My annual performance review is coming up. Since I basically do the same job year after year, how do I impress upon my boss to pay me more. How do I subtlety tell my boss that he needs me more than I need him. I can quit and find a new job that afternoon while my boss may take months (if ever) to find my replacement.
You tips and suggestions welcome.
You might show him the responses from the threads for salary of in-house spec writers versus net/gross for independents…
You might show him the kind of study that sets a percentage value of the specs in total project delivery…
You might show him those new letters after your name from CSI or LEED acreditations…
It can be very hard, because frankly in my firm of several hundreds, the managing principals never stick their heads in a spec for years at a time. When they do come to me with a question, it can be very basic. I do think about the shock for some of them if they had to out-source and fit it into their project budgets.
I certainly wouldn’t threaten to leave. That almost always backfires because it shows disloyalty, and you will be forever tainted. Plus, he may call your bluff, so you must be really ready to walk out the door if you use that tactic. However, if your salary is not in line with others in the profession, you could certainly bring that to his attention in a careful way. In addition, if you are not bringing “added value” to the firm besides just writing specs, you may have a harder time. Consider roles many specifiers play in staff training, materials selection, technical consultation, drawing coordination, schedules and various other ways. If you’re not doing those things too, you are in a weaker position to argue for an increase.
Some other possibilities . . . .
If you are viewed by the architectural staff as a valuable technical resource, sort of “the go-to guy,” you may want to reiterate the value of that. And that value carries into the CA phase (Are you sought after to help with RFI responses and review of substitution requests? Are you available for Pre-Installation Conferences?)
Another thing to look at would be how your specifications perform during bidding and construction: What is the rate of specification-related Addenda and RFIs versus those seeking clarification of the Drawings? How about E & O type Change Orders? - How many of those are specifications-related? Remember, no news is good news; if things are rather quiet in that regard, I would take that as a sign that there are very few. The case can certainly be made that if they have a history of having been kept to a minimum, you have, in essence, been safeguarding the firm’s interests and liability exposure. Is there no value in that?
Do you help the design team with material research and product selection? If so, there is another added value to the team and project. (And possibly to ALL teams and ALL projects)
Figure out how many project manuals you generate in any given year, then try to figure out the cost if the firm had out-sourced the same number to an outside specifications consultant (sorry SCIP members). How much money are you saving them?
The salary survey could also be valuable in showing the boss what it would cost the firm to find a replacement if - God forbid - you should be enticed to leave and go to work for your firm’s competitor.
Rewarding you for past performance is one thing, but there is also the “take care of him/her well so he/she doesn’t leave” factor.
Good luck!
I agree with John’s advice about not threatening to leave. However, if you’ve received legitimate offers of higher salaries from other firms, I’d point out that others have sought your expertise and are willing to pay for it; but emphasize that you’ve turned them down because you like where you are now.
And, as both Dave and John mentioned, get involved in other firm functions to fill the gaps between spec writing, such as the in-house QA/QC coordinator, firm technical education, or building code expert. I’ve developed an expertise in building codes, achieved certification, and now almost half my work is doing plan reviews.
And, speaking of certification, get it if you don’t have it.
…but you DON’T really “do the same job year after year.” Sure, you may feel all you do is produce project manuals year after year, but you are alot smarter every year. You keep up on new products, standards and technologies. You’re probably involved with CSI, you are probably the driving force in your firm in introducing MF04 and you are certified, so that means you are staying current with industry standards for specifications.
We’ve all seen a/e’s who do specs on this job by copying the last job and changing the header; that is “doing the same job year after year.” The reality is you are doing a better job every time because you are doing specs the right way.
BTW, I think I concur with every word posted by everyone else - it’s great advice
Excellent point, George!
Demonstrate your 'added value" to the firm beyond just your primary duties as a spec writer.
Keep track of the added time you donate above your regular 8 hours. If you regularly work a 9-12 hour day but do not show the additional hours on your time sheet? Express it in terms of a %. If you work 5 hours over 40 hours you have contributed 12% additional time. Working 45-50 hours each week is easy. Start early, take a 1/2 hour lunch, and work late one or two days per week.
