Why would the employer ask you to suggest a raise?

Question

Apparently here in France there is an obligation to have the salary reviewed annually. So, in the first annual meeting, my line manager asked me to suggest what raise I would like...

• How is one even supposed to answer such a question when it is asked because it has to be asked?
• Why does the company not suggest a salary increase instead rather than force an employee to deal with a miserable question?
• How am I to know what a reasonable raise is anyway?

Add to that, the concept of value or worth of my work, coding/model development and simulations is a very abstract concept. There is no inherent immediate value but (ideally) long term benefits and long term value. Neither is my position one that can be easily researched and compared for suggestions...

Unfortunately the suggestion that the company should decide was not accepted as an answer and I am supposed to get back with a number... At present, the best and only answer I can think off is to look at the official inflation rate in the country for a suggestion...

Edit:

I have decided to accept the best argued response - and all well thought out responses (that suggested how/why I should decide) were upvoted. (Midday 24th OCt 2019, CET time)

With the annual inflation currently suggested to be 0.9%, I suggested a 1% increase to cancel out inflation - with a feeling that this is not unreasonably greedy... Despite the accepted answer suggesting that one should be asking for more, I just cannot see how it can be justfied... - And suggesting a compensation for inflation at least should leave me with a clear conscience. (If my job title changes, maybe I would have a reason to argue why my salary should increase, but at present? For what? For doing my job?)

Answer 1

I'm unfamiliar with France norms, but the first company I worked for was easily one of the best ones and at the end of my first year, my boss asked me what I wanted for a raise. I had a similar reaction like you wherein I was sweating trying to come up with the 'right' answer on this and asking why would someone make me deal with such a miserable thing.

At the time, this was my first year as an engineer and I boldly assumed that asking for 3% would be pushing the limits of what I could get, so that was the answer I provided. Other companies and bosses might have simply taken that number and run, but my boss denied my 3% and instead made it 8% then took the time to explain to me that as an engineer my value increases at a very high rate early in my career. The knowledge I gain is significant and in turn I become broadly more valuable to the company. Ergo, high raises early in my career are appropriate and later in my career things should level out to cost of living adjustments.

So to answer your questions:

How is one even supposed to answer such a question when it is asked because it has to be asked?

I'm not sure what French law specifically says regarding 'salary reviewed annually'. Whether this is a discussion that needs to occur or if management needs to make it a point to review your salary and make a decision on whether it needs to be adjusted. In the US, you can hear countless stories of people stuck at the same rate of pay for whatever reason management concocts to avoid paying fairly.

So to answer the question, consider where you are in your career. If you're early in your career and fresh out of school, you should expect high percentage increases as you've learned a lot and in turn become a lot more valuable and useful to the company. If you've been at this for 15 years, then a simple cost of living adjustment is more reasonable.

Why does the company not suggest a salary increase instead rather than force an employee to deal with a miserable question?

French law might prohibit that or you might have a very good boss like I did and they want your honest opinion and offer you a chance to learn along the way.

How am I to know something what a reasonable raise is anyway?

See my answer to your first and second question.

If it's your first year out of school (or otherwise early in your career), think about all the things you've learned and done over the last year and write them down; it's perfectly reasonable to prepare for a discussion on salary by actually preparing. A year is a long time, you can work on a lot of different projects, and in turn learn a lot of different things.

Reflect on this and come back with a response, but more often than not a reasonable raise is high percentage early on and more of a cost of living adjustment late in your career.

At present, the best and only answer I can think off is to look at the official inflation rate in the country for a suggestion...

This isn't the right answer if you're early in your career, which this question suggests you might be. You're worth much more than a cost of living adjustment.

Answer 2

Not used to the French environment, but I would say it is reasonable that in a negotiation for your salary you have a saying in stating your expectation.

Your manager didn't say that your wish will be granted, though.

Few points you should consider, as they will probably be considered by your employer, too:

• how have you performed vs the targets you were given?
• how have you performed in comparison to your team?
• how have you performed with respect to your personal development?

In other words, have you managed to become an added value for your employer?

With the above points in mind, if I hear you say "just compensate for inflation", I have the impression you just floated in this year. If that's correct, good for you. If that's not correct, you better stand up for yourself. Don't take as a given that your manager will do it for you.

Answer 3

The annual inflation is a good number to know but that should be your absolute minimum. If you get less than that you get a real pay cut. Your manager should have to explain why the situation is so bad that this is justified.

You seem to have a hard time judging how much increase your personal contribution is worth. Getting an idea here would be best but some other general numbers can be gotten as follows. Find out what the general GDP growth last year was and what tarif deals where negotiated by the major unions.

Additionally you become more valuable to your employer because you are now more experienced. Big union tarifs often have a model with levels based on years of experience, something like an additional 5% increase after 1 year, 3, years, 6 years and 10 years on top of the annual adjustment is common.

This should give an idea by how much the salary of some average employee increases. Of course if you are not in a tarif none of this applies directly to you but even if you feel you are just doing average your salary should increase by a lot more than just inflation.

Answer 4

It's a negotiation tactic.

Whoever is the first one to name a number in a negotiation is in a weaker position. That side now needs to justify their offer and the other side has no reason to make an offer which is any better than this initial offer.

The best counter to this strategy is to make a high-ball offer which you know is more than the other side would be willing to accept. This forces them to make and justify an offer of their own. You can then come to a compromise which is somewhere in between.

When you go into a negotiation for a raise, then the rate of inflation is the bare minimum you can expect. Every year you work means you earn more experience in your profession and become more knowledgeable about the company you work at. So you should go into the negotiation with the premise that your value for the company increased and that your salary should reflect that increase.

Remember the Ferengi Rule of Acquisition #212:

If they accept your first offer, you either asked too little or offered too much

Answer 5

Why does the company not suggest a salary increase instead rather than force an employee to deal with a miserable question?

There could be a few reasons:

1. Check how you estimate your value to the company and if you feel over/underpaid;
2. Check how you evaluate your performance;
3. Their suggestion would set the lower bound of the negotiation range, while yours is likely to determine the upper bound; they'd clearly prefer to have your number before giving theirs.

How is one even supposed to answer such a question when it is asked because it has to be asked? How am I to know something what a reasonable raise is anyway?

I don't know much about the French job market, but in the UK I'd request at least something just above the inflation rate. If I were recently promoted or started taking over new duties or if I were underpaid, I would request more. Ça va sans dire, your performance should be factored into the calculation. You can determine a figure checking the job market for your role, this would also give you some material to negotiate more effectively. I would suggest you do 2-3 interviews per year, as it will help you estimating your market value and so it will you help answering these kind of questions.

Regardless of the reason why this question is being asked, it is always important as a professional to know what is your current market value.

Answer 6

Just make a number up. I've gone from 18k to 30k in much the same manner. I don't really worry about what others are getting or what I'm doing.

I work in order to have a steadily increasing standard of living, so I want an amount that will give me that.

Don't look at what you need, look at what you want.