When should you negotiate, and when should you not?

There are key moments throughout the year when it’s appropriate to negotiate. If you’ve taken on extra tasks, perhaps because a colleague has gone on maternity leave, or you’ve been asked to manage a special project, it could be the right time to book a meeting with your manager and bring up the issue of salary.

Equally, if you’re 11 months into a 12-month contract and you’re being asked if you’d like to renew, this is a perfect moment to discuss salary.

However, if the company is going through bad times and has issued a profit warning or business is slow, it might be sensible to wait before trying to negotiate your salary. As with everything in business, timing is key, so try to think medium to long term when it comes to salary and don’t get panicked about the situation right here and now.

How to Negotiate Salary

1. Do your homework

This is more than just googling “salary for marketing assistants” and then thinking you’re ready for a salary meeting. It means doing a thorough assessment of the market so you know your worth.

Start by setting up alerts with multiple recruitment companies so you get regular updates about jobs available in your sector and at your level. Once you start to see job ads on a regular basis, you’ll instinctively understand the salary bracket for jobs like yours. You might find you’re being vastly underpaid in your current role — which may inspire you to apply for a new role in a new organization. Or, you can use this body of evidence to work out the average salary for your position in other companies and then take this data into a meeting with your HR manager

Whatever you do, get educated first. It will really help you in the long-run. It’s also a good idea to talk to recruiters over the phone. Ask them what the market is like right now. Is it a good time to be looking for a new job? They deal with the job market every day so they are a rich source of valuable information that can really help you. Don’t be afraid to ask.

2. Communicate clearly

When the time comes to actually negotiate a new salary, make sure your communication is super clear, whether you’re talking on the phone, working over email or in a face-to-face meeting.

If you will be sitting with a manger in person, try to meet in a neutral location. Meeting over coffee in a neutral cafe close to the office rather than in your manager’s office could really help to boost your confidence as you won’t be surrounded by his or her personal possessions and signs of success.

Try to remain positive and modestly assertive in the interview; make your points clearly and know what you want to say. Have your bullet points ready in a notebook or on an A4 piece of paper (do not use a ‘notes’ app on your smartphone, as it can look too casual to keep referring back to your phone, which should also be switched off for this meeting so it doesn’t beep at a key moment).

You might want to try ‘the power pose’ before the meeting; this involves standing with your legs and arms as far apart as possible, and pushing the air around you with your palms, for 60 seconds. It can really boost your confidence as it makes you breathe more deeply and it allows you to take up more space in the world. Do this before the meeting and you will feel more confident, like you deserve your space in this meeting and your correct payment from this company!

When it comes to the best language to use, try to remain open: this means sentences like “I’d really like to discuss the opportunities surrounding my salary for the coming year, which I know is going to be a great one for the company,” instead of “I need a raise.” See the difference? One is positive and aspirational and the other is demanding.

If it helps, try practising your bullet points on a friend or family member. Ask them to tell you if they hear anything negative or demanding seeping in, and see if you can work out a more upbeat alternative phrasing.

3. Make sure you are ready to negotiate

It’s fine to go into a negotiation knowing what you want out of it (a salary increase of 10%, for example, is nice and specific). But it’s also important to be ready to negotiate. We don’t always get what we want, but what would you accept? Would an 8% increase, plus gym membership and gas for your car, be acceptable?

Work out the monetary value of these other benefits before you start negotiating – they can save you thousands of dollars each year, and often companies are willing to throw in these ‘benefits’ because they are buying them at reduced rate from the supplier. So it costs them less to offer you an improved health care plan, for example, than it would cost you to buy it from your increased salary.

Do your own ‘lifestyle maths’ before the meeting and know what you’d be willing to accept. Any extras that aren’t money would also need to be itemized in your contract, so don’t sign anything until all the small print is in place.

4. Get ready to close the deal

Don’t be afraid to say no to a first offer, or to ask for time to consider their offer. You can leave a meeting by saying, “Thanks very much for this, I need a few days to think it all over, I will come back to you as soon as possible.”

The same works when negotiating over email or on the phone. As long as you are polite and grateful, you can buy time. During this period of consideration you can consider other options and make sure the new offer connects with what you want. Then, when you’re ready to close the deal, let them know via email. It’s a good idea to get an independent advisor or lawyer to look over contracts before you sign them. Local councils often offer this service for free – search online to see if you can find a pro bono service in your area or online.

