And what makes a manager agree on an asked salary.
Crew salary is by far the most polarising topic, on which wishes and expectation both sides of the employment relationship cannot go more further apart: the Employers want to stay efficient, to say it politely, on the payroll costs whereas the employees wish to get the best offer on the market.
Inevitably, if the salary is the topic of any job interview and any periodic crew assessment then how should one run the topic to get the best deal out of it? Funny enough, this is the question of equal importance on both sides of the interview table.
Let’s name the key success factors of a successful salary negotiation.
Firstly, both the employer and the employee should enter the interview well prepared in terms of industry current salary standards. Invest your time in web research and compile a comparative overview of 8-10 latest salary guidelines of major industry players. Do not forget to include Dock Walk as they provide comparative review reflecting inputs of both employers and crew. Knowing what the industry believes to be fair is a prerequisite to efficient and weighted negotiation process.
Secondly, as almost all guidelines relate solely to yacht size and only few consider the experience as well, research and enrich your personal salary matrix for the position in question with info on ticket requirements for each yacht range in the grid. Having done so, you will have a solid tool at hand for your negotiations. Several variables in one matrix will allow you, be it candidate or an employer, to reason your vision on the expected salary through the mixed prism of candidate’s formal knowledge, experience as well as yacht size. Discussions on why the salary should be above or below the market average with such tool at hand can then be run in a well-grounded manner that increases the potential of a successful outcome for both parties of the negotiation.
Not to forget is the fact that in such fast-paced industry like yachting crew longevity from owner’s perspective is strongly linked to vessel reliability as well as budget efficiency in terms of potential damage repairs, for example. Determine what potential loyalty schemes and benefit programs, including but not limited to paid leave time, could be on offer/could be requested if you are an applicant, to add on the non-salary side of the remuneration if the wages limit has been achieved but is not yet alone a deal maker.
Last but not least, remember that the deal only has a future if it is fair for both sides.
Stay reasonable! To be able to do so, educate yourself with the facts and leave the assumptions of what the position or the person is worth out of the game.
Good luck, Ahoy Crew.