Playing Extra Roles at Work

I'm working multiple roles, all while making a transition into a more active applications/controls position... I'm currently doing Design/Engineering/Drafting/Solid Modeling/IT/Documentation (product manuals), Electronic Controls, among others... it can be overwhelming at times... but I simply keep a log of work to do, and just do things one at a time... It gets done when it gets done... and that's that.

If the boss wants more stuff done in a shorter period of time, we have come to the mutual understanding that it will require more manpower...

I was once a intern for a small custom manufacturing/fabrication facility. When It started at the beginning of the summer there were 12 employees working together (mostly) to get the product out the door. Midway through the summer, 9 of the shop guys had been let go in a massive layoff. All that remained was myself, the welder, and the electrical/refrigeration specialist. I worked many long days/nights... and we were able to keep production on par (and in some cases ahead of) to what we were doing with the full team of 12. It turned out that a bunch of the guys goofed off all day, and weren't needed in the first place. It resulted in full time employment for me (for about a year), until an offer was made by a very large company to buy the business... which was accepted, and we were all out of work.

Good for you to have a boss that understands that things get done when they get done, and that if he needs them quicker he needs to hire more staff.

I also work multiple roles/tasks, but my boss is not so understanding and the reward system he uses is "if you can't do it, there are others willing to do it for half the money I pay you" . The ironic thing is I am the only one in my organization that knows how to do my core work in R&D, so even if they fire me and hire some one else, he/she would not know how to do my job.

Unfortunately It's hard to find another job so I breath deep and try to stay calm.

I have a similar situation here... I'm the only one who does what I do, and there isn't anyone else I know that could just jump in and pick it all up. I really enjoy working for my company, and most of the time my boss is great to work for... I've been blessed this time. Many times in the past I was not so lucky.

Managing workflow can be difficult, but all it really takes is setting priorities (realistic ones). Seems that every time I get some job to help a salesperson with, it's always their project which is the most important... Multiply that by 10 or 15 salespeople all with different jobs, that all think their project is THE most important one in the business, and without setting priorities, you can become totally overwhelmed in a very short period of time. I have found that the key is to simply not let it get to me, and keep working on my list (which will never end I'm sure) one job at a time.

Slow and steady wins the race... don't get too rushed, or you may wind up off track in the dirt with egg on face.

RV, thank you for your comments, I will set priorities on my working list, and do one job at a time so I do not become overwhelmed.

firstly my friend there are many people in this world that can do what you do nobody is irreplacable and companies do not look on situations like this if they can save a cent they will do even if it means loosing someone like you with the experiance you have built up over your years. Working for 20K seems a pittance but even with your 5$ hr rise you are still way below market value seek a new venture there is a case of being loyal but it dont pay the bills good luck

Who said I would work for 20K? I surely didn't. I said I was offered approx 20k MORE than I was currently making by my companies direct competitor. I would never divulge to anyone what my salary is. The 20K difference in pay was somewhat buffered by my current employer's offer to keep me, I was given a $5/hr raise as a counter offer.

I agree that Nobody is Irreplaceable, but all a company really has are it's Employees, it's the largest investment and capital in any organization. I have a nice niche worked out for myself in this Industry, and thoroughly enjoy what I do. I can be replaced, obviously, but the chance that my company could could save a cent by attempting to do so is nearly ridiculous. At least in the short run, they would be paying much more in cost to train a new person/s, while productivity would drop until such training was complete.

High Turnover = Lousy workforce.

My main point was that if you really enjoy what you do, that is the #1 Priority, the Compensation for what you do should be #2. I don't chase the money, I seek personal reward from my work, and the money will follow.

In addition, My company has recently been bought out. The new owners came in and trimmed the fat so to speak. Now were down 8 people from the bare bones crew we already had. I'm safe. I actually might enjoy this, as now I'll have more chances to get out to the shop, and into the field to cover the slack left behind.

sorry mate i misconceived your post 20k hope your job is as safe as you say. Yes job satisfaction is important but paying the bills is equally important if you are happy what you are doing good luck but why are you quoting you now have to multi task surely this is what engineers do. I have done it from Electrical,Mechanical, Health and Safety, Security and Civil Engineering its all part of the challenge. Good Luck hope you get back onto the shop floor soon this is where the nitty gritty work is done and not behind a computor or office desk.

Experience is a life time acheivement something a University Degree cannot teach

Agreed on all accounts.

Multitasking is an essential skill that any Engineer must hone to a fine point.

The Shop/Field is the place where the real work gets done. I like a nice balance between shop/field/desk. (There are some rainy muddy cold days that the desk is much nicer than the field.)

I have learned 10 fold working, what I did with either of my university degrees.

Heiser, Sorry to hear that. Sounds like your boss is controlling you with fear of the unknown. Well then find out.

The job market is tight, but that does not stop you from looking.

I can only say is, Don't show your hand and after a search you know what your value is.

That's how I got my last raise (which was quite large, and terribly overdue... I was making chicken scratch... well... I still am in the grand scheme.. but...). I was not actively looking, but was contacted by a headhunter from one of our competitors. They gave me an offer that was considerably more (about 20k/year more) than I was making. I took their offer straight to my boss and said:

"hey, I got this offer, and it's for quite a bit more than I'm currently making. I really enjoy working here, the people are great, and I like the business as a whole, but I need to look out for myself and my family, and this extra money can make a big difference in my quality of life."

