Employees, dare to talk about money!

If this sweetly provocative introduction means nothing at all to you, then let us congratulate you: you are one of the (few) employees who not only own their value, and who, even better, have come to know it! For all the others, money in general, and salary and its negotiations in particular, remain an extraordinarily sensitive or even completely taboo area, when it is nevertheless an increasingly essential question in these uncertain times of inflation (+ 6% in 2022, an unprecedented figure in France for four decades!), and questioning of retirement income

Money, a taboo subject in France

 

And honestly, in a society based on the productivity of individuals and the market value of goods, knowing what one wants and what one is worth should be a matter settled for everyone… But we are very far from that! The figures from the 2023 edition of the Ipsos “work and money” barometer are an instructive illustration of this. The questions asked deal with the relationship of the French to money: Our ability to talk about it, our representations of money, our savings, management, investment practices and…. salary negotiation.

If it emerges, and this is good news for a country which only opened the stock market to women in 1967 (!), that both sexes are in control of their financial situation and the state of their assets, they have Unfortunately, they all share a common misunderstanding of the basics of financial education: 82% of women and 70% of men say they have little or no knowledge of financial products. And half have never received management advice from their banker!

The observations which strongly challenge one another are linked: only 49% of French men and women know what a PER, a SICAV or even a PEA is… As an inevitable consequence of these shortcomings, very few employees have investments: 37% declare have life insurance in euros, 21% have a Retirement Savings Plan and 16% of women (against 22% of men) have a PEA.

Thus, these brakes have the consequence that only a third of French people save for their retirement, cited by only 14% of men and 11% of women as the primary investment motivation.

And the most paradoxical thing about the figures in this survey is that of the 31.2 million French people at work, whether self-employed or salaried, only 42% of women and 49% of men say they know their “salary value”. “, and only 41% say they are comfortable negotiating during a job interview, and 44% to defend a raise.

How to talk about money?

 

By this point in your reading, you’ve probably wondered about the individual cost of these resorts in relation to money, and maybe even thought to yourself, but it’s frighteningly dizzying! So what if you want to go into negotiation pro mode, and put a tiger in your savvy salary negotiation?

First of all, maybe basing your thinking on the salary you are currently receiving is not the right method, because it certainly does not tell you exactly what you are worth. But “how much am I worth?” remains the big question and the right lever for money re-education and self-confidence motivator. And imagine that it is possible to estimate oneself with logic and objectivity, because we all have a value that depends on our experiences and the industry in which we operate.

Knowing one’s economic and social quotient is calculable; Ask yourself: You are most certainly, and contrary to the proverb that no one is indispensable, the engine of a contribution within the company or a project.

• Do you have a skill that cannot be automated, or is rare?
• What skills do you bring, whether it’s generating revenue, developing a product, or even a service?

 

And remember: Employers pay for skills and making your achievements known without underestimating them is a big plus! So be prepared, know your facts and figures like the back of your hand, because the fear of getting bogged down in incorrect or unmastered figures can block all your combative energy in the negotiation interview.

And then, and this is golden advice: compare yourself! Seek to know the value of others, discuss, exchange, in a word, make your personal benchmark! And a little thing to know, add 20% to what you are told, because your interlocutors, in good French, embarrassed by these questions, will surely have provided a lower answer!

That’s your new mantra: You are added value! Repeat it to yourself! This will give you the assurance of the “super bankable” profile as our American friends say, much less feverish than us on the question of money. And finally, before starting your negotiation, work on your desirability by going to a headhunter, or interviewing the competition, even if you have no intention of looking elsewhere! You’ve become your own agent, on to the best negotiation of your life! Good Luck!

Source : IFOP