There are a few ways to look at it….
1. You’re being underpaid by market-related standards.
This situation arises when a person joins a company, and instead of their salary rising according to the market (some types of jobs see much higher growth in salary in a short period of time than others), you receive small yearly increases (as many companies do).
In this scenario it may be more beneficial to change companies every so often in order to maintain a market-related salary.
2. You’re being underpaid by your own company standards.
Sometimes you enter a job in a specific position, get training, take on a few more responsibilities, and before you know it you’re doing the same job – if not more – than co-workers who are earning a higher salary than you.
This is a very real problem, especially for employees who find it difficult to negotiate changes in their salaries, or who feel that money is a taboo subject not really to be discussed.
In this instance it is recommended that you chat with your manager, preferably before you become resentful and demotivated.
3. You negotiated a lower salary than your co-workers.
Often when interviewing for a position we’re asked what we expect to be paid (and ask for less than we should), or alternatively take whatever salary has been offered by the company. While this may be true for you, John who also works in your department may have negotiated a higher salary package at the time of interviewing, for essentially the same job.
If this is the case, it may be time to re-negotiate with your management.
What to do if you are being underpaid:
The first rule of negotiation is that if you don’t ask, you won’t get, so make sure you table all of your requests. If you are being underpaid you have several options open to you, including renegotiating your salary with management, considering changing companies to keep abreast of market-related salary changes, or to ask for remuneration of a different kind, such as time off or other low-cost benefits.
Negotiations not your strong point? Join us on our next Negotiation Training Workshop!
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