Do you provide QC without being assigned this task?
Calculate the cost of living increase since your last salary increase.
Are you a team player?
Are you a mentor to interns?
Do you present inhouse education seminars on specs versus drawings, and the purpose of each?
Do you present inhouse education seminars on terminology?
I think a lot of what we do (hence our added value) as specifiers is under the radar to most in our offices. We go about our daily business picking up after others and covering their collective asses. As a result, if the project manual and drawings are well coordinated and there is little fanfare during construction, no one seems to notice and ask why? Perhaps it was because the documents were complete (not perfect), clear, concise, correct. and you had a big but quiet hand in that success.
We care.
I read a book about this in the early 90’s that paid huge dividends in the form of a $10K raise.
I would think carefully about the statement you made: “Since I basically do the same job year after year, how do I impress upon my boss to pay me more.”
I think George made a good point above. If you are “really” just doing the same job each year, I would suggest something is wrong - you have lost intereest in your position, the firm has changed, the projects aren’t interesting anymore, or something is going on - something needs to change.
Your firm cannot be any different from others - it has to adjust and change with the changing conditions around it - it has to be facing new challenges. My experience says that what you need to do is participate in any cooperative way you can as the firm faces and evaluates those challenges - what are the problems the firm is facing and what are the problems that you can help the firm overcome - in what areas is the firm weak - where can you improve the services provided by the firm - where can you improve the quality and knowledge of the rest of the staff. Some good typical potential areas for specifier types are listed in several of the postings above.
I believe many specifiers are in a position in today’s firms to be a major influence within those firms - they are usually the technical experts - the secret is to bust out of the constraints of just preparing contract document specifications and get more involved in the rest of the process and activities of the firm - use your strengths for the benefit of the firm. This must be done within a team atmosphere - having empathy for the strengths of others and building on your own for the overall good of the firm. It may also mean learning some new skills - teaching skills, leadership skills, etc. It may mean taking on some new and different roles in the firm - it may not happen overnight - it may take some time for people to realize what you can do for the firm.
If you are bringing an ever increasing value to the firm and the rest of the staff you will be rewarded by the firm. If you do that over a period of time for your firm, and you are not rewarded; then it is time to be looking for other opportunities.
I would like to impress upon my employer that if I leave he will have a VERY hard time (if not impossible) hiring my replacement. There is a serious shortage of specifiers in this town already. I can probably quit first thing in the morning and start working at a new job before lunch. No joke!
If my boss does find a replacement he will certainly pay more money for that person since he will have to entice another specifier away from another firm. Musical Chairs! Plus it may take him 6 months to a year to get a replacement all the while the jobs need specs are stacking up.
After I leave my boss could hire a consultant which would cost him big bucks. Either way it is much cheaper to give me a healthy raise and keep me at the firm.
How do I subtlety tell him this fact and ask for a big raise? I figure I might as well “git while the gitt’ns good!”
A wise ole Architect once told me many years ago…Stick your hand in a bucket of water. Now pull your hand out. How big’s the hole? That’s how much you’ll be missed when you leave this firm!
That might have been true years ago, but times have changed. It’s am employee’s market.
When they built the Empire State building during The Great Depression, they had lines of guys waiting outside the fence waiting for someone to either die, get maimed or get fired. Today there is serious shortage of construction workers. Same with nurses, teachers, architects, specifiers, etc.
There are firms in town that are offering their employees significant finder’s fees for bringing in new employees. Other firms are offering signing bonuses. I know that my firm hired a few interns right out of school and had to pay them more than some of the registered architects here at the office.
Years ago I worked for a firm in a similar boom economy. One of the designers asked for a raise every 6 months and got it. The boss could not afford to lose the guy because there was nobody to replace him. Plus the firm was making money hand over fist so his raise was a minor expense.
A wood flooring rep saw me the other day and told me about an engineering firm that just installed a basketball court for their employees. That firm is bending over backwards to attract and keep talented people.
I figure that years from now when we are in a recession and the building boom is done, there will be a lot of people out on the streets looking for work. I might be one of them. But for now I need to take advantage of the situation…or I will regret it later on.