5. Get ready for the future

If everything has gone according to plan and you’re happy to sign to your new deal, then work out a start date for the new salary and get set for your more lucrative future!

It’s important to make sure that you live up to the new deal. If the salary rise is dependent on an extra 8 hours of work per week, for example, use an online time-tracking tool to make it clear you are clocking up those extra hours. You want to leave the employer in no doubt: you deserve this pay raise, so show them this every step of the way!

If, however, the salary negotiations didn’t go your way, try to find out why. If your manager feels you lack the skills or knowledge required to move to the next salary bracket and level of responsibility within the company, consider up-skilling while you work. You could do this via an online course in something practical (pay per click, or search engine optimization, for example, if you work in marketing and want to hone a new specific skill).

If the reason you were denied a salary increase has to do with a lack of qualifications at the higher-education level, then don’t panic, just study while you work instead. Shortly you’ll be well on your way to plugging that CV gap and you’ll be ready to re-enter into negotiations with your boss – this time, from a much stronger position. Remember to journal and reflect throughout this experience. A ‘working journal’ that you write in every week will hold you in good stead to learn from everything you’re going through right here and now.

Culled from UoPeople.edu

A little over two years after its $753 million acquisition of the prescription medicine delivery service Pillpack, Amazon has finally launched Amazon Pharmacy, its online and mobile prescription medication ordering and fulfillment service.

Using a secure pharmacy profile, customers can add their insurance information, manage prescriptions and choose payment options all through Amazon’s service. And in another small push towards wider healthcare services, and not just selling items (although, yes, the outcome is to sell items), users are provided with “self-service help” tools on Amazon’s portal, and they also have the option to speak to pharmacists either via over the phone, for advice: “Friendly and knowledgeable pharmacists are available 24/7 to answer questions about medications.”

After launching its own line of over-the-counter drugs in 2019, this is arguably Amazon’s broadest push into the healthcare business to-date, one that could open up very large, new revenue opportunities for the company, especially as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic pushes consumers both toward more remote care, and using online channels for all their shopping needs.

Indeed, this is also more than just Amazon’s continued expansion as a one-stop shop for medicine and wellness. For many consumers, shopping at the pharmacy and shopping for groceries goes hand-in-hand (and of course over decades, many standalone pharmacies have moved more into becoming like stores selling food, while those selling food also have pharmacy counters).

Having this alongside Amazon’s very aggressive and ambitious grocery and food play — which mirrors its drug strategy by spanning its own brands as well as those it has bought it, including Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods, Amazon’s own brand items, and physical Amazon grocery stores — gives the company a more complete experience, where shoppers can more fully replace their shopping needs using Amazon alone.

While Amazon Pharmacy looks to be a US-only launch for now, it’s a global opportunity. Online pharmacy services are projected to hit revenues of $131 billion by 2025 worldwide. Prescription drugs, meanwhile, have been estimated to be a $904 billion industry this year, growing to nearly $1.3 trillion by 2025.

“As more and more people look to complete everyday errands from home, pharmacy is an important and needed addition to the Amazon online store,” said Doug Herrington, Senior Vice President of North American Consumer at Amazon, in a statement. “PillPack has provided exceptional pharmacy service for individuals with chronic health conditions for over six years. Now, we’re expanding our pharmacy offering to Amazon.com, which will help more customers save time, save money, simplify their lives, and feel healthier.”

In addition to the basic Amazon Pharmacy service, Amazon is rolling out special features for Prime members: those subscribing to Amazon’s premium membership tier can receive unlimited, free two-day delivery on Amazon orders, the company said in a statement.

Prime members can also save on medications when they pay without insurance on Amazon Pharmacy — and receive the same discounts at 50,000 other participating pharmacies nationwide. Amazon Prime prescription savings benefit can save members up to 805 off of generic and 40% of of brand name medications when paying without insurance.

Prime members can access their prescription savings at checkout and all Amazon customers will be able to shop for medications — including branded and generic versions and different form factors and dosages — and order them online.

