Past Negotiation Experience
2630 - Benjamin Meixner - 12302260
My selected past negotiation experience is the classic: pay negotiations. My negotiation partner was the head of HR of Austrian Post AG. Not only did I want to negotiate my paycheck but also my initial title, since at the time I was valuing the prestige of a better title quite significantly. Currently the value of any title is zero to me, so that is the first thing I would leave out today. The one thing I would change today is not to argue about my title but about the responsibilities I would be taking on, since they were far beyond my age and pay level. I initiated the negotiation since I already felt taken advantage of during my first weeks/months and I feared this would only get worse with time. My fears have come true, but I countered by retrieving ever more into my tasks and becoming less social in the office, at some point switching to full home-office for 2 months. I thought if they take advantage of me, so will I.
For the distribution I believe that the bargaining power was almost entirely at their side - 95% percent if I would have to put a number on it. It was my first corporate job and I was not aware of the rigidity of the corporate world and did not yet understand how power dynamics in larger organizations worked. Furthermore, the policies at Post were anything but negotiation friendly. The policies “demanded” rather strict negotiation windows for a rise in paycheck and if a agreement was formed outside that window you were blocked from the next official window, resulting in almost 2 years without the possibility of official renegotiations. In hindsight this was just a trap without a credible threat since extraordinary deals are possible at any point in time; at the time it seemed credible to me.
The outcome of the negotiation was not a success in my book. None of my points raised were even considered and therefore did not have any effect. At the time I felt quite hurt on a personal level and was viewing the whole negotiations generally as unprofessional. On top of that I was not signed yet after 3 months - the paperwork only reached me after 2.5 months after I started working - so people were starting to get impatient and wanted me to sign it quickly. This could have maybe been an edge for me in negotiations, but my opponent would still not move a single inch from the initial offer. At some point I just gave way and accepted the offer since any of my actions would not result in even the slightest change for me. Lastly they even threatened to let me go, should I not accept the offer, this was the final blow.
18 months later I would have do a lot of things differently. I would communicate earlier that my position and pay is not up to the commitments I am expected to take and that there is the need to do something. I would prepare a set of options I would be happy with - all of them in my favor - and let them pick the smallest evil for them to base the further negotiations on. Why do I think this would be different? 1) The first perception of my request would be “I need help” and not “I am unhappy” which should immediately start conversations in a different and more cooperative tone. 2) When I make the options I can design them such that they will always benefit me with my payoffs while giving them the freedom of choice, making it seem like a better deal for them. 3) I am first taking their perspective into consideration and listen to how I can add value to the company. Then I can think about incorporating their value into my options which ultimately benefit me.