When to you tell your boss that you need to be paid for the extra duties you do?

At what point in a job do you say, “if you want to me to do that stuff, which isn’t in my job, and for which I’m not being paid, you’re going to have to pony up more money”? Today, in my spare time (which I have plenty of, because I’m efficient and I’m not a chatter), I made a macro to do a bunch of stuff which was previously being done manually. Manually as in doing a Ctrl-F search on 800 individual line items on one check. What used to take them multiple people days to do, can now be done more accurately with a macro that takes 45 seconds to run.

I figure this one special project will save the company at least $15K per year, probably more. And I have 2 other projects going at the same time. Along with my regular job responsibilities, which are all being done in an above-average fashion. I haven’t kept it a secret that I want to be an analyst, but what I am is the person the analysts and Kaizen leaders come to for answers. I like doing this stuff, but I want them to pay me for it, and database building and all the other stuff, rather than my pay as an A/R rep. Is this too much to ask?

StG

At this economic point in time I think you keep quiet and then mention it during your performance review. That is the perfect time to bring up your career aspirations and your salary expectations in a formal manner. Otherwise knuckle down and keep working.

Leaffan - My boss is aware of what I do, in part because often it’s for other groups, and I tell her. She tells me that if I finally find myself suddenly “too busy” to help other people out, they’ll figure out a way to remove my day-to-day activities. But I’m afraid that if I do that, senior management will decide I’m not being a team player, or something.

My job is pretty secure. Large company, no layoffs ever, that I know of. I have performance evaluation scores in the top 10%. The downside is, there’s a rigid raise structure and no bonuses given. So you can excel all your little heart wants, but it’s not going to get you anything extra.

StG

As far as being a team player, you’re already doing all kinds of stuff for other groups, volunteering outside of your direct tasks. How much more of a team player can you be? But you do need to take an active role in taking care of yourself, too. They won’t do it for you.

I’m assuming that these outside projects are both more interesting to you, and require more skills/are more valuable to the company than your day-to-day duties.

In that case, my advice (without knowing the actual personalities and politics, of course) is that getting busy enough to remove your day-to-day stuff should be your goal, and you should be actively (in a low-key way, of course) marketing yourself to get more of that work.
The key is that removing your day-to-day stuff would mean you’re in a different job, which is when you negotiate a higher salary (which should be possible even in a rigid pay structure, as the newly created job should be rated at a higher grade than the old one).

Ideally, your current boss is supportive of this plan (since she’d have to find someone else to cover your old work, it’s a slight sacrifice for her). If so, it’s a win-win all around: the company gets someone who’s projects are proven money savers, the other groups get your services, maybe even your boss wins because she supervises both your new position and your old one so now is a slightly more important manager.

Unless I’m missing something, didn’t you just answer your own question? In this economy (I’m sick of that phrase), no matter how great you are, they may not take well to being asked for more money out of what they may very well consider the blue, and they might cut you. I’d wait until my performance review and then bring it up, were I you- but keep kissing that ass, it’ll pay off eventually.

If I were in this situation, I would create a document showing how much money your skills, such as writing the macro mentioned in the OP, have saved the company. Do it properly - i.e. how many man hours on average did it take to perform this task manually multiplied by average wage. Do some research into it and don’t pull numbers out of the air. Present this to your boss and get him on your side. Tell him you would like a raise and use this document as support for your request.

Companies like to save money, and if you can help them do that, they *may *kick some of it back to you.

Certainly don’t tell them about all of this extra spare time you seem to have. Companies don’t always value efficiency they way they should. They just see someone w/ extra time on their hands. If it ever comes time for layoffs, you want to be the person that’s always busy.

I have never had an experience of making more money for doing more duties at a regular job; companies seem to have the attitude that when you’re on their clock, you will do anything they tell you to do with a smile on your face (for the same money). I usually just hide my talents so they don’t know how much I’m capable of, and it doesn’t become an issue.

I’d focus more on doing what it takes to get into the analyst job and less on getting paid for the extras you’re doing now; once you started doing them, the company probably assumed that they are bonuses they get from you for free.

I agree with Cat Whisperer. It’s time to move into a higher position. Another problem with giving you a raise for going above and beyond your job description is that it isn’t your job. You and many in your grade are all paid within a certain threshold. I’d put in for the Analyst and keep a copy of your macros’ for your interview.

Whatever you do, don’t do it like a friend of mine did. He worked in a library, and found effeciency statistics showed that he was, on his sickest day, something like 798% more efficient than the next worker. He then strolled into the manager’s office and demanded a 700% raise, arguing that they could fire 6-7 other workers and save a ton of money on health care.

When they didn’t give it to him (it was a somewhat low-level job, and this raise would obviously make him one of the highest paid employees of the University), he quit.

Mr. Germain.

I have been in this situation more than once.

When I left teaching, I entered a 10% stats/90% data grunt job. When I took the job, they told me that it was a 50+ hour per week job. It turned out to be 60 at least. However, it was obvious that they NEVER had anyone with an shred of programming skills in the job before. Within 6 months I had the workload down to below 30 hours and within a year had it down to about 15 hours per week.

Did I get promoted? Did I get an increase in salary?

