Given the heightened competition for jobs, you might find it hard to believe that as an employee you have any negotiating power. Although no one can guarantee a method for negotiating a raise or bonus, there are ways to strengthen your bargaining position in the workplace.
”No single employee can change the economic climate,” says Doug Stone, a negotiation expert. ”But you can say (to yourself), `We`re in hard economic times, and I`ll let my employer do whatever he or she wants,` or you can say
`How can I maximize whatever power I have in this situation?` ”
As associate director of the Harvard Negotiation Project at Harvard University, Stone helps work on negotiation problems faced by disputing countries as well as government officials, union leaders and business executives. (For example, the project helped develop a mediation technique used during Middle East peace negotiations at Camp David in 1978.)
”People tend to think of negotiation as an adversarial situation,”
Stone says. ”It`s me against you. Either I get what I want, or you get what you want.
”However, especially in the workplace, people`s interests are usually the same. The manager wants the worker to be happy and effective, and the worker wants to be happy and effective.”
Many of the bargaining principles used by members of the Negotiation Project are contained in the newly updated ”Getting To Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In,” by Roger Fisher, William Ury and Bruce Patton
(Penguin Books, $10).
Stone says the authors` main negotiating strategies can be applied to any conflict at work. Among them:
– Separate the people from the problem.
Put personality differences aside and negotiate on the merits of the situation, Stone says.
An example: Your mother is sick and you`ve been coming to work late. Not knowing your excuse, your boss accuses you of slacking off. You may want to defend yourself immediately, however it`s best to first let the boss know you heard her complaint.
”What happens when you defend yourself or counterattack is that you get into a downward spiral of arguing,” Stone says. In this example, Stone says the employee should acknowledge the message by saying, ”I have been late these last few days and I understand why, as my boss, that`s of concern.”
Then, you can begin the process of negotiating more flexible hours, or whatever solution may help you handle the crisis.
– Focus on interests, not positions.
”We often go into a negotiation with a position, a demand for `X,` `Y`
or `Z,` ” Stone says, ”but there are always underlying interests that motivate our demands.”
For example, you want to extend your maternity leave for a month because your child-care worker can`t start until then.
”Your interest isn`t in having the leave extended, it`s in having the child taken care of. If you state the interest more clearly, it opens up the possibility that maybe the boss can help you get some temporary child care.” By focusing on the position, you may close off potential options that might be negotiated.
– Invent options for mutual gain.
The goal of any negotiation ”is to sit at the same side of the table and treat whatever conflicts that arise as a joint problem to be worked out together,” he says.
For instance, a salary negotiation might be approached by saying, ”We have a joint problem, which is to figure out what is a fair wage to pay me. I don`t want to make anything more than what is fair, and you don`t want to pay me anything less.”
This approach might make your boss more amenable to exploring other options such as night school to keep your career moving upward.
– Insist on using objective criteria.
If you are trying to negotiate a better computer system, you might find out first what`s being used by workers at your level at similar companies.
The fact-finding moves the emphasis ”away from a conflict of wills to a search for fair criteria” for the negotiation, he says.
”You may ultimately find out that the employer is bankrupt, but finding objective criteria sets a process in motion where it`s up to both sides to bring as much relevant information to the table as they can.”
LIFELINES
Entrepreneur help
The Service Corps of Retired Executives, an all-volunteer agency affiliated with the Small Business Administration, offers free counseling to potential and current entrepreneurs. For details or to volunteer, call 312-353-7724.
Environmental jobs
The Job Seeker, a national newsletter published twice monthly, includes some 200 environmental jobs in public and private sectors. Three-month
subscription: $19.50. Job Seeker, Route 2, Box 16, Warrens, Wis. 54666;
608-378-4290.
Resource for dietitians
The American Dietetic Association includes dietitians working in all sectors. It offers workshops and a monthly newsletter. Annual dues: $32 to $110, depending on member classificaton. 312-899-0040.
Food technologists
The Institute of Food Technologists, a scientific society for executives, educators, engineers and students, offers seminars and a magazine. Annual dues: $75; $25 students. 312-782-8424.
Worker`s bookshelf
”Career Opportunities in the Sports Industry,” by Shelly Field (Facts on File, $14.95); ”Use Your Own Corporation To Get Rich,” by Judith H. McQuown, (Pocket Books, $10).
