Mar 07

How to Negotiate with your Boss

Communication Skills 2 Comments »

When we think about our negotiation skills we tend to focus on negotiating externally with clients, suppliers and partners. However, one of the most challenging types of negotiation we face in the workplace is when we have to negotiate with our boss. This can be anything from a formal salary negotiation through to requesting extended annual leave or flexible working hours or renegotiating a deadline. The relationship with your manager is probably the most important professional relationship you have and the way in which you influence and negotiate with them can have a lasting impact on your career.

Meeting Neustockimages i How to Negotiate with your Boss

© istockphoto.com/Neustockimages

First of all, get your timing right. Approach your boss when you know the time is right for them but also try to ensure that your conversation coincides with a successful project that you have completed or a recent situation where you have gone the extra mile.

Be prepared and make sure you have done your research before you start negotiating. If you are negotiating a salary increase then have examples of what people in similar roles are earning and of what other organisations pay for your expertise.

Keep control of your emotions – be as neutral as possible and stick to the issues themselves rather than your reactions or feelings. Try not to show how much it matters to you as this could potentially weaken your position.

Support your arguments with concrete facts and examples – rather than talking in general terms about your experience, expertise or longevity with the company quote specific examples of where you have added value or delivered success.

Put yourself in your boss’s shoes and try to demonstrate how your expectations could be mutually beneficial. For example, if you are asking for flexible working you can explain how you will be able to give extra time to the business and work more effectively. Show that you have something valuable to give and that by accommodating your request your boss will also be in a better position.

Be clear on your bottom line – Before you start your conversation you should be clear in your own mind how far you are prepared to compromise and what you need to achieve. Know your BATNA (Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement). This is your fallback position if you fail to reach an agreement. So for example, if your boss refuses the salary increase you request, your BATNA might be that you need to have an enhanced commission scheme or that you are given training in the skills you require for your next promotion.

Make sure you have a summary of what has been agreed. Either ask your boss to send an email confirming the outcomes of your conversation or send an email yourself outlining your request and the agreed response or time lines to respond.

As with all types of communication, preparation, clarity and empathy are crucial to ensure that negotiation brings about positive outcomes. Negotiating can be a particularly challenging form of communication as it potentially leads to conflict and when you are negotiating with your boss there is an obvious power gap before you even start. However, influencing and negotiating are essential skills for growing your career and improve your opportunities.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2013

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Jan 05

Communication Skills Training for MPs’ Staff: a Worthwhile Investment or a Waste of Taxpayers’ Money?

Communication Skills No Comments »

The Daily Mail recently commented on the large amount of money spent by MPs on training their staff to communicate more effectively and has suggested that this is a waste of British taxpayers’ money and a poor use of government officials’ time. Polemic headlines such as these obviously grab the reader’s attention and sell newspapers but let’s look at this in more detail.

Businessmen viewed from top sjlocke i Communication Skills Training for MPs’ Staff: a Worthwhile Investment or a Waste of Taxpayers’ Money?

© istockphoto.com/ Sjlocke

In the current economic climate the government clearly needs more than ever to scrutinise very carefully how public money is spent and ensure excellent return on investment.

However, the case is strong for government officials to receive training to help them to carry out their roles more effectively and communicate appropriately with a diverse range of stakeholders from the general public to journalists and broadcasters to the business community. These officials support the MPs whom we have elected to represent us and run the country on our behalf. Why would we deny them the necessary skills to do this to the best of their abilities? Most of us working in the corporate sector would expect some investment in our learning and development to enable us to do our job as well as we can and should this not be the same for government officials? Should public sector workers be treated differently in these times of austerity and not receive any investment in their professional development? In these difficult economic times, when fewer staff mean that communication needs to be even more efficient and to the point, the need for well-trained public sector employees is more than justified.

MPs’ staff may have been hired for their research and analytical skills rather than their abilities to communicate and so it is not unreasonable for them to expect some support when asked to deliver tough messages to the media or to represent their MP at meetings with senior stakeholders. They will now undoubtedly be asked for the first time to negotiate firmly with other suppliers to reduce government spend elsewhere.

This type of business focused communication skills training programmes may be more expensive than a course down at the local college but will be much more targeted to professional needs and more likely to create greater impact for the individuals who attend. The key is to select the appropriate individuals for the appropriate training course rather than adopting a ‘sheep dip’ approach putting large numbers through training for the sake of training. Also important is to ensure that training programmes such as Influencing and Negotiating Skills or Communicating with Impact develop participants’ strategies to continue to develop their communication skills and techniques once they have completed the training.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

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Dec 03

What does Good Communication Mean?

Communication Skills 1 Comment »

What does it really mean to have good communication skills? Any CV now will declare that the writer has excellent communication skills and many large organisations include communication in their brand values or competency frameworks. We cannot be successful at work if we lack the ability to communicate effectively with the people we work with.

Businessman making Presentation i What does Good Communication Mean?

© istockphoto.com/ Neustockimages

Have you ever had the experience of leaving a meeting feeling you have achieved what you wanted and got the outcomes you were hoping for, only to realise several days or weeks later that you had been misunderstood? The results or actions you thought you had agreed have not materialised and you realise that somewhere along the line communication broke down.

It is easy to surmise ‘they didn’t listen to me’ or ‘they didn’t actually want to do what I had asked them’ but sometimes we need to take a step back and think about our own communication style. Perhaps we have made certain assumptions without checking for understanding. Or maybe we have implicitly assumed that we are all thinking the same way. Our communication is only as good as the impact it achieves so we need to take at least some of the responsibility for the miscommunication. Nobody wants to patronise the people they are working with but we need to make sure our messages are transparent and explicit. Below are some tips to help you get your message across more effectively:

  • Summarise key actions at the end of your conversation or meeting
  • Check with individuals that they are comfortable with the tasks they have been assigned
  • Give people the opportunity to ask questions or clarify for themselves
  • Avoid using impersonal constructions such as ‘it would be good if someone could
  • Use ‘we’ and ‘us’ to create a sense of harmony and team cohesion

Good communication skills are fundamental for the success of any organisation. Clarifying and repeating ineffective messages wastes time and money and causes staff frustration and disengagement. Learning & Development departments are fully aware that good communication saves time and money. To this end, many companies now invest in business communication skills training courses and coaching. Popular programmes that many employees benefit from include include Influencing & Negotiating and Interpersonal Effectiveness courses.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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