The Advance Project

Enhancing the academic careers of women in science, technology, engineering, & mathematics

Enhancing the academic careers of women in science, technology, engineering, & mathematics

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After: Contract Negotiations

 

What

Why / Research Rationale

Appoint an advocate or mentor who can help the candidate throughout the negotiation process. Transparency and advocacy in the negotiation process can not only help you set the tone, but also ameliorate any anxiety that could lead to undue hostility during contract negotiations.Be fair, honest, & open in all your contract negotiations – this time is critical for establishing the future quality & nature of the relationship between you and the new hire.

 

Provide all candidates with a complete list of potentially negotiable items, such as:

  • Course release time
  • Lab equipment
  • Lab space
  • Renovation of lab space
  • Research assistant
  • Clerical/administrative support
  • Discretionary funds
  • Travel funds
  • Summer salary
  • Moving expenses
  • Dual-career assistance
  • Other pertinent issues

 

Put all negotiated items and a clear delivery time-line in the offer letter. This minor procedural transparency will go a long way towards building a mutually beneficial, trusting relationship between you and your new hire.

Stereotypes play a critical role in negotiations such that males are advantaged and females are disadvantaged. Women perform better in mixed-gender negotiations when stereotypically feminine traits are linked to successful negotiation, but not when gender-neutral or masculine traits are liked to negotiation success, perhaps because the latter induces self-doubt in women. Interestingly, women outperform men in mixed-gender negotiations when stereotypically masculine traits are linked to poor negotiation performance. However, the reverse is true when the stereotype expectations are also reversed. Despite these gender differences, you remain the power-holder in the contract negotiations, thus you control stereotype expectations and goals during negotiations (Kray, Galinsky, & Thompson, 2002).Negotiating well pays off for you and your new hire: Negotiating with compassion results in willingness in both parties to collaborate and work cooperatively in future endeavors. Acrimonious and hostile negotiations, on the other hand, result in lack of trust and resistance for future cooperation. Additionally, compassionate negotiations allow both parties to consider each other’s best interests instead of being self-centered. Employers, because they hold greater power in the negotiating process can define the tone of negotiations by being compassionate towards their new hire (Allred, Mallozzi, Matsui, & Raia, 1997).

 

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