RESEARCH is paramount according to Jenny Ungless, career life coach at Monster.

‘Check out job advertisements for roles similar to your own or speak to recruitment consultants to get a sense of where your current skills and experience would put you in the marketplace,’ Ms Ungless says.

Salary calculators are available on some career websites giving a rough idea of how much you should be paid for your position.

‘Once you’ve got an idea of what the industry ‘norms’ are, the next step is to put together your case for being paid at the same rate or higher. This is where you need to have concrete, specific examples of the contribution you’ve made.

‘Quantify this in terms of what you’ve actually added to the company’s bottom line. How much have you saved the company or organisation, what else have you contributed? It’s also useful to be able to demonstrate that you’ve thought about your future within the company and are prepared to make extra effort to progress,’ Ms Ungless says.

Have you introduced a risk management policy that significantly reduced claims and saved costs or switched from outright purchase to contract hire to reduce expenditure? If so these points should be mentioned at the pay review.

As the corporate saying goes: ‘A pay rise should not be a reward for service, it should be a reward for achievement.’

Keep track over the past year of your achievements. These might include huge wins – re-tendering the fleet – or much smaller, one-off achievements that show your enthusiasm: perhaps negotiating a better courtesy car for the MD while theirs was in the garage.

This is the secret to securing a successful raise according to James Langley, deputy chairman at the Institute of Car Fleet Management.

He explains: ‘It is really important for fleet managers to put a case together showing how they have added value to the business. The key is to outline the initiatives which yielded a benefit.’

IT’S always a good idea to have a rough plan of how much extra money you want before arranging a meeting with your line manager. Be prepared to negotiate and even if initial requests for a raise are rejected always consider improved terms in your contract such as a better car, revised job title or shares in the company.

If, you’d like a £2,000 pay rise then it may be an idea to ask for £4,000 as your boss could agree to meet you half way, but again do your research first.

Jo Causon, director, marketing and corporate affairs at the Chartered Management Institute, says: ‘Salary levels are dictated by market forces and organisational policy. It is therefore important to ensure you are familiar with your company’s pay and review processes before requesting a pay rise.’

If your request for a raise is rejected it could also be worth asking what they would require from you to justify an increase.

There is no formal way to ask for a raise or salary increase. It’s not usually included in employment training practices and the process used will vary from company to company.

WHAT happens if your request is rejected? ‘You may feel that it is time to move on,’ says Ms Ungless.

‘Don’t do anything rash. Think about how much more money you really want and whether it’s worth moving on for that amount. Make a comprehensive list of the pros and cons of your job, so that you can make a measured decision.

‘And double-check your research to make sure that you’ve estimated your worth accurately. If, ultimately, you do decide to move on, make sure you leave on good terms – you’re likely in any case to need a reference, so don’t burn your bridges.’

How to get a payrise

DO

DON’T

Are you getting what you deserve?

ARE you being suitably rewarded? It’s always interesting to discover how much your peers are paid compared to you.

Often it’s a difficult task but a little research through online salary calculators can reveal more than you think.

Guideline figures from Learndirect show how much fleet managers can expect to be paid.