Episode 70: Employment Challenges in Non Profits - How to Ask for Raise

Welcome to another edition of “Around with Randall,” your weekly podcast making your nonprofit more effective for your community. And here is your host, the CEO and Founder of Hallett Philanthropy, Randall Hallett.

Thank you for joining me, Randall, right back here on “Around with Randall,” your podcast about nonprofit philanthropy and short bursts, hopefully, helping you take your career and your organization where you want it to be. Today we start a three-part series based on some pretty exciting things that Hallett philanthropy has been involved with. I spoke about it in general maybe six months ago but a survey that was done about employment in the nonprofit sector was completed by nearly 1,500 people last late summer, early fall, and based on that information the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, in its journal, Healthcare Philanthropy printed it, and we're really proud of that, that it made the publication as a main article about trends in the nonprofit world. I hold it here in my hot little hands for those that aren't watching on YouTube. And so we're going to break apart this survey and do three special podcasts on three distinct issues that were in the employment survey and are very relative today as we still see the great resignation continue.

Interestingly enough, when we think about it we also are seeing jobs coming back into the nonprofit sector but we're still lagging, according to industry standards and industry reports some 10-15 percent behind where we were pre-pandemic. So there's a lot of job movement. Jobs are coming back, organizations are trying to figure out how to do their particular mission more effectively, which is causing all kinds of conversations. Today's discussion is about how to get a raise. What are the best practices in doing so, and probably this applies not only to the non-profit sector but for anyone having this thought process in this conversation. We'll then take apart the idea of how to grow professionally in the nonprofit sector, some of the challenges with that in the next podcast, and the third of three in this series is going to be about bonus structures and how to build those in an ethical way that meets with the standards of our industry. They can be done, they are done. It's a matter of how to do them.

So let's start with this idea of a raise one of the things that came out in the survey was, is, that people are struggling to get paid what they believe is fair and some of that is done on the front end in terms of the interview process but for many who are in jobs for a number of years, hopefully, they struggle with the idea of, “How do I increase my salary? How do I increase what I’m taking home?” And I want to give kind of six big thoughts that would be helpful in helping you get where you want to go. And if you're a supervisor, maybe these are things you should be asking of your team so that you're ready when these conversations actually occur. At the very end, I’ll give a couple of phrases that I would try to avoid as a part of this process getting a raise asking for raise is really hard for a lot of people I’ve always struggled with it because I want my work to speak for itself, however, if the employer, manager, supervisor doesn't know that you're thinking, “what I’m doing isn't being compensated fairly,” it's that you aren't happy with what you're taking home. If there's room for growth, if they don't know those things, is that really their fault or is that your issue to deal with? And as I’ve gotten a little bit older, a little more grayer in the hair I’ve realized that it's our responsibility to take care of ourselves. There is a respectful and right way to do it which we're going to talk about here in a second, but in many ways it's really important your manager, your supervisor, your boss, the CDO, whomever is a part of that process and that decision making knows how you feel, and there's nothing wrong with wanting more. But again there's a right and a wrong way to do it. And today we're going to talk about that right way that'll give you the best chance to do so. 

So let's start off right at the top. What are the things that you should be most concerned about when I’m thinking about asking for a raise or if I’m a manager and having people coming and asking me for a raise. The first thing I’m always most concerned about is, is it the right time. There are good times and there are bad times to ask for a raise. A couple of questions to ask yourself, and this is the first one is really important during the pandemic, how's the financial health of the company? Many nonprofits are really struggling right now, particularly in social service places that are almost 100 percent based on philanthropy. They don't have other revenue streams. If the financial health of the company is struggling or the of the nonprofit is struggling then no matter what you think, they may not be able to do it, so keeping that in the back your mind about timing is really important. Another one, and we talked about this in terms of the podcast on managing up, how's your manager's workload? Is your manager happy? Is it a good time for them, personally? The reason I brought up the Managing Up podcast, and you can go back and find that and “Around with Randall” is that the manager, supervisor, CDO, whomever controls the conversation even if they don't make the decision. So, if their workload is overload or something really, maybe, not all that positive has happened, then their disposition isn't open to the conversation. You may not like that, it may not work for you, but if you want something from them, their ability to engage at that moment is critically important. 

And then there are some natural times during the year to have these conversations, whether it's a quarter or semi or an annual review, very natural time to be talking about salary and compensation. Another one could be a fiscal year or maybe even more importantly, not waiting till the end of the fiscal year, but when the budget planning process is occurring. For many organizations, nonprofits, if we use, let's say the fiscal year beginning July 1st, I wouldn't be waiting until July 1st. Usually budgeting conversations start in late April, early May. I might approach it then as the budgets are being built, both revenue and expense. How do I put what I’m interested in into that process? 

The last thing has very little to do with the organization and timing, and maybe more importantly with you as an employee. Have you accomplished the things you were supposed to, did you meet goal if you're trying to go in for a raise, and you time everything else perfectly but you haven't met whatever metrics or accountability pieces are part of your job performance, it's hard to advocate for that. So make sure you take care of your business first and realize that time. The right time to have this conversation, there are some moments that are more advantageous than others. 

