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[Series Vol. 3 | The Salary Raise Negotiation!] Aligning Salary and Expectations: Turning Negotiations into Development Dialogues
ICONIC is currently conducting the 2026 Vietnam Salary Increase & Bonus Survey.
If you’re looking to benchmark salary and bonus trends objectively across Vietnam, you can participate and receive the Interim Report today.
Join the survey HERE.
To support this key HR planning season, ICONIC presents a four‑part special series — “The Salary Raise Negotiation!” — exploring how HR and business leaders can turn challenging salary discussions into opportunities for alignment, engagement, and growth.
If you missed our previous feature, “How to Navigate Salary Requests That Go ‘Too Far’,” 2catch up HERE.
In this Vol.3, we tackle a challenge every leader faces:
How can you align “the salary figure” and “the expected role” within the same negotiation conversation?
In Vol. 2, we emphasized that successful salary negotiation isn’t about debating numbers — it’s about aligning expectations between contribution and reward.
Now, we take it further: exploring how to translate expectations into clear, role‑specific language and lead forward‑looking conversations that connect performance with pay.
1 | Clarifying expectations: The Foundation of Alignment
“Role expectations” often remain abstract and high‑level, leaving room for misunderstanding.
A statement such as “We expect you to perform more like a manager” may sound clear, but without concrete examples of what that means in daily operations, alignment is rarely achieved.
The solution is to translate expectations into clearly defined, role‑relevant behaviors and outcomes
When expectations are described through specific work situations, both sides begin seeing the same picture — and that’s where genuine alignment starts.
Consider these examples:
Finance Manager
- Deliver a reliable, on‑time month‑end closing process with minimal rework and no major post‑close adjustments.
- Establish standards and control flows for high‑risk accounts (e.g., entertainment, outsourcing, inventory, depreciation) and ensure consistent execution.
- Document unique transaction patterns and create operational checklists so any team member can perform the task at the same quality level.
Engineering Manager
- Standardize design, testing, and improvement procedures so outcomes are traceable by all.
- Lead cross‑functional teams through problem‑solving cycles — from root cause identification to validation and long‑term prevention.
- Develop a mid‑term technical roadmap: set capability goals for the next 2–3 years, plan how the team will gain the required expertise, and monitor progress systematically.
Once expectations are expressed with this job‑specific clarity, both manager and employee can precisely discuss:
- Where we stand today; and
- What defines the next level of contribution?
This turns evaluation into a factual, growth‑oriented dialogue instead of a subjective debate.
2 | When Alignment stalls, Start from the Future
Negotiations often stall when all the focus stays on next year’s raise amount.
Once the discussion centers on a single number, compromise becomes difficult and the relationship risks strain.
To reopen constructive dialogue, shift the view to the future — two to three years ahead — before addressing next year’s salary.
Explore together:
- “What scope of responsibility should this role carry two years from now?”
- “At that stage, what compensation range would be reasonable?”
This future‑oriented perspective shifts the tone from argument to aspiration - turning a salary discussion into a career‑path conversation grounded in shared vision.
3 | Reverse‑Planning: aligning Pay and Expectations step‑by‑step
With the future picture set, move into a reverse‑planning dialogue that links growth, time, and reward logically:
Step ① | Define the future target
Agree on both the future role and its corresponding reward level:
“When you can independently lead X scope at Y complexity, your compensation would naturally align with Z range”.
This creates a clear bridge between role responsibility and reward level.
Step ② | Assess the current state
Objectively review where the employee currently stands relative to that benchmark:
“Which aspects are already being delivered? What still needs to be developed?”
Position current pay as a checkpoint within a longer growth trajectory — not the final destination.
Step ③ | Quantify the journey
Estimate how far it is from the present to that future standard.
If the target package is X VND, current pay Y VND, and the time horizon N years, the logical annual adjustment band can be derived from that.
If the result still doesn’t meet the employee’s expectation, pivot with:
“To reach your preferred range within the coming year, what additional scope could you take on?”
The focus remains balanced — equally anchored in contribution and compensation.
4 | From Pay negotiations to Development conversations
When executed well, this backward‑planning approach transforms salary review sessions into development‑driven coaching dialogues.
Together, manager and employee can clarify:
- Which expanded responsibilities to pursue
- What growth pace is feasible
- How performance progression links directly to pay progression
Instead of narrowing the discussion to “How much can we increase this year?”, the team builds a shared roadmap that connects future value creation with compensation.
That makes the negotiation not only more constructive — but often the shortest route to genuine alignment.
5 | Stay grounded with Market Data
Of course, alignment is most persuasive when backed by reliable market insights.
ICONIC’s 2026 Vietnam Salary Increase & Bonus Survey is now live (response deadline: December 5).
Use this opportunity to understand current salary and bonus movements by industry and function — essential context when designing realistic medium‑term compensation frameworks.
🔔 Vol 4: Hidden traps in Salary Negotiations — and How to bring the conversation back on track
In our final article, we’ll unpack common “landmine” patterns that derail salary discussions and provide practical, field‑tested phrases managers can use to reset and steer conversations forward.
