How To Negotiate Beyond Salary Caps

How does one counter if the company leadership says that the higher salary the negotiator is asking for will skew the salary scale/roster of the other employees especially those at that same level as the person negotiating? – Journalist

When you hear that your raise request is butting up against the salary cap for your job, don’t get discouraged. Good negotiators don’t fear the No. Get curious. Ask for clarification on the salary bands used at the company. Your manager is the one who brought up pay scales, so let them explain to you exactly how the compensation process works.

Some questions to ask: Are you already at the top of your band? What roles or titles are in the next band? How does the company determine who is in what band? This information will help you in the current and future negotiations. More importantly, you can gauge from the certainty in your manager’s responses if there really is a salary cap issue, or if that’s just a default reason for saying No.

Confirm that your manager supports your raise request, except for the salary cap

Whether there is an actual salary cap or not, you need to confirm that your manager is supportive and agrees that you deserve a raise. If they can’t give you any more details on the salary cap, ask them candidly if there is indeed a pay scale issue, or if there is another reason they don’t want to approve your raise. You can’t counter effectively until you understand what is really going on. If your manager confirms that they would authorize your raise but for the pay scale constraints, then at least you know the salary cap is the actual issue you need to address.

Ask for a promotion to bypass the salary cap and get your raise

The easiest way to sidestep the cap is to jump to a different salary band by getting a promotion. When you ask for a raise (whether your company has salary caps or not), ideally your request includes tangible evidence of why you deserve the raise. For a journalist, this might be that your stories attract above-average readership or engagement via comments and/or social sharing. Or, maybe you initiated something new – e.g., a system for getting stories from draft to final faster. Or, if your publication is pedigree-driven, winning industry awards could be reason to justify a raise. Use these same reasons to argue for a promotion that makes the salary cap a non-issue and gets you your raise.

Explore alternative compensation than a higher salary

If your manager won’t entertain a promotion, get a raise without changing your salary by getting compensated outside of your base salary. Ask for a spot bonus, especially if your raise request rests on having outsized performance. If you’re considering graduate school, ask to have your tuition covered. If there are conferences you’d like to attend or courses or coaching to upgrade your skills, ask for these fees to be covered. Only ask for things that you really want – otherwise there’s no value to you, even if there is a financial value to tuition benefits, conferences, etc.

Negotiate to raise the salary cap for everyone

If you have market data that shows your role is underpaid compared to similar roles at competitors, then ask your manager to raise the salary cap for everyone. Express your argument for higher pay as concern for the company. If the company isn’t paying competitively, they risk losing their best people. Share your data sources with your manager, and offer to work with them to approach senior leadership and HR together to ask for an across-the-board compensation adjustment.

Start looking for a new job

Even if your manager is 100% on board with you – to argue for new salary bands, to approve additional compensation aside from your base salary, and/or to promote you – they may still have to convince others. This will take time, during which you should look for a new job. Your manager may not have the authority or influence to change a salary cap. You don’t want an artificial limit, like a salary cap, on what you can earn. Looking for a new job will allow you to make an informed decision on whether you are maximizing your career potential. Is staying where you are really the best option for your career, or is there a better company or role elsewhere?