Conducting salary discussions correctly (HR / supervisor view)

Many supervisors and HR managers are often overcome by an oppressive feeling when it comes to salary issues in employee discussions. The feeling of not being able to objectively justify decisions on salary issues, especially in the case of close employees, is caused by the absence or lack of good arguments. For this reason, the salary discussion is often referred to as the unpopular employee discussion.

In our blog post this week, we take an in-depth look at the topic of "Conducting salary discussions the right way". We will show you what is important in preparing for the meeting and during the wage negotiations and hope that you will be able to take away one or two useful inputs for future wage discussions.

Interview preparation
A salary negotiation requires thorough preparation. When preparing for the discussion, it should be borne in mind that the candidates or employees may not be able to understand the salary proposal. It is therefore important to prepare all arguments well and to back them up with facts and figures so that a factual basis for argumentation is guaranteed. To avoid communication pitfalls, it is helpful to note down the two or three most important arguments before the meeting so as not to deviate from them during the negotiation. Non-binding promises, standard arguments, personal sympathies or the shifting of negative messages to external circumstances ("I would like to, but...") are to be avoided. The determining factors of a salary discussion are always the employee's performance as well as the company's financial resources. It is also important that the wages of the rest of the team are included in the calculation, as larger wage differences can lead to conflicts and reduced motivation.

Rigid negotiating positions or excessively high salary expectations
Unrealistically high salary expectations and rigid negotiating positions are signs that there is an underlying dissatisfaction on the part of the employee. In this case, it is essential to listen more closely and identify hidden problem areas. It is important to find a solution together so that the employee's motivation can be increased again. It is important to know that salary is not as important in terms of satisfaction and motivation as many assume. The sense of purpose, the working atmosphere, the development opportunities and other factors also contribute significantly to the satisfaction of the employee. However, the salary must be able to stand up to internal and external comparison.

Show alternatives
It is important that data and facts are available to counter high demands with factual arguments. If there is no possibility of rewarding employees by means of a wage increase, the following alternatives are available, for example:

- Approve/introduce home office

- Flexible working hours

- Special leave

- Discounts / Fringe Benefits

From experience, we know that agreements made in these talks must be absolutely firm and later kept. Unfulfilled promises are one of the most frequent reasons for later dissatisfaction and dismissal of employees. Simply playing for time, delaying or putting off employees only postpones the problem to the future.

Correctly communicate the positive or negative decision
In the case of a positive decision, this should not only be communicated briefly, but should also be sufficiently justified so that the employee remains motivated. In the case of a negative decision, it is important to communicate this relatively early in the conversation and then to refocus on possible motivating perspectives. In this way, you can show the employee various roadmaps and objectives for the future.

Good preparation for salary questions in employee interviews is important. With the right preparation, you can better master salary discussions and your employees will leave the discussion more motivated, even if they did not receive the salary they had hoped for.