Tips for asking for a retention raise?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

I am curious about the mechanics and strategy of asking for a retention raise. I am a TT assistant professor. I might receive a job offer soon for another TT position. I would be willing to take the new job, but I would prefer my current position if my salary increased. How would I go about asking for a retention raise? Whom should I ask--my chair or the dean? Any other advice?

Fair questions! I've heard anecdotally that some institutions don't negotiate these sorts of things at all (they will say in essence, "good luck to you at your new job"), but if you are willing to take the new job, what's the harm simply telling your institution that you have an outside offer but would prefer to stay if they'd be willing to raise your salary $X? If you really are willing to take the other job, the worst that they can say is 'no.' In any case, my sense is that one should only do this if one actually has an outside offer and you're willing to accept it.

In terms of the mechanics, one reader submitted the following reply:

go to the Dean (at least) Every campus is different, and campuses even change over time. I worked at a place where you went to the Provost. I liked it. You had to have some gumption to think they would even meet with you, but if you did, and you made a case for yourself, she was a generous and appreciative leader.

This seems right to me. Go first to your Dean. Then, depending on what they say, maybe go to the Provost. But it would be great to hear from other readers here, particularly readers who have tried to negotiate a raise like this. What was the process like, and how successful (or not) were you?

 

 

Comments

[recently negotiated twice]

Unless your department is dysfunctional, I would recommend that people talk to their chairs as soon as they get offers of flyouts, and keep them informed about the process. At some universities it is more normal for the chair to initiate a conversation with the dean for you (in consultation with you). In addition, sometimes one can negotiate a retention raise for removing oneself from consideration for a job offer. Your chair should be able to consult with you about what the best strategy at your particular institution is (unless they are brand new to the university or don't have much institutional knowledge for some other reason), and give you the best specific advice about what to do. Of course, if you don't trust your chair, if you think they will resent you for having an outside offer, etc. all of this is moot--but if you are a junior person, I still might consider first consulting with a senior person in your department you trust. Going directly to the dean is definitely always fine, but sometimes there might be considerations about how to talk to them, etc., that your chair or another senior person might have better knowledge of than you do.

[Rosa]

In my first TT job, I always went to my department chair when I got a fly out - and then went back to him when it came time to negotiate with an outside offer. BUT that was in a very particular context: my department had a fairly explicit policy of "hire the best people possible, assume they will move on to other jobs after a few years, and support them in the process." So I felt like my chair was on my side, and would not resent me for applying out. If I had been in ANY way uncertain about whether he would resent it, I would not have told him before I had an offer in hand - but I still would probably go to my department head as a courtesy before going to the Dean, unless I thought that they were actively hostile to me. They might have valuable info about how to as and what to ask for, there might be a standard way of doing things at your university that it would cause bad blood to to go outside of, etc.

[moving on]

Tried, got an email response citing policy that they don't do that. But I think there's no harm asking.