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BBC Pidgin of Wednesday, 18 January 2023

Source: BBC

Five tips wey you fit use ask for salary increase

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By Noor Nanji

Business reporter, BBC News

If you feel like say dem no dey pay you enough you probably no dey alone for dis mata.

While average wages dey increase, e no still fit match di way price of goods for market dey increase upandan.

With di rising cost of living, e mean say many pipo dey find am hard to cope.

BBC speak to recruiters, one manager and workplace psychologist to get five tips on how to best negotiate for more money.

Here na how you fit go about di salary increment mata to give yoursef di best chance of succeeding.

 1. Choose di right time

Jill Cotton, wey be career trends experts for jobs site Glassdoor, say to schedule tok in advance go allow you and your boss time to prepare.

E go also fit make you dey more likely to get productive conversation.

"No just all of a sudden bring dis to your line manager," Jill Cotton tok.

"Be upfront and say you want to book in a conversation wey dey mainly about pay."

Rowsonara Begum, wey help her brother run Saffron Indian takeaway for Salisbury, say e go also need to be di right time for di business.

She say if workers pick a time wen di business dey do well, dem go get di best chance to successfully negotiate more money.

2. Bring evidence

If you dey ask for pay rise, you need to get plenti evidence of why you deserve one.

"Know wetin you don achieve either from a work setting or wetin you don do to develop yoursef, maybe to support your team, support your line managers.

List all di benefit of wetin you don do," according to Shan Saba, wey be director for Glasgow-based recruitment firm Brightwork.

Dis evidence go also help your manager to reason why dem gatz pay you more, according to Stephanie Davies, wey be workplace psychologist.

"Di brain need a 'why' - why I gatz pay you dis amount?" she tok.

However, no be just to bring list of all di things wey you don do. You also need to dey clear about wetin you want to do next, Saba tok.

"If you get dream of moving up through your organisation, make you get plan of wetin you dey look forward to do ova di coming year."

3. Be confident

Wen you dey ask your oga for more money, e go dey helpful if you dey confident and know your worth.

Dis na something Rowsonara Begum don notice from her experience of having dis kain tok with staff.

"Here for Salisbury, e dey difficult to get di staff we need," she tok.

"E also come dey harder to recruit from overseas. So workers get negotiating power because dem know say shortage dey."

Often pipo no dey feel confident because of "stigma" wey dey around talking about pay, Jill Cotton from Glassdoor tok, but "na important part of work".

Women and pipo from minority backgrounds fit most times find am hard to ask for more pay, psychologist Stephanie Davies add.

Her advice to dem na for dem to ask for mentor or role model, wey fit help guide dem through dis kain conversations.

4. Get one particular figure for mind

Most experts agree say e dey best to get di exact figure in mind before you start di tok-tok about pay rise.

You gatz do your research, according to advises from James Reed, wey be chairman of recruitment firm Reed.

"You fit go online and look for job adverts and see wetin oda jobs wey dey comparable to your own dey recruite for and wetin be dia salary," e tok.

Jill Cotton warn say di figure need to dey realistic.

"We all like make dem pay us millions of pounds every single year. But we dey paid to fulfil a role with di skillset wey wey have," she tok.

5. No give up

If all di steps above no result in pay rise, try not to dey discourage.

"Sometimes dis conversations fit take a while, even months, but e dey important to keep di communication open," Rowsonara Begum tok.

Also, pay no be di be-all and end-all, Reed tok."e no just dey necessarily about money.

You fit dey able to get more holiday or more flexibility around working hours," e tok, adding you fit also negotiate extra training and development.

And if you no feel say you dey get wetin you want from your employer, remember, oda opportunities dey out there.

"You fit always look elsewhere, dat na really big lesson," Davies tok.