WASHINGTON – Promotion without a raise? Say “yes.”
An increasing number of companies are offering employees a promotion with more responsibilities but no bump up in pay, and an increasing number of workers are willing to take it, but why would they?
Placement firm OfficeTeam says 39 percent of HR managers it surveyed said it is common for their company to offer employees promotions without salary increase. That’s a 17-point jump from a similar survey in 2011.
And 64 percent of workers it surveyed say they’d be willing to accept an advanced title that doesn’t include a raise, up from 55 percent in 2011.
“For go-getters and for people who want to position themselves for bigger things down the road, they are willing and wanting to take that additional responsibility to show they care about career progression,” Amy Keitt, branch manager of OfficeTeam’s Baltimore office told WTOP.
That doesn’t mean that new title with no pay raise doesn’t come with some added benefit, if you ask for it.
“You can negotiate more vacation time, or a day off during the week, maybe working a 9/80 instead of five days a week every week,” Keitt said. “They could also negotiate if there is any profit sharing or annual bonuses.”
And then there is that buzz word, flex-schedule, which is no longer a pipe dream for workers or unreasonable for employers.
“What we’re seeing a lot of right now which is important to a lot of folks regardless of demographic and where they’re at in their career, is the flexible schedule. The ability to work from home or have flexibility of in and out time, being able to commute during off-hours,” Keitt said.
She also suggests negotiating for professional development like continuing education that can increase an employee’s marketability down the road.
If more money is still important, ask for a compensation review in three to six months after accepting the new position.
More men — 72 percent — are open to accepting a promotion without a salary increase than women — 55 percent. And workers ages 18 to 34 are the most willing to take a new title that doesn’t include a raise.
The survey still indicates 36 percent of those surveyed would say “no thanks” to a promotion or new title that didn’t include better pay. In that case, OfficeTeam advises to decline gracefully, and diplomatically explain how staying in your current role is better for you and for the company.
What is considered typical career progression? OfficeTeam says professionals are promoted after two years and five months in a role, on average.
OfficeTeam’s survey included responses from more than 300 HR managers at U.S. companies with 20 or more employees and more than 1,000 workers employed in office environments.