Tooting your own horn 8

[josephv]

As engineers we are constantly facing challenges in our work place. One of these challenges is receiving the proper recognition from our management.

Unfortunately, many times there are no simple tangible ways to measure our contribution to a company. Here are some examples to illustrate this problem:

1. The sales and marketing team at a software company create an excellent sales proposal. Thanks to this proposal, the company gets purchase order for over 1 million dollars. Management sees the large purchase order and everyone in the sales and marketing team receives a substantial bonus.

2. The accounting team at a manufacturing company realizes that they are spending too much in photocopies. They purchase a scanner and save the company thousands of dollars per month. Management notices the reduced costs in the financial monthly reports and award the accounting team with yet another bonus.

3. The mechanical engineering team at an electronics company run an FEA study on several of their products, and find that they can reduce costs greatly by changing the materials of a few key components. They make the changes and save the company several thousands of dollars in material costs, without compromising the quality of the products. Since this project was not widely known throughout the company (i.e. there are no reports or purchase orders), management does not take notice. And there is no bonus awarded to the engineering team.


Part of the problem is that, unlike a salesman or an accountant, frequently engineers do not have tangible ways of communicating their “triumphs”. For example, a good salesman can always say, “look at all the software I sold this month” and show the purchase orders that were received. What can a good engineer say? Certainly one can measure things like a reduction in product defects (indicating improved quality), but even this is not tangible, since what exactly reduced the defects? Was it the new design or was it the new training procedures created by the quality control department?

It would seem to me that we have our cards stacked against us, when it comes to receiving recognition. This is why it is important for us to “toot our own horn” and let management in our companies understand what exactly is it that we do, the value of our work and how it saves money and increases profit. Because if we do not broadcast our contributions, management will not value our work and we will run the risk of eventually losing our jobs. Personally, I believe that any engineer can greatly improve their career by simply sending out an email to their management every time he or she makes an important contribution to their company.

Finally, by tooting your own horn you are not only helping your career, but you are helping managers everywhere understand and value our profession. As always your thoughts on this are welcome.

 

[wes616]

I personally think that business focus goes through cycles. My example here will be that of Ford Motor Company. Originally a company rooted in Manufacturing through the 1940; and then in 1950's it was design (styling), and the 1960's sales took the lead as the company focus changed. Then in the 1970's the companies focus changed again - this time the company was run by the "bean-counters" - where finance and planning become the focus of the company. Well around the early 1990's, through another restructuring, Ford became more product (read engineering) centric and the planners were out.

I don't think it's a bad idea to toot yourself... but remember sometimes a toot smells pretty bad ! And I bet you'd find that your senior management is probablly more in tune with what is going on than they are (usually) given credit for.

Wes C.
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[electricpete]

When you can figure out how to toot your own horn without anyone knowing your are doing it, then you will be worthy of a brown-nosebelt in the art of self-promotion.

Even though I mock it, I believe it is an important political skill. After almost 20 years as an engineer and never promoted into management, I am coming to realize that political skills are worth cultivating no matter how distasteful thye may be.

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[GregLocock]

Um, do you /want/ to be 'promoted' into management?

Just asking...

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[epoisses]

josepv,
The bonus system you describe was a formalized system at my previous employer, anybody who had made achievements like the ones you described could fill out a form, be judged by a jury and win a bonus.
And yes the same discussion came up with the engineers because engineers save more money than anybody else. However management's point of view was simple: engineers are SUPPOSED to save money when selecting the most cost-effective design, it's part of their job. It's not part of an accountant's job to save money on the copying machine.
This was somewhat frustrating in the beginning, but as you think about it a little longer, the system puts engineers in a special category of employees (say between the management gods and the mere blue collar mortals) which was a very satisfying feeling. I don't even know if I'm being cynical or not... Anyway there's some sense in there but it means that, as you wrote, you have to subtly toot your own horn from time to time to be noticed in the positive sense of the word.

 

[moltenmetal]

It's incumbent upon every engineer to understand the value, in monetary terms, of what they do- and to demand their fair share of compensation in return.

Do yourself a favour: do the math, work out how much money you save, the problems you avert, the billings you generate etc. in the course of doing your job. Then put in a second line item for the value of the overtime you worked but were not paid for. And write these numbers down on your annual review. Perhaps then, management will sit up and notice rather than continuing to take you (us!) for granted!

 

[ajack1]

Is the pay structure not different in the USA for engineers and sales people?

In the UK many sales jobs pay a very little as a basic wage, commission is a major part of their earnings. Engineers tend to have a higher basic salary but limited chances to increase this. It is also not uncommon for a sales person who finishes bottom of the sales figures for two consecutive months to be shown the door; the same does not apply to engineers.

Why do we tip a waitress but not a person who collects the garbage, why do we tip a taxi driver but not a bus driver a train driver or an airline pilot?

I would certainly not view very highly someone who came up to me with a list of ways they had saved me money, that is what I pay them for.

 

[ivymike]

You don't tip your garbage man? Around here it's customary to give them money on christmas.

 

[graybeach]

Usually it is difficult to quantify the value of good engineering. In the construction world, a good design translates to expensive problems that don't happen. It takes many projects over a long period of time for management to finally notice that, "hey, so and so must be doing a job because my phone never rings about his or her projects." I always try to focus on the construction workers who build my designs. They really know the difference between a good design and a bad one. A compliment from them feels great even if it does not immediately translate into $$.

 

[pso311]

I'll tip the garbage man with a 30-pack of frosty deliciousness if I throw away something extra-ordinarily large or heavy. Only seems right.

 

[Beggar]

Geez, our unionized garbage men make more than I do (er, did, before I was laid off because I finished training the dude in China) and have a great pension.

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How much do YOU owe?

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

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[moltenmetal]

Admittedly it's easier to quantify these dollar values in some lines of business than in others. Problems averted are definitely harder to quantify than savings attained in capital expenditure. But it's important to try to put a monetary value to what you do, whatever you do, if you have a hope of knowing what you're actually "worth" to an organization. We engineers have been so poor at this that our compensation levels relative to those of many other professions in "business" has slid enormously over the past fifty years. Engineers aren't less valuable today than they were fifty years ago!

ajack1: if you take your employees' desire to save you money for granted, I guarantee that there are at least a few people in your organization that ACTUALLY value their own time and aggravation and stress level and risk to their meal ticket a lot more highly than they value "your" money! Make some of it "their" money- enough of it that it's way more than a laughing matter around the water cooler- and chances are, attitudes will change.

The Dilbert guy has it nailed: in many companies, there is no real incentive to innovate or to take technological risk. There is therefore little incentive to do much of what many of us consider "engineering"! If the spec calls for a $5,000 part, but a smart employee does the homework and determines that a $500 part will do the job- but MIGHT represent some risk- and there's a hundred of them- what makes you think they're going to be the first penguin off that particular ice floe merely to save you money? If they take the risk and it pans out, in many organizations, the Dilbert guy has assessed that their entire "up-side" is a certificate of appreciation in a handsome plastic frame! Their down-side might predictably be a pink slip and a boot to the @ss on the way out the door. What would you do?

 

[Comcokid]

"certificate of appreciation" ??? What company would do that?

In most organizations, the result is more like the relieving-your-full-bladder-in-dark-pants joke.

 

[moltenmetal]

How about one that I used to work for? That, and $300 for assigning my patent rights, is the sum total of what I got for inventing something that literally kept them out of bankruptcy. Well, the plaque was plated with brass, and some of the particle board it was mounted on was real sawdust rather than plastic, but you get the picture!

 

[KENAT]

I have a copy of a letter addressed to the 'team' from a General. A couple of plastic blocks inscribed with a picture and thanks to the team etc and a little model of an Enhanced Paveway. I also got several T shirts but these were more gizzits than actual rewards for contribution.

 

[ajack1]

Moltenmetal thank you for your advice on how to run my company, as you have absolutely no idea how much I pay anyone, what bonuses or perks I give that puts you in a perfect position to make that judgement.

The fact is at least in certain industries we now work in a very global market to suggest “Engineers aren't less valuable today than they were fifty years ago!” is simply not true.

Many very good engineers work for wages that we would not get out of bed for in certain countries, they are driving down the market price to pay the “high” wages that certain parts of Europe and the USA demand you need people who perform to earn the money they get.

Whilst one of your ideas (which I assume you were getting paid for) may have saved a company have you considered that your attitude may have been what put them in danger in the first place? Was your reward a small plaque or keeping a well-paid job?

 

[ScottyUK]

Certificate of appreciation: we have a 'STAR Award' with the hideously cheesy "You're a star" tagline. Gruesome isn't it? It was known as a "Personal Best" award in the Enron days. The wags in our building have mutated the STAR award into the RATS award with the predictable tagline "You're a rat". Both award schemes are supposed to recogise someone who has gone beyond what might be reasonably expected in order to achieve some goal. There is a financial incentive ranging from a couple of hundred pounds up to four-digit sums, although the higher ones are pretty rare. The awards aren't something you set out to get, but it is a nice surprise to get a reward you weren't expecting.

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Sometimes I only open my mouth to swap feet...

 

[HVACctrl]

Saving a company money by ingenious ideas and by going the extra mile is often not part of one's official job description.

If I were an owner, I would genuinely appreciate recognize and reward someone for going above and beyond the call of duty.

That is not necessarily what I pay them for, but would be appreciated.

Ed

http://www.engineerboards.com

 

[moltenmetal]

ajack1:

You are correct that I have no idea how you compensate your employees, what bonuses or "perks" you give them etc. All I have to do on is your own words:

"I would certainly not view very highly someone who came up to me with a list of ways they had saved me money, that is what I pay them for."

As to your statements about my previous job: you know as little about THAT situation as I do about how you compensate your employees. I had a good laugh about your reference to my "reward" being "keeping a high paying job"!

Fortunately, I learned my lesson, moved on and ultimately found a company which doesn't just talk about valuing the contributions of its employees. This company demonstrates its respect in real terms, especially to its engineers- but not just to them by any stretch. In my experience, that's a truly rare situation amongst engineering employers.

Tooting one's own horn here is totally unnecessary. But if someone here ever did feel that their contributions weren't being properly respected, I would GREATLY prefer that they provide me with a monetized list of any achievements I might have overlooked rather than simply taking a walk!

As to "market pressures" and globalization driving down the levels of engineering compensation: that's a truism. Engineering was once a profession but is now viewed as a commodity, but it's not India and China and eastern Europe that we have to blame for that! Is it engineering that has changed, or engineers?! In my view, commodification and the slide of engineering compensation relative to that of other professions is not the fault of "business", it's primarily the fault of engineers themselves for not properly valuing their own services and those of their peers.

 

[ajack1]

Moltenmetal you state “Tooting one's own horn here is totally unnecessary” That is exactly how I feel, the company I own is a very small company and I am fully aware of exactly what individuals are contributing to its well being. When people go beyond what I expect of them they are rewarded to the best of my capabilities. I do not need them to tell me about it, I am fully aware of it and it is what I pay them for.

However much you laugh in global terms we are in well-paid jobs and for whatever reasons that is the market place at least in the field I work in.

If people feel they are under valued I would say either that they are not and are actually getting a good deal or the market rate or they are and they should go out and find someone who is prepared to treat them in the way they deserve as you seem to have done.

I still fail to see how “tooting your own horn” helps.