His response:

"Thank you for coming directly to me and presenting this information. We really enjoy having you on board, and hope to keep you in the future. We're not sure if we are able to match what you were offered, but we can do this (gave me the new figures, which were still much less than the offer, but it worked out to nearly a $5.00/hr raise)."

Considering I actually enjoy coming to work (most of the time), and enjoy the diversity of my job functions, I gladly accepted the raise and turned down the competitors offer. I feel it was a good move on my part... sure the extra $$$ would be nice, but at the risk of loosing a position i'm actually happy in, it was just not worth it. If you are happy at your job, it's worth more being happy than increased compensation doing something you dread on a daily basis.

The market isn't strong right now, but I know for a fact good companies are currently hiring (mine included). If your in a position you don't enjoy, you should get yourself on the market, find out exactly what you are worth on the marketplace, and get yourself into something else. All it takes is one offer from a competitor to turn things around.

good for you.

^{Frankly, when I am on salary, I find that it does not work out compared to when I'm on hourly.}

HAHAHAHA Isn't that the truth.

I'm actually somewhere in-between hourly and salary. I had to fight to not be full salary... I asked them to run the numbers both ways and put me on which ever made me the most money, which obviously turned out to be hourly... however, I'm still here til 5:30-6:00 many days, but still only get paid til 5:00 So it's actually the difference of a couple hours worth of wage per year simply due to the days in the month.

First time I was ever offered a choice weather to be hourly or salary...

Phoenix, thank you for your comments, I've been looking for other jobs, and they don't pay much because there is a lot of people willing to work for almost nothing. I am also looking at plans "B" and "C", but right now the economy is tough and I can't afford to loose a steady earning (and benefits).

I like my company, it's not a bad company to work for, my boss is a very bad boss, he messed a very good work team, and he also has problems with other parts of the company so we think there will be a change for good in the short term.

Interesting, it sounds like he's 2nd generation family of the owners of the company.

Hang in there.

He doesn't. He is not even friend of the family. He is a very insecure and immature person.

Actually the owners (2nd generation family) are very fine people; even the 3rd generation family is very fine people.

It's a family owned very big business that is sometimes run like a small family business. The owners are in the process of changing business strategy to act like a big global business and not like a small family business.

Sounds like opportunity, all the more, hang in there.

Um..............sending engineers out on sales calls is probably not a good idea. They tend to get snippy when trying to explain things to people that will never understand.

Sales calls are one of my favorite things... get to actually go out and see the equipment in operation... find areas of improvement, help the salesmen make the customer happy. Take measurements, interface directly with the customer. Heck yeah, I think us Engineers should climb out of our holes once in a while, and take in the sites/sounds. If I sit in an office all day staring at a screen, my ideas become stagnant. I enjoy the outside stimulation, problem solving, interfacing etc.

And every once in a while it's just nice to go somewhere.

That's good. I'm not sure if you're in the majority. Although having engineers go on sales calls would probably prevent sales people from making promises that the engineers can't deliver on...................another good thing.

Keep the engineers and let the sales people go.

Our engineering group engieers are required to assist and support sales. With a engineer in on the concepts, we can solve and actually determine the customers needs.

With out engineers my experiences is that the customers buys equipment that they really can't use or apply. and the company name goes down the tubes.

Yeah. Whether it's something engineered, or software, the people that actually make the stuff should be in the sales loop.

Exactly... I have caught many salesmen make promises, and attempt to sell/build things that would never work. It's kind of our job to watch over their shoulder to make sure what it is they are planning on will indeed work as planned... It's also our job to put on the brakes on a project if we spot a potential issue. In the end... It's the Engineers Role to ensure that what the company is selling/providing will work correctly, and not end up being a danger to anyone.

So, even if many engineers dislike people as a whole, (myself included most of the time) its up to us to make it work the first time, every time. If this means we need to be in the field, rubbing shoulders with salespeople, executives, floor sweepers, millwrights, equipment operators, and anyone else we might be able to get information out of, then that's what we should be doing.

All to often a project comes across my desk that was conceptualized and designed by either the customer or a salesperson that is a complete disaster... It would save everyone time and money if we get involved from the very beginning of the project, and often times that all starts with the sales call.

ones best experience is your worse, but it doen't seem that way at the time.

And one is, Never try to make an honest man out of a salesman.

Even worse, they have an unfortunate tendency to tell the truth.

I worked at a company that had a crafty MBA, that left people go so that the remainder would pick up the added workload. 60 plus hours/week on salary.

aw $#it..... I should have read the responses #1 st.

Ok, I'll add to that......

What supposable made this MBA so smart, he relabeled that and called his company LEAN.

I'll give a GA Del - Too true. Seen many (accountants usually) come in, fire half
the staff, get great rewards - and then move on to another firm; leaving the staff
to try and cope. In a couple of years the business goes down hill, understaffed.
Some times "consultants" - brought in by the management, also cause havoc.

I made up a job description for them, Piss'em off, rip'em off, and bugger off.

i.e. inform them how "badly" the workers are doing "it." Bill them; and then leave.

If I have a choice, when making a purchase, of talking to a sales person or
the maker of "it" (engineer) I chose the engineer every time. Usually they know
what they are talking about, can give you an honest answer, and not mislead
you for commissions, or monthly targets.

Some "smart" firms do create sales engineers, a "hybrid" if not a contradiction.
These engineer promotions, usually with age, are an excellent progression for a
while, and we can all go to work in a nice suit! (and maybe get a free car!)

jt.

What do you do when a sales person tells a cock and bull story, which is
transparently false to the accompanying engineer? Tick the correct box...