Negotiating a higher salary

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Negotiating aHIGHER salary Information from the 1991 ADA membership database Even during challenging economic times, dietetics professionals can negotiate better salaries. Although salary negotiations can be difficult, the payoffs make the effort worthwhile. This article provides accurate salary data to help you develop a persuasive argument for higher compensation. Compared withmany other alliedhealth professionals, dietetics practitioners are underpaid. According to 1991 data from the University of Texas Medical Branch study of hospital salaries, median salaries arehigherforpharmacists ($43,500),physical therapists ($35,600), registered nurses ($32,800), and medical technologists ($29,100) than for registered dietitians ($28,400). Considering the rigorous education and experience required to become an RD, this discrepancy is disappointing. Therefore, dietetics professionals must take action to ensure adequate compensation. Some factors affecting salary are beyond the individual practitioner's immediate control. Wage discrimination still exists. The predominance of women in the profession (97.7% of all ADA members) may negatively affect salaries. Research to document the cost-effectiveness of dietetics services is currently being conducted, but the scarcity of such information may have undermined the bargaining position of dietetics practitioners in the past. Despite these obstacles, you can prepare for salary negotiations and successfully pursue a higher salary. This article will help you in determining a reasonable salary level and preparing facts to present to your employer in support of your position. KNOW THE SOURCE OF THE DATA Before using this information in salary negotiations, be sure that you can explain exactly where the data came from and how the data were collected. Information is only as good as its source. Data presented in this article come from the 1991 update of the ADA membership database. (A more detailed report of the methods and results of the database appears on page 211.) ADA is the largest Tami H. Kornblum, of the Research Department, The American Dietetic Association, preparedthis article. This article does not necessarily reflect the views of the Association. 142 / FEBRUARY 1993 VOLUME 93 NUMBER 2

association of dietetics practitioners. Most of ADA's 63,274 members are registered dietitians (76%) or dietetic technicians, registered (4%). In December 1991, ADA sent amembership database questionnaire to all Active, Technician, Associate, and Retired members. Of those eligible to participate in the database, 58% returned usable forms; 79% of the respondents reported being employed in dietetics. Respondents employedindietetics were asked to report their annual gross salary, in $5,000-increments from less than $5,000 to more than $75,000, from their current primary position. Annual gross salary was defined as the expected salary for the position if it were held for the entire 12 months of 1991. Only data on full-time (> 31 hours/week) primary positions are reported here; these data do not reflect total salary from dietetics. Other data allow for analysis of the relationship between salary and experience, education, geographic location, and area of practice. Other sources of information on salaries for dietetics practitioners, such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics, report salaries for dietitians without consideration for the respondents' credentials orregistrationstatus. Those sources that do specify registration status, such as the survey of hospital and medical school salaries conducted by the University of Texas Medical Branch, fail to provide salaries for practitioners not employed in hospital settings. Information ADA needs YOU to participate in the 1993 update of salary information The quality and accuracy of ADA's salary information depends on member participation in the database. If you are an Active, Technician, Associate, or Retired member, you will receive the 1993 membership database questionnaire, along with your new membership card, beginning in April. Don't be a nonrespondent. Contribute to salary negotiation success!

regarding salaries for dietetic technicians, registered, has been virtually unavailable. If the salary information on which your employer depends for determining compensation comes from another source and the figures are lower than those published here, you may be able to point out the limitations of that data and offer ADA data as a reliable source of national salary information for RDs and DTRs. For additional support of your negotiation efforts, compare and contrast local salary information with these national data. KNOW WHAT A MEDIAN IS A median is a summary statistic that allows for easy graphic depiction and comparison of one group with another. The median is a popular measure of central tendency for salary data because, unlike the mean, it is more resistant to the effects of extremely high or low data points. The median may be defined as the point at or above which 50% of the cases fall and at or below which 50% of the cases fall. For example, if the salaries reported by 100 respondents employed in dietetics were arranged from lowest to highest, the point at which the 50th respondent falls would be the median. Respon- Cumulative dents respondents < $30,001

30

30

$30,001-$35,000 $35,001-$40,000 $40,001-$45,000 $45,001-$50,000 > $50,000

30 20 15 4 1

60 80 95 99 100

In this hypothetical example, the 50th percentile is located in the $30,001-$35,000 range. To identify the specific point in this range at which the median falls, a simple estimating formula is applied. The formula assumes that the cases in the interval are evenly distributed; that is, that the same number of cases fall at each score point, rather than clustering at one end or the other or the middle of the interval. Assuming that 10 of the 30 respondents are in the bottom third of the interval, 10 are in the middle third, and 10 are in the top third, the median would be two thirds of the way through the interval, since, theoretically, this is where the 50th percentile would fall. Two thirds of the interval's value of $5,000 would be $3,300. Adding this amount to thelowend ofthe interval, whichis $30,001, yields an estimated median value of $33,301. MEDIAN SALARIES FOR RDs Estimated median salaries were calculated for RDs who reported working 31 or more paid hours per week in their primary posi-

FIG 1. 1991 estimated median salariesforfull-time RDs by years of experience in dietetics after registration.a

FIG 2. 1991 estimated median salariesforfull-time RDs by geographicregion of the US Census.a

FIG 3. 1991 estimated median salariesforfull-time RDs by size of community (in number of people) in which they are employed. a

FIG 4. 1991 estimated median salariesforfull-time DTRs by years of employment in current primary position.a

"Estimated using salaries reported by RDs/DTRs employed 31 or more hours per week in their primary position in dietetics. tion. Figure 1 shows the median salaries for RDs with varying levels of full-time experience in dietetics after registration. Compensation increases with experience, and ranges from $28,500 for RDs with 5 years or less experience to $40,000 for practitioners with more than 20 years experience. The greatest salary difference is between those with 5 years of experience or less and those with 6 to 10 years of experience; differences become smaller as experience increases. RDs with advanced degrees report higher salaries: the median salaries by education are $31,600 for RDs with baccalaureate degrees only, $34,300 for RDs with master's degrees, and $44,000 for RDs with doctoral degrees. Salary also differs among the five areas of practice. RDs employed in community and clinical dietetics report the lowest salaries; those in education/research and management practices report the highest. (See next page for bar graph.) Figure 2 shows that salary differences exist in different areas of the country. Of the four US Census regions, the northeast and the west support higher salaries for RDs than do the midwest and the south. Similarly, Figure 3 indicates that salary increases with the size of the community.

