“Asking what I considered an impossible salary when I didn’t want to work for someone has boosted my pay again and again.”

~ Ethel Waters ~

Will has been working the same job for three years without any raise in pay. Due to the downturn in the economy, his company claims that it just can’t afford to pay more to its employees.

I’ve got some good news for Will and for everyone else who has been working longer hours and hasn’t been rewarded with a bonus or an increase in salary.

That might be changing, according to Mercer, a worldwide consulting firm.

In their annual “employee attraction and retention survey,” Mercer found that more companies plan to focus on money – that’s right, cold, hard cash – as a way to retain and engage the right talent.

Because budgets have been tight during the recession, many employers relied on so-called “non-cash incentives.” These were such things as communicating the value of total rewards to employees, work-life programs, formalized career paths and special project opportunities.

But as the economy recovers, 25 percent of respondents say they’ll rely less on these types of rewards.

Instead, they will focus on base salary increases, short- and long-term variable pay and training and career development to retain and motivate their best people.

So as your employer’s purse strings begin to loosen, now is the time to proactively demonstrate your value to your organization. If you are like Will, still waiting for a long-overdue raise, I recommend doing the following.

1. Make yourself indispensible.
Volunteer to high profile projects that have the potential to affect your company’s bottom line.

2. Align your priorities with key company goals.
Focus on things that matter – to your boss, to his or her supervisor, to company executives and to your shareowners.

3. Eliminate or reduce your time spent “non-essential” work. 
Write down your top 10 priorities. Develop strategies to free up more time to spend on the top three and less on the bottom two-thirds.

4. Quantify and communicate your accomplishments. 
At the end of each week, write down your key accomplishments and try to assign a dollar amount to your specific contributions.

5. Capitalize on training or personal development opportunities. 
Continue to develop your skills and capabilities. That way, when your company begins to expand, you’ll be in a more competitive position (and your resume will be stronger, too, if you decide to venture outside your organization).

6. Don’t shy away from self-promotion. 
Think of ways to promote your personal “brand” at the office. There’s a difference between grandstanding and presenting the facts in an objective way.

Someone is going to benefit from this shift in employee compensation and it might as well be you!

Even if salary increases aren’t currently being offered by your employer, valued employees can find ways to negotiate for higher pay. Read Joel’s book, Get Paid What You’re Worth, to find out how you can negotiate a salary increase or a higher starting salary in a new position.

Talkback: Last time you asked for a raise, were you successful? How long will you wait before trying again?

Image courtesy of TijanaM / Shutterstock.com