Over the course of 10 years I’ve interviewed, employed and managed hundreds of people for my landscaping business.  I’ve had great employees and some not so good ones.  One of the hardest things to manage is employee pay.  Most employees that I’ve managed that have wanted to make more money wanted a raise because they had been with my company for a certain period of time.  The walk into my office and say, “Hey Boss.  I need a raise.”  I then think to myself okay how can we justify this raise?

If you really want to get a raise you should try the following approach.  When asking for a raise be prepared to take on more work, tasks, etc. and let your boss know you are up for the new challenge.  You will need to provide the reason why you believe you deserve a raise.  For example after telling your boss you want to make more money you can follow up with a few questions and create discussion.

• What can I do extra to increase my pay?
• Is there anything you can take off your bosses plate so he is free to do other tasks?
• Can you start to manage other employees that you work with?
• How can you produce more to justify the raise?
• Are you able to take on more management tasks?
• Is there ways for you to be more efficient at your job that will save the company money?

Your boss wants less headaches and trust me he’s willing to pay for it.  You just need to find a way to produce more for the company to justify your raise.  Your company is in business to MAKE MONEY.  If you can help the company make more money then you will make more money.

So the next time you want a raise give this a try!