11 Salary Negotiation Tips for Employers
In a world full of employment options, your enticing job descriptions on your postings become undervalued when paired with an unattractive salary. According to Indeed Blog in 2018, the majority of their survey respondents liked more money from employers. This meant that good pay had been and will still be an essential consideration in working life. Salary negotiation is a challenging HR role and may sound costly to some. However, doing it the right way with effective HR planning may double or even triple your income! And in this article, I will reveal to you the salary negotiation tips to attract the best talents!
11 Salary Negotiation Tips for Employers
Before you get the right applicants and invite a candidate for salary negotiation, here are the hiring tips you will be needing for it to be a successful recruitment.
Do Research
What does your company need from a specific job post? What can the candidate bring to the table? What is the range of the budget that you can offer for the position? Also, take into consideration what your tight competitors can possibly offer to their best candidates. You will negotiate better by doing so. If it’s a new position, then you will need to study the market extensively on how much employees are usually paid for the said job post. Easily check and compare salaries through checking job advertisements online of the same role you’re opening.
Provide in Job Listings
The less sugar-coated your job listings are, the more time you will save from entertaining the wrong applicants. You have 3 options for posting salaries. You can advertise a lower salary, the highest possible salary, or a range of the salary you can offer for the specific position. Advertising a lower salary will attract sincere applicants who care more about the job position itself than what they can earn out of it. Additionally, this can add points in the negotiation when you offer a higher salary compared to what’s posted in the advertisement. When you list the highest possible salary, you will attract more competitive and highly skilled candidates. However, make sure to clarify that it’s only the highest possible pay by putting “up to” before the amount. This is to avoid giving your candidates false hopes that the amount you put was a fixed one. Lastly, putting a range on your salary description is also an option.
Don’t Talk Too Early
Before things get serious on the negotiation proper, light the room up by greeting your potential candidate and setting up a comfortable ambiance for him or her. Offer refreshments or initiate small talk about the weather. The more comfortable they feel, the more likely they’ll say what they want.
Be Confident
In your position as an HR leader, one of the most essential traits that you need is confidence. Discuss what you can reliably offer your candidate during negotiations. Do so in an assertive manner. You must be confident in what you bring to the table and in how you represent the company in the eyes of your applicants. Remember that candidates will feel more at ease with employers who project a confident and stable exterior.
Listen Actively to Your Candidate’s Feedback
Be sure to listen carefully during your conversations regarding information about the candidate’s living conditions, marital status, and plans for the future. These serve as hints on how much you can offer them or what benefits you need to highlight.
Find Out Your Candidate’s Current Salary
Of course, a candidate isn’t obliged to tell you. However, the question is worth a try. When you find out that he’s earning more on his current or previous jobs, ask him why he wants to work for you instead. Is he looking for a higher salary? Or is he are rare gem who prioritizes health benefits or work-life balance overpay? These are good leads for your negotiations too!
Make a Fair Offer
Keep in mind that your prospective employee will get acquainted with your current staff sooner or later. People talk–which will include how much they earn. When you offer a higher salary to the new candidate with no basis in terms of experience, skill, or position, you risk alienating the others. It also goes the other way with the prospect. By extending fair offers all around, you prevent resentment from building up among your workforce.
Be Reasonable
However, be reasonable. When you offer a range of your salary offer in your job postings, or if you have a salary range in mind, be more flexible. This means that when your candidate demands a higher offer and it’s within your reach, meet him halfway. As long as his need is reasonable or if you believe he deserves the offer nevertheless, it won’t be an issue.
Provide Monetary Benefits – In Place of Salary
Highlighting your bonus, commission, and salary rise schemes will entice your best candidate more. You can also provide a monetary benefit in the form of profit-sharing—if you really aim to get your best applicant work for you.
Use Specific Numbers
Show your candidate that you have an organized payroll by stating specific digits during negotiation. Spill the best of your employees’ financial growth in the company. Aside from their probationary pay, include the regularization and higher management salary when needed. By doing these, you attract a confident talent. You will win the negotiation because a self-assured candidate knows that he will soon be on top of the company hierarchy—and will benefit from its financial growth.
Please Your Ideal Candidate
Last but not least, discuss the long-term benefits that your candidate will get from your company. Life plan, health insurance, retirement funds—these are all practically appealing. Also include stock options or a flexible working schedule if you really want to seal the deal with an exceptional candidate.
A successful employee negotiation on salary leads to well-managed company finance. Additionally, you become a triumphant employer when you are able to attract outstanding talents by doing the right thing and saying the right words. Do extensive research first to have a clearer salary description of your job postings. Afterward, apply the tips stated above to win every salary negotiation and continuously enjoy the fruits of your labor.
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