Asking for a Raise and Salary Negotiation Techniques in a Declining Economy

To get the money you deserve, you have to ask for it and explain why you deserve it. In a bad economy, wondering "When is the best time to ask for a raise?" is sort of like asking "When is the best time to buy a house?" The answer is, "Whenever you need a house!" So if you feel you need (and deserve) a raise, now is the best time.

Reasons You May Feel Hesitant
1. You feel lucky to even have a job.
2. You worry the boss might view it as "unacceptable" or out of the question.
3. You are afraid of being rejected, demoted, or fired.
4. You feel guilty because friends and colleagues are laid off or cannot find work.
5. In general, fewer Americans are getting a raise (across all industries).

Your boss cannot fire you for asking for a raise. Under normal circumstances, it is customary to ask for a raise every 12-18 months. If you received a mediocre raise, ask your boss if you can revisit the discussion in 4-6 months.

The most opportune time to bring up a raise is after you have earned a major victory for the company or department, or whenever you are on the boss' good side. Schedule a convenient, stress-free time for your boss. If you prefer, ask them if they want to discuss it over coffee so it feels more comfortable.

Getting Ready
Any time you negotiate salary or a raise; you must be confident and be prepared. Compile a list your contributions and for each item, state its impact on the company's bottom line.

Here are some examples:
1. Goals met
2. Projects completed
3. Problems solved
4. Impact on your department or team
5. New ideas or projects generated
6. Tasks fulfilled
7. Knowledge gained
8. Expectations exceeded
9. Kudos from clients and co-workers

In your discussion, follow these guidelines:
1. Acknowledge that you understand the economy and company's financial situation.
2. Do not insinuate that your current salary or job position is a problem.
3. Never give an ultimatum or threaten to quit if you do no get a raise.
4. Do not tell them if you have a better offer from another company.

What to Expect When You're Expecting...a Raise
First and foremost, get ready to hear "No". When you know it is coming, you can respond unemotionally and state your prepared arguments. Take the initial rejection as jumping off point to start negotiation. Reiterate your best arguments and then about other possible options.

Budget can be a real issue for negotiating a higher salary or raise, especially in a tough economy. Non-cash options are a great alternative if your employer's budget cannot grant a raise or higher salary. These perks may seem less attractive than what you hoped for, but they do save you money and make life easier.

If you still come away empty handed, set up another meeting in 4-6 months or whenever the budget improves. For the mean time, define goals with your boss that you can meet to win a raise the next time.

Who Do We Hire For the Future of HVAC?

The growing trend of Baby-Boomers retiring from the HVACR industry has forced many companies to scramble to find candidates to replace those seasoned service technicians and journeymen mechanics.

Without a doubt, the best way to find potential employees is through referral networks. Managers and HVACR contractors must always be on the lookout for new talent, even if they are not actively hiring. Companies that are not fishing for new talent as actively as they should will certainly feel the repercussions once their elder employees decide that golf is more enjoyable in retirement than soldering pipe is in the field.

Proactive recruiting should be at the forefront of any HVACR organization's professional agenda. Success will come to those who realize the importance of filling their employee pipeline with talent. Some candidates won't last, eaten up quickly by the competition; that makes it vital to have a stable of potentials in your pipeline at all times.

Today's job market belongs to candidates; journeymen know they can receive that bump up the union wage scale, and so are selective when looking for their employer of choice. Therefore, I always tell my hiring managers to look at the resume and move quickly when we decide to pursue an individual. Separate your company from competitors by showing candidates the advantages of working for your organization.
For example, Johnson Controls created the Service+Technical Excellence Program (S+TEP) to help groom its current mechanics and for use as a recruiting tool to entice potential employees. S+TEP is an educational training program that employees complete on their own time, with monetary incentives for each level accomplished. Candidates can also receive two certifications: United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices (UA) STAR and Master Technician level achievement. The key is finding the right person to get into these programs. But how do we find those candidates?

Without a formal recruiting strategy to approach these hard-to-find candidates, a company likely will constantly stumble into the same dead ends. You always have to incorporate "out of the box" thinking if you want to successfully fill such a demanding position. One concept I find effective is advanced Internet recruitment strategies (AIRS), a headhunting technique that uses the Internet to find successful, seasoned, tradesman-level candidates that are qualified to fill the employee pipeline (Editor's Note: For more information on AIRS, visit www.airsdirectory.com).

Another trend is the growing use of technology in virtual recruiting-the majority of recruiters are online and prefer to receive Internet-based resumes more so than paper. This is a trend that is not going away any time soon; if you aren't recruiting in the "virtual" world and your competitors are, where will that leave you?

We certainly need to recruit mechanical-equipment service tradesmen (MEST) and future apprentices as well. The Catch-22 is locating a candidate that can hit the ground running, without the benefit of our having the time, money or resources to train these people. So what should we do?

The answer is simple: We have to train them and take time to build future employees up to standards so that they become a valuable company asset.
For candidates, I cannot stress enough that their employment search be viewed as a full-time job; actively submitting resumes through all mainstream, niche, and industry-specific job boards as well as company portals.

Candidates who lack Internet access and/or the computer savvy to produce an online resume should take advantage of the Internet access at public libraries; utilize resume templates such as those found at http://www.microsoft.com. Utilize such tools to your advantage, because employers are out there on the hunt.