December is the time of the year when annual performance reviews are on every employee’s mind because, in many cases, a good review means a raise and subsequent increase in income for the next year.
Business consultancy group Towers Watson recently surveyed 337 US companies however and found that, in 2015, they plan on giving a 3% raise to full-time employees, a number that is only a teensy bit higher than the 2.9% increase that was given this year.
Again, that’s for full-time employees and, if that’s not you, or you don’t get a raise for some other reason, you might consider walking away from the job. In fact, the Society for Human Resource Management finds that 40% of American workers say they would quit their job if they weren’t being properly compensated.
That’s your prerogative of course but, rather than quitting and then having to go through the hassle of finding a new job, you might want to simply ask for other benefits instead, benefits that might actually equal more in terms of monetary value than an actual raise. Below are a few of the best. Enjoy.
Working hours that fit your schedule better.
For young moms and dads, getting to work at 9 o’clock and leaving at 5 o’clock is not always the most convenient or easy thing to do. If your annual review was excellent but you’re killing yourself trying to get to work, day care, school and everywhere else you need to be on time, asking for more flexibility in your working hours, or possibly the ability to telecommute, is definitely an option.
Be realistic when asking for this benefit and make sure to explain to your boss how your new, flexible hours will boost your productivity.
Compensation for personal development classes.
Personal development has become very trendy in the last few years as American consumers have realized that the more they know, the higher their value to an employer will be. If your company doesn’t want to give you a raise this year, you can still ask them to invest in you and help you to improve your job skills by compensating you for tuition or letting you cross-train and some of their other departments in order to increase your skill-set.
The fact is, the better trained that you are, the more skills that you have and the more knowledge that you possess makes you more valuable to your employer, something that may bode well for a raise next year.
Better tools to work with.
While not getting a raise is bad enough, having to perform your work on old, outdated equipment can sometimes be worse. If that’s the case with you, asking for a new computer or, if you use your personal cell phone to take care of a lot of tasks at work, reimbursement for said phone, is definitely an option. Before you do, make sure that you have an explanation to give on how this upgraded equipment will make you more productive.
There are a number of other perks that you can ask for, including more vacation time, a better healthcare package and even an improved title. Just because you didn’t get a raise doesn’t mean that your company doesn’t value you as an employee, it might just have been a business decision.
If you ask for these other benefits and aren’t given any of them however, it might be time to start looking for a new place to work.