How do I ask my boss for a raise?

Johnny C. Taylor Jr., a human-resources expert, is tackling your questions as part of a series for USA TODAY. Taylor is president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, the world’s largest HR professional society.

The questions submitted by readers and Taylor’s answers below have been edited for length and clarity.

Question: I always get a good review during the annual performance appraisal process. However, my salary is low compared to my peers. How do I ask for a raise? —Marvin

Answer: Asking your supervisor for a raise might be the easy part. The hard part is doing the prep work needed to determine if you deserve a raise.

You’ve made a start with those good annual performance reviews. But you’ll need to do a little additional homework.

First, put yourself in your employer’s shoes. Before your boss signs off on a raise, she needs to consider things that aren’t tied directly to your performance, such as budgets and compensation policies.

Start your homework by researching your organization’s compensation practices. HR should be able to help you.

Keep in mind, there often are legitimate reasons for pay differences among peers — experience, performance, education, skills and how the salary was negotiated at the time of hire.

Next, do market research on sites such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics to evaluate the fairness of your pay compared to that in the market.

Here’s the part that focuses on you. Are those “good” reviews good enough? Pay increases often are given to em- ployees who exceed expectations. Ask yourself: Have I done anything to differentiate myself from my peers? Have I learned a new skill? Did I take on additional responsibilities? If you can answer “yes” to these questions, you’ll be in a better position to ask for a raise.

Once you’ve done your homework, use that information to present your case.

Of course, there’s no guarantee your employer will immediately reward your efforts. If you aren’t successful the first time, ask her what you can do differently to earn a raise in the future. Then use her suggestions to help make your case even stronger the next time.

Q: I’m the oldest member of my team by a couple of decades. At what point do the “old guy” jokes become too much? I laugh it off, but it’s making me weary. —Chuck J.

A: OK, be honest: Have you ever joked about “those Millennials?” Even if you haven’t, I bet some time in your career you’ve made or gone along with some snide comment or generalization about someone in the workplace who is different from you.

I’m not saying that being the butt of “old guy jokes” can’t sting or that it isn’t wrong. I’m saying that I’m always amazed at how people will complain about the very behavior they engage in.

That said, being mocked or being called out for being different isn’t funny or appropriate. But because you didn’t say something to your co-workers the first time, they may have gotten the idea that their comments were acceptable to you and others.

Rather than continuing to laugh it off or letting the behavior get worse, I suggest using the next incident as a teachable moment. Pull your colleague aside and tell him how the comments really make you feel. Re- mind him that each of you brings different, valuable traits to the team. Encourage mutual respect. Ask that it not happen again.

If it does happen again, have a chat with HR. Explain what you’ve experienced and seek advice on how to help your coworker understand that the jokes have gone too far and are making you feel like an outsider. Bystanders also can initiate a conversation. Anyone on the team who recognizes a joke as inappropriate can pull his colleagues aside and call him on it. Frankly, the workplace needs more honest interactions like these.

One of the most disappointing details coming out of the Me Too movement has been the number of people who were aware of inappropriate behavior but chose not to speak up. We all have responsibility for creating the safe, inclusive and healthy workplace that we want and deserve.