I'm at a loss so here I am.
I am a department administrator at a small company that employs between 50 and 100 people. Not sure of the exact number. I live in a major city in the Portland metro area.
It is my job to manage the scheduling of residential jobs that net around $2000-$3000 of revenue a pop, sometimes more, usually not less, jobs take one day. Since it is a niche service, I also often explain what it is that is actually happening to the sometimes ignorant client. In order to do this, I learned a great deal over the past year I have been working, while coming in the door knowing nothing.
I also follow up on and track the bids for those jobs, and reports that are sent for appointments that do not lead to jobs, and ensure that everything is being stored and documented properly. When they are not, I either address it personally or reach out to the project managers that are ultimately responsible for these steps to be performed. They are overworked, and often do not do these things in a timely enough manner for the clients that I talk to.
If a contract is not perfect, or a small detail is missed, it is on me to fix it. Ultimately, there is a zero tolerance for error.
Originally I was a dedicated customer service representative, and only took up this position when it was left by someone who asked for a wage increase, and got lowballed.
As a front desk person, I was hired at $18 one year ago. I received a pay bump to $20 quickly after the only other desk person was fired for incompetence.
Prior to taking on the position, I expressed concern to the CEO about having to serve too many masters to make everyone happy, and he seemed to take it to heart, and even gave me a ride partway home (I commute 80-90 minutes each way every day).
When I took on the admin job, I received no pay bump, and was still expected to do a great deal of front line customer service. The workload doubled, at least.
I emailed asking for a review, cc'ing the CEO, COO, department head, operations manager, and the office manage (the latter two are best friends), with a focus on the additional responsibilities I have taken on.
That was March 15th. Crickets, largely. CEO and COO are not super involved, and department head is too overworked to be involved. I followed up on April 14th, same recipients. Acknowledgement, but no firm date.
“Don't worry, we haven't forgotten!”
Almost makes it worse, I think.
Finally, after the review being rescheduled twice due to my having to cover for front desk people who were absent for a variety of reasons, reducing my ability to do my job well, we finally had the meeting.
They worried about my accuracy, and I countered that my attention is always divided, either by necessity, or the fact that the front desk people almost by design are not trained on the particulars of the business.
In so many words, it doesn't matter, push things back on the project managers who don't have time. Be forceful and alienate the people I talk to all day long who ultimately know what is going on, and capitulate to the willfully ignorant twosome who do not know as much as I do, despite having been there much longer. They choose not to, they say. I know more than they do, they say.
They say, this is a hybrid position that they once did many years ago when the company was much smaller. Since they did this, the company has at least doubled in size, if not more than that. Last year we made $10 million. It is still a hybrid position where I ultimately answer to the office manager, and the department manager has very little say over my fate or pay.
I asked at the end of my review for $26 an hour, expecting a counter offer. Instead I was met with incredulity, and a follow up meeting. They did not seem prepared to hear me ask for more money.
The follow up meeting was also rescheduled twice. Legitimate reasons, each time, sure. But still an unsettling pattern.
After a series of emails with “notes” on little things that fall squarely in the jurisdiction of the office, not the department where I generate revenue, we scheduled the meeting.
I am told again about their concerns about accuracy, that is an issue due to a number of external factors, not my ability or general work quality. They offered no raise at all, and instead to meet again in four weeks during which apparently I am to be perfect in a highly imperfect environment. The bosses I mentioned earlier are on a hunting trip in Alaska for the next week and a half and we're not involved directly in any of the conversations I had with the office manager and operations manager.
I'm kind of at a loss at this point. Direction of any stripe would be appreciated.