Asking for a Raise; Bye-Bye Holiday Bonuses

Dear Career Coach:
I read in NETWORK COMPUTING's "2nd Annual Reader Survey" that 60 percent of IT pros got a raise last year. I haven't gotten a raise in two years, even though I've taken on more work and earned several certifications. How can I ask for more money without putting my job in jeopardy?
RAISEWORTHY

Dear WORTHY:

As the survey results suggest, you're not alone. But if you can make a compelling case, you may be able to persuade your employer to re-evaluate your compensation. Be up front--tell your boss that you like your job and you're not threatening to start searching for a new job, but you've done some research and found that your peers are making more than you are.

Here are some more tips, courtesy of Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director of the Robert Half Technology consulting firm:

• Determine your market value by talking to recruiters and peers in other companies and checking online job sites and salary surveys specific to your field. (Find one here.)• Demonstrate your value. Explain, for example, how your experience implementing a data-storage system could help the company meet the government's new data-retention regulations.

• Remember, timing is everything. Ask for a raise soon after you've successfully completed a high-profile project.

• Be prepared for a refusal. If your boss says you don't deserve more money, ask how to improve the situation. If you're told your timing is off, ask when the timing will be better. If the company can't afford to give any increases, suggest other forms of compensation, like a project-completion bonus.

Dear Career Coach:
My company replaced its traditional holiday cash bonuses with frozen turkeys. That didn't do much for morale, though we did have a nice game of server-room turkey hockey. Is it OK to complain about the lack of cash?
GOBBLE UP?
Dear GOBBLE:

My first reaction is to wonder--with a frozen bird for a puck, what did you use for sticks? But I digress.

If you were getting a cash bonus until last year, you're way ahead of the game. According to a recent poll by consulting firm Hewett Associates, just 28 percent of U.S. companies planned to award employees across-the-board cash bonuses in 2003. Another 28 percent planned to give retail gift certificates, 23 percent intended to give food, and the remaining 21 percent planned no bonuses. Interestingly, while 58 percent of companies surveyed said cost was the reason for discontinuing across-the-board cash bonuses, nearly a third said they planned to switch to pay-for-performance plans in an effort to sort out the top performers from the, er, turkeys. (See the complete survey here).

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