2022/2023 AgCareers.com Career Guide (US)

AGCAREERS.COM

AG & FOOD CAREER GUIDE

ou love your job but are looking for

more compensation. Do you know

when the appropriate time might be to

ask for a raise from your employer?

Recently AgCareers.com polled over

600 people with the question, “How do

you feel about asking your boss for a

raise?” Of the respondents, 39% said

they have asked for a raise in the past,

37% said that they’d never ask and 22%

said they ask annually.

Current employment trends show

that now, more than ever, companies

are looking closely at employee

retention and keeping their staff happy.

Many employers know that employee

satisfaction is closely connected to

compensation levels. Research has

shown that as companies are returning

to the office or shifting to a hybrid model,

there are some employees that are

taking this opportunity to make a career

shift or change. If you are feeling like

now is the right time to make a change,

and your reason for the shift is only

based on opportunities for increased

compensation, now might be the right

time to discuss opportunities with your

employer.

When considering asking for a raise,

consider and evaluate these factors:

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN

WITH THE COMPANY?

If you recently joined the company

and are already considering asking for

a raise, hold off until you have proven

yourself and the value you bring to the

company. Onboarding a new employee

takes time and resources, and the

company will want to see that you are

capable and committed before raising

your salary.

IS THERE AN ANNUAL

REVIEW PROCESS?

If the company you work with has

an annual salary review or performance

review program, this could be a good

chance to discuss option for increases

or incentives with your boss. Some

employers only offer raises at the annual

performance review.

DO YOUR RESEARCH

Is the salary you are currently making

in line with industry standards? Are you

making the same as your colleagues in

similar roles? Industry salary surveys

like the AgCareers.com Compensation

Benchmark Review can offer salary data

to employers to help them ensure they

are offering competitive wages to their

employees.

BOOK A MEETING

If you’ve decided that you are going

to ask your employer for a raise, schedule

time for a meeting with your manager to

have this discussion; don’t bring it up in a

group setting or at an inappropriate time.

PREPARE

Expect potential pushback; while

you have thought about why you might

deserve a raise and the value you add

to your team and the company, if you

didn’t give your employer advance notice,

this might be something they need to

process and think about and potentially

get approved. If you come into your

meeting well prepared with facts about

deliverables or increases in revenue or

results that you have brought to the team

and the WHY you deserve a raise, this

will give them more of the information

they might need to approve your request.

BE PATIENT

Understand that while this increase

that you are looking for is a priority item

for you, there might be certain approvals

that are required for them to make these

changes.

NOT RIGHT NOW

Your employer may not offer you an

increase at this time; prepare yourself

for this response. Be open to the fact

that while this isn’t the result that you

are hoping for, they might not be able

or willing to provide an increase even

though you requested it.

SALARY STATS

Each employer and company work

differently in terms of how they give

raises. Some might give a certain

percentage increase annually to all

employees, some might have incentive

bonuses based on performance, and

some might only offer raises to a select

group of employees each year.

When AgCareers.com polled over

400 subscribers about their raises, there

were mixed results. Twenty-six percent of

respondents said the employer reviewed

their salary annually, 25% said their salary

increased annually, 24% said their raise

was based on performance and the other

25% said their work didn’t provide raises.

We can contrast this, however, with