As an employee, asking for a “wage adjustment” or “salary increase” can cause major stress and result in unrealistic expectations. As an employer, an employee asking for a raise might create fears that the employee is unhappy or might want to leave.

There are a few ways to help make this process smoother and can calm fears on both sides of the desk. For an employee, high performance and being consistent can go a long way in being considered for a raise.

First: Create a process or policy that outlines when and if merit increases happen within the company. This policy can help employees know when they can expect the discussion regarding a raise, and can also help prepare managers and HR to go over their compensation budgets. Things to consider are: market analysis, salary comparisons, tenure, experience, current performance, and cost of keeping the employee vs. cost of losing the employee. Without a policy, employees might consider asking for an increase every few months when they deem necessary. Or on the opposite end, employees might not know when to ask and simply start looking for higher paying jobs. If wage increases are not a part of your compensation plan, make that known to employees up front. In addition, if you edit or change your existing policy, alert all employees to the adjustments.

Second: Prepare the employee a few weeks in advance for the conversation of a merit increase; and ask them to come prepared with specific information. For example, ask for items such as: the top three things they feel they have excelled at, goals reached, performance markers, things to improve on, numbers/data (sales numbers, dollars saved), attendance records, salary comparisons, etc. This type of data mining for the employee can help them see where they are at based on their own research.

Three: Be prepared with a dollar amount and a reasoning behind it. Take time to research compensation trends and gather market data to be able to have a fair market value when it comes to a specific position. Work to create the increase based off of performance and facts, rather than a personal relationship with the employee. And stay within your budget. If an increase is not possible, consider a better benefit package with more paid time off, or allowing an employee to work a more convenient schedule (four, 10 hour shifts or early morning). Some incentive for performance is better than no incentive at all (if deserved). In the event that your company does not provide raises, it is encouraged to still have a performance evaluation with your employee so they know where they stand within the company and has a clear idea of where they can improve.

Being prepared and keeping your employees informed can ease the stress and allow the task to seem less daunting.