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Subject:Job Decriptions and Salary Justification From:Doug Ingram <dingram -at- USE -dot- USIT -dot- NET> Date:Fri, 1 Dec 1995 09:11:41 EST
I have been lurking on the list for several months courtesy of a friend who gets
the
digest for me daily (the same one that is posting this for me). I need help. I
am the
only tech writer for a manufacturing company that produces test equipment ($80 -
150K/instrument) for the textile industry. I write instruction, shortform, and
service manuals for our equipment, oversee spare parts manuals, write our
information bulletins, and have responsibility for uniform look and feel to
software
for our various product lines. I am fortunate to have great SMEs and other
co-workers that help a great deal.
Our company is instituting a new job classification and compensation program
that
"will be more equitable for the employees." They contracted an outside firm for
this
project. Last Feb. all employees (about 150) filled out lengthy (10 pages),
detailed
forms about our jobs and what we do. They have now given us our job
descriptions and assigned job classifications. Both areas are a problem for me.
We
can work with our boss to make changes to the job description if we think it is
necessary. That is problem 1. Mine says: "Writes and edits instruction and
service
manuals and assists with application and spare parts documents in order to
provide
customer oriented product documentation for company x." Help!
The major problem is that the classification for the tech writer puts me in the
upper
quartile of the salary matrix (at this company that means not eligible for a
raise,
only for a "bonus" that does not add to your base salary). My boss is being
very
open about this and is trying to get me reclassified. I provided the 1995 STC
salary survey to him along with articles from some of the STC journals. He was
delighted to have "evidence" that he could give to HR. They are to pass this
along
to the outside firm. He seems to think that they don't have a good handle on
what
tech writers do and asked for additional articles or documentation that he could
use. He said there was at least a $10K difference between the median salary for
the class they have me in and the median salary according to the STC survey.
Help!
