#HRNEWS - HR managers should help employees properly request a raise. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but there is nothing wrong with helping your employees communicate more effectively with management. Here are some useful tips. A written request for a grade increase or promotion is more effective than an oral request. Help your employees understand this point first. Oral requests are easily postponed or forgotten, and they put the burden on the manager to “sell it” to the next level of management. In any large organization, this step is going to be needed. So, offer this outline: The employees should write a letter that gives 1) statement of original duties and responsibilities for the position; 2) statement of present duties and responsibilities for the position; and 3) identify each new duty and how it demonstrates increased responsibility, not workload--not workload (repeating). So, what is increased responsibility versus increased workload. Very simply, responsibility is the state of a situation or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone. In other words, "control over another person's work" defines workplace responsibility or "being given accountability for something within one's power, control, or management." - Get a newsletter for you employees with health, wellness, productivity tips, and ideas for manage stress with articles that will read and remembered.