worth goes up with it.” – Mark Victor Hansen

 Things over which you’ve no control

In any organization, there are rules to follow and structures to observe. The larger the company, the more the controls in the way it operates. Companies have a salary structure or a threshold that they implement. As such, understand that you cannot simply demand for the figure you have in mind. Companies also have compensation policies to which they adhere, so you cannot expect them to just go ahead and reward you at the risk of violating the rules. By knowing the things over which you have no control, you can be more realistic in your plan to ask for a pay increase.

 Timing is essential

Be sensitive to what goes on in the organization. If your company is in the middle of a crisis or a challenging period, it’s best to put off your meeting and focus on what you can do to help weather the challenges. On the other hand, luck may be more likely on your side if your company is doing well and is about to close the fiscal year and work on its budget for the coming year. No matter how convincing and valid your pay increase justifications may be, you need to well consider your timing to ensure a higher success rate.

If you firmly believe that it’s time to discuss your financial future with your boss, then come confidently prepared with your reasons and show why you deserve to level up.