Amazon is also letting customers compare prices with their insurance co-pay, without insurance or with the savings available through the Prime prescription savings plan to choose the lowest option. Amazon is also staffing a pharmacy service accessible at all hours so that customers can answer questions about their medications.

“We understand the importance of access to affordable medication, and we believe Prime members will find tremendous value with the new Amazon Prime prescription savings benefit,” said Jamil Ghani, Vice President, Amazon Prime, in a statement. “Our goal is for Prime to make members’ lives easier and more convenient every day, and we’re excited to extend the incredible savings, seamless shopping experience, and fast, free delivery members know and love with Prime to Amazon Pharmacy.”

The launch of the new Pharmacy service within Amazon is a blow to other discount prescription services like the publicly traded GoodRx and companies like RxSaver and delivery services like ExactCare Pharmacy.

The competition from Amazon was likely one reason why GoodRx began offering telemedicine services as a point of differentiation and to move up the value chain. It will be interesting to see if Amazon will also move to providing virtual care for more than its employees. Last year, the company rolled out Amazon Care for its workers in Seattle as part of a pilot service that provided both in-person and telemedicine services.

At the time, the company limited its pilot to employees, but (as TechCrunch reported) the highly publicized nature of their approach, and the amount of product development that clearly went into developing the initial app, user experience and brand could indicate that it has the broader U.S. market in mind as a potential expansion opportunity down the line. Reports from last year also suggested that Amazon could make a play in consumer health with new wearable fitness tracking devices, which could very nicely complement insurance and healthcare services offered at the enterprise and individual level.

Source: Techcrunch

As a parent, you don’t want to scrimp on childcare. Your kid’s care and well-being are paramount to you. But at times, childcare expenses can be a bit and may not come under your budget. So it is best to be flexible with childcare and explore a variety of options before finalizing daycare. Invest in good quality service with an experienced and responsible caregiver who is also suitable for your budget.

1. Explore Your Options

While selecting a daycare for your child, look for as many options as you can. Consider your needs and budget. There are many daycare options such as in-home daycare, nanny-share, part-time babysitter or community childcare centres, etc. Choose the option which perfectly fits your childcare needs.

2. Research Your Area

The childcare costs differ from one area to another. In some localities, the cost of living is higher, so the childcare facilities also cost more. In some areas, nannies cost more than in-home childcare. So you must do thorough research in your area and other areas, and compare the different childcare costs before finalizing one for your child.

3. Check for Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

Some employers have the facility of a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for its employees. This enables the employee to set aside a certain tax-free amount from their paycheque for childcare. The FSA covers various expenses such as daycare, summer day camps, and preschool. This amount might not be enough to cover full-time daycare expenses but as it is tax-free, it provides a big help in the overall expense.

4. Enquire About Employers Benefits for Childcare

Many companies have special benefits for working parents towards childcare. Talk to your company’s HR to know about the schemes your company has for child care. Apart from a dependent care account, the employer offers other benefits such as child care reimbursement or discounts with local childcare providers.

5. Make a Shift in Your Work Schedule

In case you can’t afford childcare for every day, talk to your employer about shifting your work schedule. In a flexible work schedule, you can work for alternate days or go to the office for a few days a week.

6. Coordinate Work Schedule With Your Partner

Both parents can have alternate shifts or coordinated work schedules, which ensures one parent is with the child always or on certain days.

7. Take Family Members Help

If you’re living near your family, take help from them with regards to taking care of your children. You can ask the grandparents or aunts or uncles taking care of their kids to take care of your child too. Having a family member look after your child is always better than asking someone else whom you barely know to take care of your child.

8. Childcare Swap With Neighbours or Friends

If you and your friend or neighbour have a flexible work schedule, then you can work out a schedule for cooperative childcare. This is cost-free and reliable childcare with each friend taking care of kids on scheduled days.

9.  Look Into Government-Funded Childcare and Development Fund

Each state or federal government has childcare and development fund for low-income group parents. Enquire about this childcare assistance program and take benefit of such a scheme.

10.  Explore Free or Low-Cost Childcare Options

Certain localities have options for free or non-profit child care in the local church, community centre or YMCA or by other non-profit establishments. Enquire about such facilities and avail their benefit.

Culled from parenting.firstcry.com