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Going to add some commentary in here as someone who has been a hiring manager and who determines raises and salaries. (
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Before I do, it is important to say that it never hurts to ask - even at a higher number than you might be comfortable with. "Squeaky wheels get greased". https://twitter.com/juliancole/status/1352033858896556036
)Before I do, it is important to say that it never hurts to ask - even at a higher number than you might be comfortable with. "Squeaky wheels get greased". https://twitter.com/juliancole/status/1352033858896556036
First off - do determine the benchmark for your salary and any title promotion. @Glassdoor / @fishbowlapp are decent tools for this but better data can be found in things like:
@SiftlyJobs Salary Reports: https://siftly.com/salary-reports
Real Agency Salaries: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11obKJpckWJNyEYPdhHM0iaGp0x4QoVk_7aitRC5zVlc/edit#gid=70710369
@SiftlyJobs Salary Reports: https://siftly.com/salary-reports
Real Agency Salaries: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11obKJpckWJNyEYPdhHM0iaGp0x4QoVk_7aitRC5zVlc/edit#gid=70710369
Second is that your best chance to set your salary is on the way in, not on your way up.
Most of gaps that I see happen are based on what the recruiter is able to get from you as a desirable number. Counteract this by asking what bands are early in the process.
Most of gaps that I see happen are based on what the recruiter is able to get from you as a desirable number. Counteract this by asking what bands are early in the process.
Personally, I was burned by this in a previous role. To the point where I had subordinate team members making more than me and negotiating salary directly with recruitment and my boss. This meant I was paid 25-35% less than my peers, likely due to age / tenure comparisons.
It is important to understand how your agency handles team budgets. I've seen this done two ways:
(1) Manager is given a team budget to manage to, and freedom to manage how they want (small/mid-size agencies)
(2) Manager makes recommendations for financial approval (big shops)
(1) Manager is given a team budget to manage to, and freedom to manage how they want (small/mid-size agencies)
(2) Manager makes recommendations for financial approval (big shops)
In (1) this is important because your manager has greater autonomy/control in how the budget is managed. They're given something like 500K/year for salary and can spend it on more junior team, or fewer more senior people. Sometimes they'll have wiggle room, sometimes they won't.
In instances when I have had (1), the COO tells me that I have something like 15K to give out for raises. I have to make a call whether to give a meaningful raise to 1 person or divide it into an ok raise for 3 people. Sometimes I can get more, but more often I can't.
In instances where I've had (2) the finances are much more opaque. We can make reccos for who deserves a merit-based raise or a promotion, they come back with what has been allocated for them for the whole agency. Managers rarely have room to counter-negotiate in this situation.
But again, to the first tweet - this is easier to do if a manager knows well in advance that your primary sticking point is more money. I've had a team member make a business case for their salary and in every. meeting. with. HR. we flagged it. It took a year to right-size this.
Some general recommendations for managers off of the this. Personally I prefer to work towards title pay parity. Not equity. Team members will talk about what they earn, keep it an even playing field. They will be more satisfied over time than if they find out someone makes more.
Finally, a recommendation for any person negotiating their salary. List out what you are looking for, and what your BATNA is. Understand that every negotiation has some wiggle room that isn't 
(cell phone, education stipend, PTO, WFH budget, etc.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_alternative_to_a_negotiated_agreement
(cell phone, education stipend, PTO, WFH budget, etc.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_alternative_to_a_negotiated_agreement
Finally to benchmark raises that I've seen within IPG:
- If lucky, a COL increase is 2-3%
- For merit (not promo) this bumps close to 5%
- For promo, this starts around 7%-10%, this can get as high as 18% if you're making sub 100K, I have RARELY seen higher than this.
- If lucky, a COL increase is 2-3%
- For merit (not promo) this bumps close to 5%
- For promo, this starts around 7%-10%, this can get as high as 18% if you're making sub 100K, I have RARELY seen higher than this.
