Compensation

Build the case for your report's raise

A worksheet for gathering the evidence behind a raise, and bringing it to the people who decide while there's still room to say yes

Gather evidence of your report's impact and what the market pays, write it up on one page, and bring it to the people who decide early in the cycle.

45 minutes
You and the people who decide
Once a year
Worksheet

Why this can work

At many companies, raise decisions are shaped well before the meeting where they're announced. Budgets get set and pools get divided, and a manager who arrives early with a clear case has far more room to work with than one who arrives late with a strong feeling. Your job is to make it easy for the people who decide to say yes.

One way to do it

How to advocate for a raise for your employee

You’ll come away with a one-page case for their raise, and a date to take it to the people who decide.

Find out how and when the decision gets made.
Ask HR or your own manager when budgets are set, who decides, what the pay range for the role is, and what a typical increase looks like. Much of the case depends on the answers, and asking is an ordinary part of a manager's job.
You“When do pay budgets get set this year, and what would you want to see from me if I think someone on my team is underpaid?”
Fill in the case.
Short answers. Describe impact in the language of the team's goals rather than as a list of tasks. Where you have numbers, use them; where you don't, name who noticed.
Their impactWhat did they get done this year, and what did it make possible for the team or the company?In the team's termsWhich of your team's or company's goals does their work move forward?How their scope has grownWhat are they doing now that they weren't doing when their pay was last set?The marketWhat does the market pay for this role and level? Note where each number came from.Who else has noticedWho outside your team has seen their impact and would say so?Your ask, and a fallbackWhat are you asking for, and what would you accept if the full amount isn't possible now?
Stays in this browser only. Nobody else sees it.
Read it as the person deciding would.
Is the evidence about impact or about effort? Would you approve it if it were your budget? A case that's honest about its weak spots tends to be more believable, and you'll hear the objections before they're said to you.
Bring it early, and ask for advice.
Send a short note to your manager or HR before budgets are set, then talk it through. Ask what they'd need to see and what the realistic range is.
To: your manager
Before budgets are set this cycle, I'd like to talk about name's pay. I think the case for a raise is strong, and I'd rather raise it early than late.
In short: their impact, in the team's terms. Since their pay was last set, what has changed in their role, and what the market data shows.
Could we find 20 minutes in the next couple of weeks? I'd also value your advice on what would make this easiest to approve.
Swap the highlighted parts for your thing. Works on Slack, in email, or said out loud.
Tell your report what you're doing.
Let them know you're making the case, when a decision is likely, and that it isn't yours alone. Then tell them the outcome yourself, with the reason, whichever way it goes.
Tip: Avoid giving them a number before it's approved. A number that shrinks later costs more trust than it earned.

Good times to repeat it: early in each pay cyclewhen someone's scope growswhen you learn someone is paid below the range

Making it work for you

Every workplace is different. Here’s what to think about before you start, and what might get in the way.

Things to think about

A no has a reason: the budget, the range, the timing, or something about the case. Knowing which one tells you what to do next, and what to tell your report.

What might make this harder

Bring the case anyway and ask for a date: a mid-year review, or first in line next cycle. Putting it on record now makes the next conversation easier.

Questions people ask

How do I get a raise for my employee?

Find out when budgets are set and who decides, write a short case built on their impact and market data, and bring it early. Frame it around what the company gains by paying them more.

What should a manager include in a raise justification?

Their impact in the team's terms, how their scope has grown since their pay was set, what the market pays for the role, and a clear ask with a fallback.

When should I ask for a raise for someone on my team?

Before the budget is set, which is often months before raises are announced. Ask HR or your manager when that is, because it varies a lot between companies.

Should I tell my employee I'm asking for a raise for them?

Usually yes, as long as you're clear it isn't your decision alone and you don't promise a number. Surprises in either direction tend to cost trust.

The longer read

Why this works, and where it comes from

From your report's side, pay can feel like a verdict: a raise says you matter, no raise says you don't. Pay decisions are usually made for the company's reasons, inside a budget, rather than as a judgment of a person. That's worth understanding yourself, and worth helping your report understand. It takes some of the sting out, and it turns the question from what they think of me into how the system works and where I am in it.

It also tells you how to advocate. The people who decide are balancing a fixed pool against the risk of losing people and the need to reward impact. A case that shows what the company gains, and what it risks, gives them something to act on. A case built on “they deserve it” gives them a feeling to weigh against everyone else's.

It's common to advocate late, often because you only notice the problem when your report raises it. By then the pool may be spent. Knowing when budgets get set is half the work. The other half is keeping a little evidence through the year, so the case takes an hour rather than a week.

Some situations call for a different move. Someone doing work a level above their role needs a promotion case, which usually has its own process and timing. And if they had a raise a few months ago, it's usually worth waiting unless their scope has changed a lot since; pushing too soon can cost you credibility you'll want for the next case.

Other simple things to consider

Ask what keeps them hereLearn what keeps them before another offer asks the question20 minConversation

What to do next

Talk about their career, not their performancetalk about where they want to go45 minConversation Recognize exactly what they didkeep naming the work you argued for5 minQuick

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An exercise written by Truest, based on our experience. Last updated September 25, 2026. We sell a career membership; where that’s relevant above, we say so.