Your main issue is that most firms do not look at employees as resources. Employees get paid to do a job and should be grateful for that… or so I’ve mostly run into over the years.
The advice by others above is great… especially growing yourself into the ‘renaissance man’ or woman a complete specifier really is.
You will find that it is a rare office where people are treated as a valuable resource and not a commodity. Don’t hold your breath… get active.
If you want to get their attention use your reputation as a good specifier to bring in new work and new clients to the firm… and use your CSI network to do so.
Perhaps you will eventually discover the joys of being a full SCIP member with many of your own repeat clients too.
Good luck!
or… you may find that your employer wishes he got rid of you years ago. I was hired to replace a disgruntled employee and at my first review, the first thing out of my employer’s mouth was “after working with you, I can’t believe we ever thought that guy was a spec writer”.
in today’s market, people seldom leave firms simply because the money isn’t good enough – because that is the easiest thing to fix. if you’re not getting the money you want, there may be some other issues that no one is talking to you about.
If my employer is foolish enough to lose me by quibbling over a few dollars, then he does not deserve me anyway.
The thing is, employers do quibble about dollars. Everywhere I’ve worked–even in places where my contributions were highly valued, I fit in with the corporate cultural well, and was respected by the partners–dollars were always a big deal. Managers of businesses watch the bottom line, worry about your salary relative to others in the firm, are concerned about topping out salaries (can’t give more raises), and other issues. Plus, no one likes having a gun to their head in a salary negotiation. Facing a position such as “pay me or else” they are more likely to dig in their heels. So, even when it may seem that it is not in their interest to quibble about salary, you can be sure that they will. However, I have had occassional success with getting budgets for conventions, training and other non-salary items that were more palatable than salary increases. From what anonymous says (assuming they are all one person), it seems that the bloom is off the rose, and they should be leaving the firm regardless of how the salary negotiation goes.
My personal experience has been that the only way I have received a substantial raise is by leaving the firm and going to another. That’s why my resume has a lot of short time jobs on it.
I had one instance where my employer said that he just could not afford to pay me any more money than he was paying me. He made a big stink about it and even told me that he was currently paying me too much money already. I saw the writing on the wall that I was not going to get anywhere and may never get a good raise. After giving him my letter of resignation, he somehow “found” the money to give me that raise if I would stay. That was insulting. Where was this money a few months ago when I was asking for it? How come it only showed up when I had my foot out the door. Did my boss not think that I was serious when I asked the first time? I might have stayed but was too insulted by his actions that I left.
I also worked at a firm where the boss again could not afford to give the workers a raise. There again a big sob story. I found out a few weeks later that he had given himself a big raise along with the secretary. I soon walked.
While the boss is quibbling over dollars he should also take into account that good employees do not come cheap. He should also take into account about how much it money it cost to find a new employee. There is advertising costs, time spent interviewing candidates, possible travel, lodging and meal expenses. Then there is the time devoted to interviewing that could have been spent on billable hours to a project. Some firms are even offering signing bonuses and finder’s fees. That should also be taken into account. The boss should also take into account about the learning curve of productivity and that fact that it takes about a year, or longer, for an employee to become fully productive.
The bottom line is that a good fiscally shrewd boss should realize that it is cheaper to keep an employee than hire a new one. They should not be pennywise and dollar foolish.
If you dont believe me, then just search the net. The following article talks about how it costs companies 150% of the employees salary to replace an employee. http://management.about.com/cs/people/a/WhatPeopleCost.htm
All well said, and absolutely true. My experience, as well, is that the best (or only) way to get a meaningful salary increase is to change jobs. The high costs of hiring and training a new employee are real, but it doesn’t show up as a line item on the monthly finacial statements, so it’s usually ignored by managers.
If your salary is more than 10% below average for your position, you need to get out fast and start making up lost ground. You will never catch up staying where you are. Your employer is obviously trying to get by on the cheap, and that character flaw probably affects more than just compensation; cutting corners is a habit.
David, are you interested in relocating to Minnesota?