The Checklist That Helped Anna, a Practice Administrator, Get a Bigger Raise Than She Expected

Anna started by listing her responsibilities and accomplishments. Here's what she wrote:

• Increased patient satisfaction scores by 20% by streamlining check-in processes.
• Reduced claim denials by 30% by implementing a new pre-visit workflow using automation tools.
• Took over training new staff and created a detailed onboarding manual.
• Identified a bottleneck in insurance verification and saved the team 62 hours per week by introducing Pledge Health software.

Anna told me that putting this all on paper reminded her of just how much she was contributing to the practice.

Anna didn't wing it—she came prepared with numbers. Here's how she researched:

• She checked Glassdoor and Payscale to find the average salary for practice managers in her region (it was 15% higher than what she was making).
• She reached out to two colleagues in similar-sized practices and confirmed that her pay was on the low end.
• She even found out that many managers in her area were being offered bonuses tied to operational improvements—something her practice didn't currently offer.

This is where Anna stood out. She didn't just talk about what she'd done—she tied it to the practice's bottom line.

• "By implementing AI tools like Pledge Health, I've saved us the cost of hiring additional staff for repetitive tasks, like insurance verification and cost estimation. That's allowed us to focus resources on other critical areas."
• "In the last year, my improvements saved us roughly $40,000 in overhead—money that can now be used to reward and retain skilled team members."

Anna made sure to emphasize that her contributions created long-term value, making her role essential to the practice's future success.

Anna was strategic about when to bring this up:

• She waited until after the practice's busiest period when revenues were strong.
• She asked for a meeting with her boss well in advance, framing it as a discussion about her contributions and professional growth.

Timing her request during a calm, financially secure period worked in her favor.

Anna didn't just ask for a raise—she showed why she deserved it:

• "Given my expanded role and contributions, I'd like to discuss increasing my compensation to reflect the value I bring to the practice."
• She brought a one-page summary of her contributions, complete with dollar amounts tied to her improvements.
• Anna stayed calm and confident, and when her boss suggested a lower number than expected, she politely countered by explaining how her market research supported her ask.

Anna had asked for a salary raise, but her boss not only approved it but also offered her a performance-based bonus, tied to the increased operational efficiency and margins she'd helped create by implementing new automation tools.

Luckily, Anna got the raise she wanted—and more. But she was ready with a backup plan just in case:

• She was prepared to ask for performance-based bonuses tied to practice growth.
• She had also thought about negotiating more PTO or flexible work hours if a raise wasn't possible immediately.