Closing the Deal | Tips for Salary Negotiations

Last April, Inside Higher Ed published an excellent advice column by Dan Moseson titled "How to Successfully Negotiate Your Salary." In it, he shares stories and strategies from higher education, including pragmatic advice for job seekers and ways for managers to tackle systemic problems in salary negotiations.

As a hiring manager or human resources professional, the article should give you insights into what you may experience in this year's formal hiring season as you negotiate salaries and benefits with new hires -- especially from those candidates who receive multiple offers. Fortunately, even with these new negotiating strategies that you may encounter, the following best practices remain:

Step One: Prepare

• Know
  Determine if the salary you’re offering aligns with industry standards.

• Research
  See if your competitors are hiring for similar positions and estimate their salary bands for these roles.

Step Two: Develop and Personalize

• Listen
  Take and review your notes about what is important to your candidates, beyond salary.

• Highlight & Align
  Draft your offer (or offer letter) to specifically reflect those priorities -- make sure that your offer stands out from your competitors.

• Follow Up
  Reach out to candidates to get their reaction to the offer. Plus, determine if they have other opportunities they are considering.

Step Three: Negotiate

• Be Transparent
  Walk through your offer with the candidate -- provide data and insights into how you arrived at it. Reinforce the non-salary benefits that are unique to your offer and institution.

• Ask Questions
  Find out why they are not accepting your offer. If they want a higher salary, are they justified in that request based on industry standards? Or, are they really not that interested in the opportunity but think that more money may make it worth accepting the offer? If it is the latter, be cautious proceeding.

• Get Creative
  Find additional ways to close the gap with other benefits (e.g., remote work, professional development and upgraded technology).

Step Four: Final Push

• Stand Firm
  If you have done everything listed above, keep the offer as is. You don't want to pay too much or create a payscale imbalance.

• Utilize Your Team
  Ask team members who have developed a good rapport with the candidate to contact the candidate, answer any questions and share why they enjoy working at your institution.

• Finally, Walk Away
  If you developed a compelling offer and the finalist still wants more, sometimes the best thing to do is to let the candidate know that you are moving on. It might just spark them to end the negotiation and accept.

By reading Dan Moseson's article and implementing these negotiation tips, you should be in a good position to effectively convert your finalists into new hires and meet your hiring targets. As always, if you have additional advice or ideas, let us know! Contact us at recruit@insidehighered.com. We love to hear from our partners.