Negotiating Salary in a Leadership Role

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN

One of the most frequent questions that I receive from new leaders is how to negotiate a salary in a leadership role. Some new leaders feel like they have been taken advantage of when they later learn that many of their staff members make more than they do or the median salary for a manager in their organization is far higher than what they currently earn. The art of salary negotiation is not taught in most graduate programs. The following 10 tips are advice from the experts:

The best time to negotiate salary is at the time of the offer. Some organizations may say that salary can be renegotiated after six months but this is much harder to do.
Establish a salary range when looking and not a specific figure.
Know your value and be able to speak to it (this includes years of experience, past leadership roles, certifications, outcomes achieved at other jobs, shortages of leaders in your specialty area)
When you are offered a salary – ask how it was calculated. This will give you insight into how negotiable it might be. If you are promoted from within, you may hear that the organization cannot advance your salary more than a certain percent. HR experts advise that you should push back on this if your range is below what other leaders are making or ask for additional benefits to compensate for the difference.
Don’t jump at the first offer – take a few days to consider the salary and whether it is in line with what you had expected or need to be financially comfortable.
Know your monetary value in the marketplace – data is important if you plan to counter an offer. Know what leaders in comparable roles are being paid in your organization and region – have data like the newly released AONL 2019 salary survey. Check on Glassdoor where salaries are often listed for various positions in organizations.
Assess what is negotiable other than salary as part of your package (this could more than compensate for salary differences). Discretionary benefits for leaders can include but are not limited to tuition reimbursement, student loan payback, stock options, vacation time, bonuses if goals are achieved, professional development opportunities, coaching, ability to work from home one day a week, a higher 401K match or childcare.
Know the value of other benefits in the organization such as the health plan and retirement contributions.
Question the trajectory for promotions and other salary increases to assess how long you may be at the salary level.
Get everything offered in writing BEFORE you accept an offer so there is no coming back with a statement that we tried but could not do this at a later point in time.

What happens if you are offered less than you think you should be but really want the opportunity. Whether you take the job under these circumstances or not is a personal decision. I often suggest that leaders think ahead a year from today and ask if they will still be OK with the salary. If not, it might not be the right decision. Women are historically underpaid in the workplace. It is important that nurse leaders see salary negotiation as a skill that they need to learn. It does not hurt to ask for more – you may be turned down but it is important to build the muscle of quantifying your value.

Read Rose Sherman’s new book available now – The Nurse Leader Coach: Become the Boss No One Wants to Leave