Navigating the Salary Question: Strategies for Responding
What is the salary for this position? Many companies dread the salary question. In a salary negotiation, there’s no telling what will happen. Fortunately, if you keep an open mind, you may find common ground with a candidate in terms of compensation. Plus, there are strategies you can use, which may help you bridge the gap between what a candidate wants and what your company can offer.
Use these five salary negotiation tips to avoid losing a candidate because of unrealistic wage expectations.
1. Set Realistic Salary Expectations
Before you start recruiting candidates, find out if you are paying market rate. First, research to see what other employers are offering for similar roles. If it’s possible, tweak your starting salary and benefits. That way, they’ll line up with job seekers’ expectations. Additionally, many candidates will likely be interested in the role.
When you publish details about your job, share salary information. Ideally, provide a salary range. This gives candidates a good idea about what your company offers as far as compensation goes. It also helps to include details about benefits in your job posting, since these will help you attract candidates.
Of course, don’t be afraid to discuss salary during an initial interview. If you do, you can avoid wasting time later in the interview process. Let a candidate know what your company can offer and make sure it aligns with what they want. If it does and a candidate seems like a good fit, you can move them forward in this process. Once you reach the hiring stage, this individual may be inclined to accept a salary that works well for both you and them.
2. Show Them the (Other) Money
You may have doubts about whether you should include pay rates in your job postings. Regardless of what you decide, show candidates you offer benefits that your industry rivals struggle to match. This will help distinguish your company from its peers. It’ll also prove to job seekers that you’re willing to work with them to provide a compensation package that makes them happy.
To understand how this works, consider an example. You have a candidate who you want to hire but fall short of what you can offer for a starting salary. In lieu of an above-average salary, offer the candidate additional paid time off, remote work flexibility, or other unique perks. Remember, just because you face salary restrictions doesn’t mean you can’t hire quality job candidates. If you ask candidates to consider other benefits, they may be willing to accept them. In this scenario, you’ll be able to add great candidates without breaking your budget.
If you don’t know what other benefits to offer candidates, ask them. Communication will go a long way in fostering a positive relationship with a candidate. If a candidate is willing to discuss alternatives to more compensation, listen to what they have to say. This is a golden opportunity to find perks you can offer a candidate that convinces them to join your team.
3. Explore the Potential for Future Raises
If you are worried about bad candidates but can’t offer a salary that’s higher than what you currently provide, consider future raises. For example, a candidate wants to join your team but is concerned about their starting salary. Offer to review this individual’s salary in the first few months after you hire them. At this point, your company’s financial situation may be drastically different than what it is right now. As a result, you may be able to give the employee a raise and meet their salary requirements.
As you negotiate with a candidate, go over performance metrics with them. You may have an opportunity to put metrics in place that warrant a pay increase. Because, if a new hire performs their best, your business can earn more. Thus, you will be able to provide better compensation to this worker without delay.
You may have opportunities to provide signing or training bonuses to new hires as well. With a signing bonus, you give a candidate a one-time payment if they agree to join your team and stay with it for a set amount of time. If you offer a training bonus, you agree to provide additional compensation to a worker if they fulfill your company’s learning requirements. In either scenario, you and your new hire benefit. Your company is able to add an employee who will remain with your business for the foreseeable future. For your employee, they get extra money to supplement their salary.
4. Focus on Professional Development
Ultimately, it pays to show employees the path to growth. If you don’t, they’re likely to leave your business if career opportunities come up elsewhere. In lieu of boosting a new hire’s starting salary, discuss the professional development opportunities your business provides. These may pique a candidate’s interest since you’ll provide them with a career path. If this individual understands what they need to do to earn a high salary, they may commit time and resources to their efforts. This may lead the candidate to join your team and hit the ground running.
You can include information about your professional development opportunities in your job posting and on your website. Doing so makes it easy for job candidates to learn about your company and all it offers. When you post a job, it is likely that it will generate interest from a wide range of candidates who want to build successful careers.
Offer professional development opportunities to employees starting on day one. This lays the foundation for a long-lasting partnership. New hires will learn their roles and get insights into what they can do to advance their careers. In the months and years to come, they will broaden their skill sets and grow with your business.
5. Be Honest and Constructive
It can be difficult to be honest with job seekers. Yet, it is in your company’s best interests to let candidates know if you cannot meet their salary requirements. Otherwise, if you mislead a candidate, they will eventually find out that you can’t provide them with the salary they want. This will lead the candidate to reject an offer from your business. The candidate may also share their experience with others, which could hurt your chances of recruiting top talent moving forward.
Just because you are honest with a candidate doesn’t mean you cannot provide them with constructive feedback. As an example, you can explain to a candidate what your company can offer and what skills they would need to warrant more money. This may prompt the candidate to enroll in classes to improve their skills or develop new ones. In the near future, the candidate may pursue the same role or another one with your business. At this time, you may be able to hire them and offer them the salary they want.
Much in the way you should be honest and constructive with candidates, encourage them to be the same way with you. If a candidate feels your salary and benefits package leaves much to be desired, find out why. A candidate may give you insights you can use to improve your compensation structure. This may help you provide competitive salaries and benefits that put you in a great position to attract the best candidates.
Why You Need to Address the Salary Question
If a candidate asks you for salary information, share it with them. The question will not go away, even if you try to ignore it. In fact, disregarding the question may cause a candidate to dismiss your company. It may damage your business as it searches for talent now and in the future.
Rather than shy away from the salary question, address it in the early stages of your talent recruitment process. Your business does its best, and you want candidates to understand what your company provides. If you are upfront about your salary and benefits package, candidates will be able to review this information in conjunction with everything else your business offers. They can then decide if it is worth their time and energy to explore career opportunities with your company.
What your company offers for compensation may not be what it provides months or years from now. Keep a close eye on your salary and benefits package and update it whenever possible. This will help you provide compensation in alignment with your industry. It may also improve your chances of recruiting exceptional candidates.
Want Help With Negotiating Salaries?
You may believe salary negotiations are best handled on your own. Fortunately, this is not necessarily the case. If you partner with a staffing agency, you will get plenty of assistance in salary negotiations. The agency’s recruiters will work with you to identify talent that can fill many roles across your business. It will connect you with candidates who are willing to accept a salary and benefits package that won’t force you to spend beyond your means, too.
At PrideStaff, we take the guesswork out of the recruiting process. Our team delivers hardworking, high-performing talent ready to work for you. As your trusted staffing partner, we are committed to creating cost-effective solutions that align with your business goals and your budget. Contact your local PrideStaff office to get started today.