MEDIAN SALARIES FOR DTRs For DTRs who reported working 31 or more paid hours per week in their primary position, median salaryincreaseswithyears in current primary position (Figure 4). Median salaries for DTRs in management practices ($24,800) are higher than salaries for those employed in clinical dietetics ($21,400). (Because of the small number of DTRs employed in the other three areas of practice, medians for these groups are not presented.) Comparison of the median salaries for selected groups of DTRs by region and size of community shows that the patterns observed in the salaries reported by RDs are similar for the DTRs in these groups. TIMING YOUR REQUEST FOR A SALARY ADJUSTMENT Most employment situations offer specific opportunities for employees to engage in salary negotiations. Prepare carefully for such a meeting to ensure that the salary adjustment you receive parallels the increase you believe you deserve. If the salary adjustment seems too low, you will be able to present a well-prepared case and initiate the negotiation process. Salary negotiations are also appropriate during performance review meetings,

especially if salary increases are based on performance. It is essential that you receive a fair appraisal of your performance and agree that your salary adjustment recognizes that performance level. Similarly, an objective- or goal-setting meeting may provide the right setting for salary negotiations. It is possible to associate salary increases with the attainment of specific individual and/or organizational goals. If your organization does not offer the opportunity for salary negotiation in any of these situations, or the opportunity has recently passed without a satisfactory outcome, schedule a special meeting. In whatever type of meeting the salary negotiations take place, adequate preparation is essential for a successful outcome. Refer to the sidebar on page 144 for tips. WHEN THE BUCK STOPS WITH YOU Often the responsibility for initiating and negotiating salary increases rests with senior management. One of the most effective ways of increasing salaries in dietetics is for practitioners in management positions to negotiate salary increases for their staff. By carefullyreviewing the data in this article and evaluating the contributions and qualifications of individual staff members, managers can determine reasonable

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION / 143

FOR YOUR NORMAMON

FIG 5. Comparisonof 1990 and 1991 estimated median salariesforfull-timeRDs by area ofpractice. Only those members who responded to both 1990 and 1991 databasesurveys were included in this analysis. Salariesfor1990 were reportedin April through December 1990; salariesfor1991 were reportedin December 1991 through February1992. ing salary levels for dietetics practitioners. Can salary negotiations increase the salaries of dietetics practitioners? Figure 5 shows sizable increases in annual gross salaries reported in 1990 compared with salaries reported in 1991 by the same re-

salary ranges for staff with varying levels of experience, education, and responsibility. Practitioners in management positions chief clinical dietitians, foodservice managers, directors of dietetics education programs - canbe veryinfluential in increas-

spondents. Salaries increased 8.2% in community dietetics, 9.6% in clinical dietetics, 8.0% in consultation/private practice, 8.4% in education/research, and 14.8% in management practices. Ideally, increases of this magnitude will continue.

TIPS FOR PLANNING YOUR NEGOTIATING STRATEGY These suggestions are useful whether you are negotiating a improve product or service quality, or enhance the work higher salary in your current position or negotiating the environment. Maintaining a portfolio that documents your salary for a new position. If your current salary is well above successes is a good way to collect supporting materials for the medians presented here, you will need to rely heavily on your salary negotiations. Discuss these contributions before you discuss your salary. these tips. Have a positive attitude about your job. You are negotiating for a higher salary because you like your job and you want to stay, not because you hate your job and they have to pay you for your misery. If you can communicate a positive feeling about your work at the beginning of the salary negotiation meeting, the conversation will begin on a positive note. Have a positive attitude about your qualifications. You worked hard to receive the credentials that you have. You may want to remind the person on the other side of the bargaining table, exactly what you bring to the position: credibility, expertise, education, and experience. Be sure to bring up any new qualifications, such as specialty certification or completion of job-related continuing education, received since your last salary increase. Explain why you are more efficient at your job than less qualified persons. Have a positive attitude about your contributions. Take time to objectively enumerate your contributions. Identify and quantify anything you have done to save money or time,

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Suggest job enlargement or enrichment. It is sometimes possible to justify a substantial salary increase by requesting additional responsibilities, increasing your current work load, or working at a higher level of complexity. This strategy may be effective in today's economy, when employers are seeking to reduce costs by decreasing staff size and increasing productivity. It may, however, backfire if you appear to have too much free time. Keep a time log for several weeks to substantiate your claims. Determine how this salary data can best be used. Reviewing the median salaries for your area of practice, your level of experience and education, and your geographic location will give you a sense of a "reasonable" salary. If your current salary is below the median, this information should be brought to your employer's attention. To attract and maintain quality personnel, most employers want to provide fair compensation. If your current salary is at or above the median, you need to emphasize your contributions and suggest job enrichment or enlargement. Remember, 50% of all practitioners ina category earn salaries above the median.