Well…they loved me to death. I even got ‘promoted’ twice. New titles and everything :slight_smile: Extra money? hell no. Change in duties? Hell no.

After a couple years I did get a real promotion to my bosses job…with a whopping 5% increase in salary. :rolleyes: I was so fed up I left. After 2 months they called me and asked me back but I had to fight like hell to get remotely near a reasonable salary. I took it because my other job was showing warning signs/not what I signed up for…but then I didn’t get any increases for the next 2 years because I had ‘already gotten mine’ and so my salary fell below what the market considered reasonable again. New rule - never take a counter offer…it is not worth it.

How does this apply to the OP?

ALWAYS do extra if it has prestige to it. Designing macros that save the company money? SURE. Staying after to run 2000 copies on a printer…well…Joe is really good at that.

The reason being is that there is a chance, though unlikely, that your company will recognise you and try to make it a win-win for you and them instead of just a win for them…but the main reason is that you take what you can get and then go out and get a real job doing that at real pay. However, you need the experience to do this…so take it.

As another poster said…they did leave the door open, though IMO not intentionally, by saying if you get too busy they will move you to the new stuff. (In reality, this is most likely a blowoff tactic of saying no to you while looking like they are saying yes and so can continue to get benefit out of you).

However, take them up on it. Embrace it with gusto. Don’t be surprised if they don’t really move you when you get too busy…but do both jobs if you can. My experience may not be typical…but I have NEVER been ‘truely’ promoted ever. I have basically done the ‘promoted’ job for many months at the same old salary and then went on to get a true job at a new company.

I have seen other truely get promoted…but it is rare…and these types were the complete workaholics that live at work/whole life is work…and they never seem to command the salary they should. There is a woman at my current work that started out as an assistant. She had no advanced degree…but she was so good and full of energy that they promoted her to what she was the assistant of…then a senior of that…that a project leader…and is now a project director! PD in this company make well north of $100K, closer to $200K. She makes…$90K…which is the starting salary of a somewhat experience ‘what she was the assistant of’. She is now looking for a new company and said she just rejected an offer for $190K thinking she can do better…

Companies never seem to pay right for internal promotions. Grab what experience you can and move on :slight_smile:

At the extreme risk of being long winded :slight_smile:

I have given the above advice to many people in my RL. The question that comes up is how do you get this additional work.

An example (mine) is that I was hired for something. the company was growing and my boss was extremely busy. Sales people start calling you out of desperation. I, unlike my 2 coworkers, try to help them. REALLY try to help them with gusto. Sales people get used to you…saying to each other “Can’t get in touch with head stats guru…go to DUCK! He helped me.” Soon you are being asked to help with sales presentations. A few months after that you are requested to FLY to sales presentations. Your boss is happy because HE doesn’t have to do it…and he didn’t assign some lackey…that lackey was requested so no risk to him. You do well and it keeps spiraling up.

Soon you are essentially doing the same work as your boss (though still having to do your original stuff). No promotion…no extra pay. You demand it and are grudgingly given 10%.

So, after some time doing your bosses job…you go out and get a similar job…at market rate of pay.

The above could easily be changed to match your OP… :slight_smile:

Document what you’ve done and how it has benefitted your company. When it comes time for your review show them your documentation and how much you have saved them and ask for a promotion because of it. If they say no ask for a larger than average raise instead. If they say no say, “Okay, thanks!” and get out your resume and in every interview with every company refer back to those accomplishments and tell them that you saved your company $X last year. Then leave behind the company you are at for the new one that pays you properly. Rinse and repeat.

The problem is once you do something the company can’t justify you doing it and being paid for it. So if you have extra skills either use them or just forget it. You can try, but even in good economic times it’s unlikely to get you anywhere.

I found it very amusing I was the system admin for a large downtown Chicago hotel. After I left, and large part of that was they wouldn’t pay me for all the extra I did, I ran into the GM who said, “I don’t understand why we had to hire, two and a half people to do the job you used to do, and they don’t do it as well.”

The bottom line is companies will expect you to peform and do what you can regardless of the job. I worked in H/R prior to being the system admin and when they found that out, suddenly I had to give all the sexual harassment training for the hotel.

I was like, “How did that get dumped into my lap for no extra money” :slight_smile:

It’s hard to find another job, so you can always ask. All they can do is say no. Just document all your work and make your case. What will determain whether or not you get the extra money is whether your boss is going to go to bat for you.

I’ll give you another funny example. In 1999 I had a job which originally was communications manager of a hotel. I handled all the PBX and phone systems for the hotel (a different one from above). When the reservations manager quit, I took on her job. When the revenue manager quit, I took on his job. I now was doing THREE jobs. I wanted to do this, just so I could put it on my resume. Eventually I was working 70 hours a week.

So I went to my boss and laid out all the jobs, all the time, all the improvements I made, my boss said, “OK Mark, I understand you’re worth more, but I need solid evidence. Why don’t you go out on some interviews, get some firm offers then come back and I’ll take that to the GM and try to get you more money.”

I did that, well almost. I got a firm offer (in two days, after all this was the 90s) and I said, "I’m quitting this job to take one of those “firm offers.” :slight_smile: