Looking for a little advice and guidance on how to handle a particular situation.
I am currently a piping designer for a small engineering firm that is looking to expand. About a year or so ago, the CEO approached me about trying to develop company quality standards for the piping and drafting/design departments. The company has always been more of a mom and pop organization and standards and procedures were never really developed along the way. But the boss is really interested in trying to expand the company and wants to try to become ISO 9001 certified. We have a lot of work to do before that can be a possibility.
So I agreed, and developed and implemented a few standards for our departments to follow. So far everyone seems to be very pleased with the standards, although we have a few that are a little more hesitant to adapt to them because they’ve been so used to doing it their own way for 10-20 years.
Now, I am being approached about doing more. The CEO believes our project management and coordination are still lacking, and our PMs are not doing their part for the success of our projects. His belief is that this is partly because they don’t have quality procedures/standards/templates to follow. He wants me to be in charge of developing these. Some of the items he has specifically mentioned include project execution plans, project schedules, cost estimating tools, scope of work templates, document control procedures, etc.. I am up for the challenge, but am concerned about a few things.
First, if I agree then I am essentially taking on part of the responsibilities of the PM, like scheduling, PEPs, etc.. I would also be responsible for managing the workload and project coordination for the drafting/design and piping teams.
Second, I am still expected to complete my role as a piping designer, although my production levels would probably be greatly reduced and a lot of that workload would fall on my colleagues.
Third, I’m being asked to develop, implement, and monitor all the company quality standards/procedures.
Now, all of this is a lot of responsibility and with it, a lot of added stress. Obviously, I want our company to grow and be successful, and I do agree that all of these things are needed in order to ensure that that happens, but not without being fairly compensated for it. So far, I have not had any discussions regarding compensation for this amount of workload and responsibility. My goals have always been to end up in a managerial role, such as that of a quality manager or operations manager, but I would expect to be compensated fairly for it. This is where my issue lies.
I am looking for some thoughts and opinions on how to handle the situation. I have an idea myself of what to do, but I’m always up for second opinions. This is still pretty new territory for me. Ideally, if I agree to take on the role, I would like to be given the added title of Quality Manager and a 20% rate increase. My basis behind the rate increase is that it puts me at a fair and comparable level to others in the company who have more levels of responsibility and who take on dual roles. I’m also aware of some base level guys with far less responsibility than myself, who are at about a 10% higher rate than I am currently.
In your opinion, what is the best way to handle this situation in a professional sense, and negotiate the terms I would like met for the added level of responsibility?
Thanks to all who took the time to make it through that long of a post and respond.
"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it."
-Henry Ford
I am currently a piping designer for a small engineering firm that is looking to expand. About a year or so ago, the CEO approached me about trying to develop company quality standards for the piping and drafting/design departments. The company has always been more of a mom and pop organization and standards and procedures were never really developed along the way. But the boss is really interested in trying to expand the company and wants to try to become ISO 9001 certified. We have a lot of work to do before that can be a possibility.
So I agreed, and developed and implemented a few standards for our departments to follow. So far everyone seems to be very pleased with the standards, although we have a few that are a little more hesitant to adapt to them because they’ve been so used to doing it their own way for 10-20 years.
Now, I am being approached about doing more. The CEO believes our project management and coordination are still lacking, and our PMs are not doing their part for the success of our projects. His belief is that this is partly because they don’t have quality procedures/standards/templates to follow. He wants me to be in charge of developing these. Some of the items he has specifically mentioned include project execution plans, project schedules, cost estimating tools, scope of work templates, document control procedures, etc.. I am up for the challenge, but am concerned about a few things.
First, if I agree then I am essentially taking on part of the responsibilities of the PM, like scheduling, PEPs, etc.. I would also be responsible for managing the workload and project coordination for the drafting/design and piping teams.
Second, I am still expected to complete my role as a piping designer, although my production levels would probably be greatly reduced and a lot of that workload would fall on my colleagues.
Third, I’m being asked to develop, implement, and monitor all the company quality standards/procedures.
Now, all of this is a lot of responsibility and with it, a lot of added stress. Obviously, I want our company to grow and be successful, and I do agree that all of these things are needed in order to ensure that that happens, but not without being fairly compensated for it. So far, I have not had any discussions regarding compensation for this amount of workload and responsibility. My goals have always been to end up in a managerial role, such as that of a quality manager or operations manager, but I would expect to be compensated fairly for it. This is where my issue lies.
I am looking for some thoughts and opinions on how to handle the situation. I have an idea myself of what to do, but I’m always up for second opinions. This is still pretty new territory for me. Ideally, if I agree to take on the role, I would like to be given the added title of Quality Manager and a 20% rate increase. My basis behind the rate increase is that it puts me at a fair and comparable level to others in the company who have more levels of responsibility and who take on dual roles. I’m also aware of some base level guys with far less responsibility than myself, who are at about a 10% higher rate than I am currently.
In your opinion, what is the best way to handle this situation in a professional sense, and negotiate the terms I would like met for the added level of responsibility?
Thanks to all who took the time to make it through that long of a post and respond.
"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it."
-Henry Ford