So, number one, it's timing. Number two is about knowing your business, and i'm not talking about the company, I’m talking about you and your job, do you know what the trends and comparisons look like? Do you know what other people are being paid in your general position? Do you know their qualifications and your own qualifications? Have you made a list of accomplishments that show a level of success that a person in your position would normally have according to the industry? The last one is the most challenging. The article specifically talks about this, the the article in the HP Journal and Today's Philanthropy, Healthcare Philanthropy is knowing your methodology, your company's method, nonprofits methodology of compensation or salary structure, and this one's really hard. There's a direct quote from an anonymous, and you could understand why if you read the article, that says I don't understand why as a gift officer i'm being compared to a nurse manager, our jobs are not the same, our standards are not the same. If something happens to me, it's not going to happen to them, and I can't do what they do and so sometimes particularly larger organizations, HR, has a tendency to try to group jobs based on certain characteristics, responsibilities, and sometimes we have to fight a little bit in philanthropy to say, “I understand what you're saying but we're really not compared to that group of people.” 

I had a conversation recently with someone in an HR department, Head of HR, in one of my clients and we're talking about this very subject and I said, frankly, we're more like a surgeon than we are nurse manager, and they just looked at me and I’m like, think about it this way. If a surgeon doesn't do enough surgeries, there's not enough revenue and somebody's tracking that, there's a compensation arrangement based on how many surgeries they do, what the payer mix is, how much revenue comes in from those, and then they get paid based on a calculation. In some way, shape, or form, gift officers, philanthropies, more like that than we are a nurse manager, and they had never thought about it. Even if your Chief Development Officer, or the head of your department, or your immediate supervisor manager thinks you deserve a raise, your understanding of that methodology is critically important because it's going to give you insight as to how far they can go. So you may have to ask a few questions along the way. So number two is comparisons, and don't forget there's great detail out there. The Nonprofit News does a tremendous salary comparison for across the nonprofit sector. I think the last one was 435 pages of data. AHP does a fantastic salary survey, every other year, very impressed with the work they do, and it's really by geographic region, by experience, by job title, by region, by education, there's lots of ways to cross reference and cross section off the data, so getting knowledge of what other people are doing is really important. Number three is to know what you want.

I think it's critically important that someone walks in with an idea of what they're asking and use a range. If you're looking for a $10,000, let's say bump in your in your salary, then ask for that and use the data from number two, knowing trends and comparisons to your advantage. This is what people make with what I do in the industry. Organizations are sometimes leery about increasing salary. Sometimes it's tough, even if you have a great case. So the other thing I would recommend is, are there other things that would make your job more pleasant, more happy to go to work, more give you the opportunity to be driven towards success, and maybe those things aren't monetary. Is flex time something that would be advantageous, or a title change, or the ability to work more remote, or have Fridays additional vacation. Sometimes organizations are more able to, particularly inside a department, without maybe as much knowledge across the entire nonprofit give a little more flexibility on some of those benefits than they are actually on the physical compensation. So just be aware that even if the answer is a hard no, we can't move your salary are there other things that you would accept that would be pleasant it would be rewarding that would recognize the work that you've done. Know what you want. 

Number four is more of a process thing, but I think it's probably one of things that's overlooked the most. You should set a formal meeting for this conversation. This should not be impromptu, even if you're prepared. You don't want to surprise your boss, your manager, supervisor, CEO, whomever. You need to respect their time and it also brings the level of the seriousness of what you're asking for just by setting a formalized appointment - Outlook, Google, whatever, account time to meet. It sets a higher level standard and I think you should be open, “I’d like to talk about my job, where I’m at, where I’m going,” and have a nice discussion about what you see from that perspective.I also, when you set the time and you kind of do the prep and you work on it is, I would make sure that you treat this like a job interview, like you don't have the job. Too many times I’ve seen people go a little bit unprepared. This is a little bit of a dress-up moment. You might want to pick it up just a little bit. There's the old adage you always dress for the job you want not the job you have, well in some ways that's what we're talking about here. Maybe some other language - “would it be okay if we spend some time talking about my performance and review my compensation,” or “gosh I’d like to have a short meeting to discuss exactly what I’m doing and how you see it and how i'm compensated,” respectful, quiet, on a calendar. It should not be impromptu. It shouldn't be in front of other people. It should be in your boss's office, if possible, making them feel comfortable, and it can be pleasant but it should be respectful in terms of setting, in time. 

So number one was know when to ask. Number two was kind of know where you stand in the industry, in the different comparisons. Number three was know what to say or, excuse me, know what you want. Number four was set a meeting.

