Ephantus Wafula, a 38-year-old father of four earns Sh. 35,000 per month from his IT teaching job. However, the salary is hardly enough to sustain him, with his household budget consuming nearly all his earnings. Continues he: “I pay my house rent Sh. 8,000, Sh. 2,000 goes to water bills and electricity, Sh. 10,000 goes to food, Sh. 3,600 is eaten by transport, Sh. 4,000 goes to clothing, Sh. 2,600 to my children’s account and the remaining Sh. 5,000 goes to my savings.” To compensate his short savings, Ephantus has been thinking of doing side teaching jobs. “If my employer will not give me a pay raise, then I will be forced to look for a side job. My salary is too small to meet my needs.”
Although Ephantus may want to get a pay raise, local employers have been hell-bent on keeping workers in their current poor pay levels. Under their Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) body, the employers say that increasing wages will ultimately make Kenya uncompetitive. According to Felix Otiato, the public relations manager at the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE), Kenyan employers do not think the local enterprises are able to offer or sustain any increase. “For two years, we have been compensating labour, and effectively, hindering growth in business while fueling the cost of doing business out of control,” he says.
According to FKE, the country has focused more on the cost of living measure or inflation rate over the worker’s productivity while making salary increments. “We have been over-compensating our labour relative to capital, and this has consequently been reflecting badly on the economy.” Notably, inflation has remained fairly within the single-digit range in the last one year.
Nevertheless, there are ways you can negotiate or convince your employer to offer you a raise during tricky economic times. According to Felix employers will only offer a pay increase if the amount corresponds to the workers’ productivity. According to the FKE, workers looking to get salary increments should be willing to sign performance contracts. Says Felix: “We feel that is our employees can sign performance contracts, inevitably, we will spur increased productivity and appease our appraisal systems.” He adds that by signing the contracts, workers will be effectively embracing and committing themselves to hard work. “This will spur growth in revenue and substantiate their demand for better salaries. Employers are willing to reward hard work and productivity, but no employer wants to offer an unwarranted salary just because the employer has demanded for it.”
According to Patrick Wameyo, a personal finance coach, any negotiation for a pay increase that is not bargained under the collective bargaining agreement model is usually a matter of results versus pay. “Workers need to know that no business worth its profit will give every worker a pay increase. Only the smart, hard workers are likely to get their pay raised,” he says. Wameyo adds that since the business has costs to cover, it behoves the employee to give the employer more revenue that will meet such costs and spare a room for his pay increase. “The more you deliver in terms of revenue generation, the more better positioned you are to ask and get a higher pay.” Jackton Oloo, a Nairobi-based financial advisor concurs. “You should not just walk into your boss’ office and ask for a salary. “Your strongest weapon will be in how you justify your request for a pay hike,” he says. “Your demand should be backed by a track record that has put value in the company.”
Apparently, with employers putting emphasis on value-based salary increments, their hesitation to offer new increments this year may appear justified, leaving the workers with the hard task of proving why they should get an increase. “The money we set aside to for salary increments is debited from our businesses. Consequently, we want to see and experience value for that money. If a worker is not prepared to offer us such, then we cannot by any means meet their demands,” adds Felix. He notes that while in some countries the level of productivity is above 5, locally, the measure of productivity has remained subdued at 1. His sentiments are echoed by the FKE executive director, Jacqueline Mugo. “Increments must also be supported by productivity and the ability of the industry to pay,” says Jacqueline Mugo, the executive director at FKE.
To meet what the employer wants, begin by putting value to your skills. “Let everything you do at your workplace be value-laden. This way, both your employer and colleagues will be able to visualize the kind of input and impact your position in the company has,” says Oloo. Similarly, make it a point to view yourself as an insider rather than an outsider. “You ask for a pay increase because you believe you deserve it since you effectively help run your employer’s business. Put this belief in action and see yourself as a partner to the business.” He further notes that by seeing yourself as an integral part of the business, you will not appear as though you’re begging but rather, your quest for an increase will be based on your input in the firm. Noteworthy, your employer is likely to offer an increase that is not too low or higher than what his or her competitors are offering and, or are projecting for the same capacity. Importantly, you should not bombard your employer with complaints and lamentations on how inadequate your current salary is.
This is the mistake that Sarah Wamuyu made for three years in her quest to get a raise. “I’d approach my employer and narrate my problems in an attempt to convince him that the Sh. 25,000 I was earning could not sustain me and my two children,” she says. In turn, her employer would tell her that she was already being paid too much for a sales and marketing officer at a time when the business was doing badly. “This would subdue me as I feared that further pursuit for an increase would amount to being sacked or a pay decrease.” Last year, though, she began focusing on why she was worth more than she was getting. “I began to go the extra mile to bring in valuable clients, and strike deals that generated revenue for the company.” After noting her achievements, she approached her boss and stated her case afresh. “I now earn four times my previous salary,” she says.
