From The Straits Times    |

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You’ve set your goals and you’ve reached them, it’s that time of the year to start asking for that well-deserved bonus. But perhaps you’re a little nervous about broaching the subject since talking about money can get uncomfortable and you don’t want to seem too hard up.

Well don’t be, remember that if you’ve done stellar work for your company, you’re expected to ask for a bonus and companies do set aside money in the budget to give out bonuses.

While you’re entitled to ask for a bonus, use plenty of judgement before you have that conversation. Did your company perform well this year? If the answer is yes, then you have a higher chance of successfully negotiating a better bonus.

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Ask yourself how business has been for companies in the industry? You may want to reconsider asking for a higher bonus if things have been slow. Likewise, if your company is undergoing restructuring like many companies are doing so nowadays, asking for a higher year-end bonus may be risky as your manager may think that you will look for another job elsewhere if they do not grant you the higher bonus.

Ready to ask for a higher year-end bonus? Here are five tips from Ms Linda Teo, Country Manager of ManpowerGroup Singapore to get the bonus your deserve.

ALSO READ: TIPS ON BUILDING A BETTER RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR BOSS

 

Gather the essential information

Before negotiating for a higher bonus pay out, gather information on your job, including job scope, goals and development plans that were set out for you at your last appraisal. Compile any regular reports on your work to help you recall all your accomplishments for the year.

 

Be proud of your accomplishments

Prepare a list of all your accomplishments and illustrate why they are significant. Provide your manager with any contextual details to understand your performance, such as emails, recognitions and awards that demonstrate your exemplary performance and how you met or even surpassed your goals since your last performance review. Most importantly, link your performance to the company’s business performance so that you can clearly illustrate how you have contributed to the company’s achievements.

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Highlight your skills

Show that you have the in-demand skills. If you have completed any training courses in the past year, list them down and show how you used these new skills to improve the company’s performance, be it increasing personal productivity or enhancing team performance. These examples will increase your bargaining power.

 

Do your research  

Reach out to someone in a similar industry and role to find out what the average bonus amount is. If the amount is higher than the bonus offered by your company, you can use it as a benchmark to show why you should be getting more.

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If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again

If your attempt to negotiate for a higher bonus does not succeed the first-time round, don’t let it get to you. Ask your manager: “What do I need to do to get there?” – to get a clearer picture of what you need to do to get that bonus. It will show that you’re driven and goal oriented.

 

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