Out of Work

Third in a Series...

Salary & Benefits Negotiations

So, You know you're underpaid...You give 150% to your employer...What do you have to show for it? Well, at least you have a Job...

You just received your Annual Review, and you receive a measly 3% increase. You know that New Person who just came on board is making a lot more than you are, he/she doesn't have your background, doesn't know the product or service they are selling...at least not as well as you do!!! Is it fair?

Well what can you do about it?
First you have to have a Plan. The Plan is to create a File on Yourself. The File will contain lots of pertinent information, such as:

1. How many sick days you took last year.
2. How many days you showed up late for work.
3. How long was/is your average lunch hour.
4. How many vacation days have you taken.
5. How many times have you volunteered to do others people's work.
6. How many days do you stay after the standard work hours.
7. How many times you have trained another employee.
8. How many times have you spoken up during office meetings:
A. Comments were Negative
B. Comments were Positive
C. New Ideas were suggested by you.
9. How many times have you complimented your boss to their face.
10. How many times have you told the boss off.
11. How many times do you tell the bosses secretary or assistant
something, hoping the boss will get the idea.
12. How many times have you brought something to work from home,
to benefit all staff members.
13. How manytrade shows do you attend as a representative of your
company.
14. How many trade associations do you personally belong to.
15. Have you completed additional educational courses and received
a designation, ie: CTC, etc.

Hopefully You now get the idea!!!

When you meet with your Supervisor or Boss for that Annual Review, you need to have some ammunition with you. You should generate a Report. Make it in triplicate, one for your boss, one for you, one for your File.

REPORT EXAMPLE

Ms. Mary Jones
Travel Agent
Started Date October 19, 1996
Staring Salary:$ 32,000.
Current Salary:$ 34,000.
Average Number of Transactions handled per month:_________
Percentage of International vs Domestic:65% International 35% Domestic
Accounts Handled: ABC Corporation, XYZ Corporation, QMR Corporation, plus other smaller companies.
Number of Sick Days (this year) 0
Number of Vacation Days 5
Arrival Time To Work: Always On Time
Departure Time:Stay Later to finish days work
Education: Completing my CTC

Now You surely will understand why you need to have the research done.

Now I will supply you with some dialougue of that ANNUAL REVIEW.

You:Good Morning Mr. Smith
Smith: Good Morning Mary
You: Before you get started with my evaluation, I would like to give you some statistics I have prepared for this meeting.

Part of your Research is to find out how much others are earning with similar backgrounds. You can accomplish this by talking to your friends at work, but be aware most of them won't tell you their real salary, they generally will ellivate it a bit. Read the classifieds in the newspapers, the trades, go on the Internet, and find similar types of jobs and find out what others are paying.

You, however, must research apples to apples, not apples to oranges...I hate these sayings, anyway, if you are a leisure agent, and corporate agents recieve higher wages, this is not the proper research you want. If you have 3 years experience, and you research 7 years experience, this is no good either. Your research must be compatible to your title, function, years in the business, skills, etc.

If you work for a small wholesaler, and you try to compare what a large Tour Operator pays, it doesn't work!!

What Benefits DO You Have and what are available?