What am I really worth?

August 13, 2009 9:40 AM

How can I quantify (in dollars) my worth to my company so that I can get raises and perks?

I was reading this fascinating post on jezebel about the "wage gap" (the comments are especially interesting) and I started feeling like I was not certain how to quantify my own worth to the company. I'm in creative services (architecture) and due to where I'm at in my career, I'm not sitting at the big kids' table for contract negotiations, etc. Also, I see what seems to be a staggering waste of time and energy (low ROI) on projects due to our process. It's sort of part and parcel of this industry but it makes it difficult to see where I'm having successes that are good for the bottom line.

In a general way, what's the method for starting to track how much you are "worth" so that you have leverage in wage negotiations? I'm especially looking for advice for the creative sector -- I'm not in sales so I can't say, "I brought XX dollars to the company last quarter." The last firm I was at was very large so they could seemingly afford to have some redundancies and still make money on projects. Perhaps at a smaller firm things would be more easily quantified.

Also, how to you track your own job progress? Do you have a journal or a spreadsheet or a word doc where you keep track of what you're doing? How do you turn that information into a number?

posted by amanda to Work & Money (5 answers total)

Many companies set objectives with measureable goals, either by setting a date to them, or measureable in other ways. Then if you make the objectives, you are "fully performing", if you exceed them, you are "exceeding". I don't think it's necessary for you to measure your "worth", you just need to show somehow that you have produced something that is worth promoting. My company uses the above system and then my boss's boss holds a calibration meeting to compare employees throughout the dept. FYI I am also not in sales.
posted by cahlers at 9:53 AM on August 13, 2009

It's not enough to show how much you're "worth"; you also need to be willing to leave if they don't pay you that much. Otherwise, why should they give you more money?
posted by mpls2 at 10:48 AM on August 13, 2009

You do this exactly the way you do it on your resume. For example: "Re-designed Widget A, replacing a $1200 assembly with a $40 casting. Contribution to profit: $750,000." The bolded part is the hammer that you need. Make sure you write that down; people who see $1200-$40 might not be impressed but $750,000 (not $750k, write all the zeros) is usually a few times your burdened salary and it makes the point much better.

Stand ready to prove the number you claim. In your industry, it's more difficult to do this than in mine, but take a key point: "re-organized steel delivery to accomplish the job with 10% fewer loads. Contribution to profit: $383,200." Find the value of the loads saved and the value of the time saved. If you have trouble with this the trucking contractor will probably help you, especially if you get along well with them.
posted by jet_silver at 12:57 PM on August 13, 2009

the easiest way to quantify your worth is to have an offer from another firm :)
posted by caelumluna at 1:38 PM on August 13, 2009

I'm not sure I really got answers here that help me specificially but I just came across this little article from Wise Bread that I thought might be helpful for someone coming across this thread later: 50+ Questions to Ask Yourself and Figure Out What You've Done.
posted by amanda at 10:27 AM on September 25, 2009