Number five is be prepared for this meeting. Go in with a couple pieces of paper. I’m not saying you need a notebook and a ream, but have some data, “here's what the industry pays, by the way here's with AHP Pacers, you know the standards that they've provided or the data they provided, here's what the Nonprofit Times provides,” get some reference points and in the meeting be very candid. Say, “I’d like my compensation package to reflect the work that I’m doing, that's on par with what the industry pays to do that.” You might have to rehearse a little bit. You might have to do it in the mirror so you feel comfortable with it, and a simple open is essential. I think the best opening is to thank them for the opportunity you currently have, “thank you for taking the meeting, thank you for this great job, I really love what I do, I have found a niche in doing this work and I think the results have proven that I can do it fairly well and I look forward to keep improving.” Just the ability to say thank you for their attention is starting the meeting off with a sense of respect for their position, for the organization, and for the requests that you're making. You also want to avoid words that undercut your position so we'll talk about this here at the end more specifically, but things like “I believe, I feel, I think, just only, I might,” those words are not indicative of fact. They're feeling, and what we're dealing with if you're looking for additional compensation is fact. “I’ve done this, here's what the industry does in terms of compensation, I’m below the median, I’m below the certain point, I’m a high performer, and you can see I’m not at the highest portion, the top quadrant of the the range.” You need to spend more time factually. Don’t, this isn't the “I feel time.” This is the fact time, so keep that in mind as you do that. 

Number six, and the last one is be ready for questions. If you have a good manager, supervisor, director, they're going to ask you some questions. They may not give you everything you want so it may be, you know, that's not something I can do right now, but are there other things that we can talk about, or if they say, you know it's just not the right time, we can't do that. “Are there skills and accomplishments you'd like to see me reach or do that would allow further compensation increases? Are you satisfied with my job performance? Is there something that I’m missing? Is there a better time to have this conversation in the future?” At the very end i'll talk about five things to avoid. This is a big one - you want to avoid saying thanks anyway. No. Can we pick this up again at some future time? Is it during the budget cycle, during the evaluation period? So be ready for questions that they might ask you, that you can ask them to get to a better answer. And it's kind of like with a donor, is it a hard no or is there something as a gift officer maybe you're missing that you want to hone in on for timing?

The last isn't really a formal one of the six, but just a good personal thing no matter the answer, thank them. Thank them for the consideration. “Thank you for taking the time. Thank you for considering this. Thank you for thinking about it.” If they didn't give you what you you wanted, or they, wasn't an opportunity for compensation increase, go ahead and thank them for the time.

I mentioned there were five things that you should avoid, or language you should avoid because it can be seen as a negative. Number one is don't ask for more money. That makes it number one - not very concrete and most importantly. Number two doesn't truly reflect what the conversation's about. The conversation should be about my performance, whatever was asked of me, is at the highest possible levels as or as close to it as possible, and I’d like to be compensated for that and here's what that salary range is, it's just not about the money it's about how I’m treated by the by the organization and by my supervisor, boss, CTO. I think I deserve this because that's back to that what I mentioned a few minutes ago, kind of that “I feel” message. This isn't it. I’m asking because of my accomplishments. The salary facts will really be to your advantage. I was hoping for… that's again back to when I feel message, probably something that sounds a little bit, based on my experience, and accomplishments and if you look at the salary range here's what seems to be reasonable. I’m going to have to go and talk with my comps, with the competition, or go to another job. The minute you threaten to leave you've backed your boss into a corner and there's not many places they can go. So just be aware that that's not a card you want to play. If you're going to leave, leave, take another job. But it's going to sound better as saying something in effect, even if if at all, you know I’ve received some interest, I’m not really that interested, I really would like to stay, I love what I do and I love contributing to our mission. You don't want to back your boss into a corner, and I’ve had that experience and it's just not going to end well, so don't do that. The last one is, thanks anyway. And I mentioned this a few minutes ago. Can we revisit this conversation at a future time, after I’ve done X, or a different time of the year, different point in the budget cycle - so that you can keep that conversation open. Asking for a raise is hard but it can be done in a respectful way, and hopefully some of the points today give you an idea. If you're the employee maybe some ways to do it the right way, and if you're the employer, the supervisor, manager, what you should be looking for and helping your staff grow, about the respectful way to do so and to have this challenging conversation. 

Next time we'll talk about how to grow professionally and how to do so in an effective way, on the next edition of “Around with Randall.” Special connection to our healthcare philanthropy publication, of the jobs report and employment report from 2021. 

Don't forget if you want to check out the blogs, 90 second reads two or three posts at a week, they're right at Hallett Philanthropy, and of course if you want to get a hold of me you can email me at podcast@hallettphilanthropy.com. Don't forget, you're part of an important critical place in your community. The nonprofit work we do is essential even now more so today than it was before the pandemic. And don't forget my favorite saying some people make things happen, some people watch things happen, then there are those who wondered what happened. Nonprofit work’s about people making things happen for people or things that are wondering what's happening, and that's a noble cause, something to be proud of. And I hope you feel that each and every day when you're trying to make your difference. I appreciate your time can't wait to see you right back here on “Around with Randall,” and don't forget make it a great day.