Piya Mitra

The interview with Piya Mitra, HR Director and Business Partner at Cadence was on the topic of Negotiating at Work. It showcased her deep experience and wisdom in the area of HR and business and market trends. Her passion for technology and for people really came across in her interview, and her practical advice for candidates, hiring managers and HR professionals showed the need for coordination and collaboration to find that win-win: an alignment between employees, and management to meet professional goals of our workers and the corporate goals for the organization. Below is her advice on how each partner can better coordinate to achieve these win-win results:

1. Candidates should have a good understanding of the job description and know how he/she fits that job description and whether that specific job fits into their overall career path. Having all parties ensuring this initial fit is the first big step to a successful hire.
2. Hiring managers and HR professionals should collaborate in writing the job description to meet the needs of the manager, the team, and the overall corporate goals.
3. Hiring managers and HR should coordinate in terms of range for salary, benefits, stock and other compensation items.
4. Factor in not just the salary history for the candidates, but more importantly the value he/she provides in the job.  
5. Treat HR like a science with measurable objectives and results and processes.
6. Negotiation is part of your day-to-day life, at home and at work, whether you’re in HR or not, whether you’re in job transition or not. So find a common ground with whomever you’re negotiating, and practice a little give-and-take and collaborate, compromise and create alignments to achieve bigger goals.
7. As a hiring manager, first evaluate the job, and then evaluate the fit of the candidate to the job, factoring in everything from resume to interview to references and salary history.
8. When negotiating for a promotion as a candidate, be clear on what the next position would look like in terms of skills, requirements, responsibilities, resources, etc. Consider also the compensation and/or resource adjustments which might come with a promotion. Then bring the issue up with your manager, being prepared to see additional information about the potential promotion, reflecting larger corporate perspectives in terms of strategy/direction and budget.
9. In building a successful global organization, consider the advantages and disadvantages for ‘ex-Pat’ attraction strategies for countries such as India, who are attracting seasoned, educated talent to return to their home country and lead younger, less experienced, yet fully trained staff. There’s a potential for a win-for-all with strong development, R&D and management abilities on both sides, serving the overall corporate objectives for their organizations.
10. Negotiating is a part of communication, a part of life. Rather than focusing on always persuading someone to your point of view and intentions and objectives, focus instead on negotiating toward a common ground.

The bottom line is that negotiating at work is about thinking strategically, communicating transparently, and focusing on finding that win-win, that common ground for yourself, for your team, for your organization.