A lawyer, an ex from Raid and an agent help you get a raise

• We are in December, and before Christmas and the end of the year holidays, it is the beginning of the annual interviews for the employees.

• The opportunity for many to ask for a salary increase, despite a context of purchasing power crisis due to inflation.

• In order to help you,

  20 Minutes

  has contacted a lawyer, a former Raid negotiator and a football agent.

  We give you the wise advice of these experts in tough negotiation.

3, 2, 1, the annual interview season is officially open.

And in this year of historic inflation - 6.2% in November over one year -, one request should particularly come back: the salary increase.

As often, your N + 1 may unfortunately retort the famous fatal combo: "Certainly, it's a legitimate request" + "But you understand the difficulties of the company" + "Other files are growing", finished with the terrible "We'll talk about it in a year, okay?

», leaving you on the side of the road of purchasing power.

To save you from this sad fate,

has called on three experts in verve or negotiation.

The advice of Maître Maïmouna Haïdara, lawyer:

Maître Maïmouna Haïdara,

To defend yourself, the lawyer advises you to prefer facts to eloquence: “You have to look in the employment contract if there are clauses providing for annual increases, in particular when you have reached your objectives.

If there is nothing in this contract, look at the side of the collective agreement.

Sometimes, the latter advocates, or even requires, a raise after a certain number of years in the company.

»

Another advantage of your employment contract: it describes your missions and your role within the company.

However, "generally, you perform more functions and tasks than what is expected, which makes a request for a raise more justifiable", supports the lawyer.

In the same vein, annual goals can be a good way to prove that you have done more than what was asked of you.

To do this, "it is important to have quantifiable and demonstrable objectives, and to avoid vague or debatable concepts", recalls the Master.

Once again: facts, nothing but facts.

Last advice from our specialist, comparison with other employees is not a good idea.

So forget the argument “My colleague Michel is paid more than me when he does less”, certainly tempting.

Explanation of Maïmouna Haïdara: “It can give the idea that you want to be paid more just to be at the level of your colleague, by simple ego.

It seems preferable to me to talk only about you, your skills and what you bring to the company.

Bet only on yourself.

»

The advice of Christophe Caupenne, former negotiator and ex-commander of the Raid

Christophe Caupenne spent twelve years at

First advice from him, know your value.

And rather than an excess of modesty, beware of seeing yourself as too beautiful: “Very often, we tend to overestimate what we have brought good, to see only that and not to recognize our faults.

There is a bias that makes us see better than what we are.

However, it is important in a negotiation not to overestimate the value of what we have – in this case us – in order to fully understand the balance of power.

»

Always in this logic of the balance of power, pay attention to the choice of the moment, but also of the place: “I would advise against doing the interview in the office of your boss, which is the place of his authority.

He will more easily tend to say ''no'', so as not to have the impression of giving up power at home.

»

Another essential point, knowing what you are ready to sacrifice

: "If I ever say ''If I don't get a raise, I'm leaving the company'', it's a choice you have to have made before the negotiation, and a decision you have to be ready to take, otherwise we will never be credible again”, advises the former commander.

Obviously, since we are talking to a former Raid, stress control is also an important factor: “You have to gain height and not be destabilized by the responses, the casualness of your N + 1. What is at stake in the negotiation does not have the same value for him as it does for you, and you should not be frustrated, panicked or surprised.

Last advice: "Come back to the charge in case of failure, and never give up."

Advice from Bruno Satin, football agent

Member of the council of the union of French (UASF) and European (The European Football Agents Association) sports agents, Bruno Satin has been the agent or has managed the files of

Before a negotiation, the most important thing is to know the value you embody, your status within the company and the role you play in it.

“It's a job that takes time, that requires experience and skill, hence the role of agent,” smiles Bruno Satin.

Since you will probably do without the expertise of an agent before your interview, do not hesitate to at least take - a lot - time for your introspection.

No impostor syndrome, but no disproportionate boulard either.

In the world of football, most salaries are known, which helps to situate the request for upgrading.

"A luxury that few workers have", recognizes Bruno Satin.

It is therefore not uninteresting to find out about the rest of your company's salaries and break this taboo, in order to better know what you can claim.

And since you rarely get what you want, you shouldn't hesitate to ask too much: “Generally, you ask for 25% more than the salary you're really aiming for.

However, beware of overbidding or threats to leave (if you are not ready to honor it), because very often it is the company that has the last word.

The case of Ronaldo with Manchester United, sulky last summer, and therefore benched and without great physical form now for his last World Cup, is an example of this.

“A club can decide to no longer establish a player, making him lose almost all value.

We therefore avoid blackmail, ”says the agent.

We ourselves football fans, we wondered if the bonus system, common in the middle, could be a good way to boost his salary.

“Yes, but beware of fantasies.

Personal bonuses, such as a bonus for the number of goals or the like, are quite rare in the world of football.

We prefer collective bonuses instead, because we are supposed to be a team and pull in the same direction.

So aim for a Macron bonus, profit-sharing or other collective result rather than a bonus for your exploits alone.

We live together, we die together, we are raised together.

Economy

Salary increases of around 4% expected in France in 2023

Policy

Purchasing power: More than 700,000 beneficiaries for the new "Macron bonus"

• Economy

• salary

• Inflation

• purchasing power

• Negotiation

• Company