What is the best way to ask for more responsibility at work?
Asked by
Haleth (
18947
)
November 10th, 2011
Right now I have a few, well-defined duties at work (wine shop/wine bar). I’ve recently taken on more responsibility when the last manager found a full-time teaching job, so now I’m handling marketing and setting up wine tastings. There are a lot of things that need to be done around the store which nobody has taken care of in ages (or ever?). And these are things I know how to because of my past management experience.
The only problem is that I’m still a part-time employee, so I barely have time to handle my own responsibilities, never mind taking on more jobs. If I take on more hours, I’d need to bump someone else off the schedule or persuade the owner to spend more on payroll so that I could work longer. He’s also very busy (he has a full-time job outside of running this business), so we barely work together and rarely have time to talk.
Maybe it seems like I’m chomping at the bit, but it seems like there’s a clear opportunity here. Nobody else wants to/ can/ will do any of these things, and it could be great experience and a resume builder for me. I could also build revenue for the business- it’s a win-win, right?
I think what I need to do is schedule a meeting with the owner and make a clear, logical argument. Am I getting ahead of myself here? What’s the best way to go about this?
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8 Answers
Well if you’re that in to it… being a part time employee offers you a more spirited level of energy to put in extra time off the clock… specifically for your “wine tastings”.
Make the existing ones perfect… and refine them even further. Take lots of photos of happy smiling people and keep excellent records that detail higher sales which result from that.
Then, with your photo album and sales records in hand… (and possibly a patron party shot web page – with coupons), present your package to the boss in a concise manner (rather than rushed discussions), and see if you can morph the existing platform into a bigger event, an annual event, a joint event with another company, an on location event… And don’t forget to contact the media with your new found PR package. Local media is always looking to promote small events… free publicity… And stop by the radio station and get the DJ’s drunk while they say great things about you and your company.
Make sure your name is attached to everything you do. Make the position that you want.
Since you don’t often see each other at work, it sounds like you will have to schedule a meeting. I’d go in with the “I have some ideas” approach, and list things you think the business could be doing (not should be doing, as that implies he’s ‘doing it wrong’) to increase revenue. Offer up the fact that you have experience in doing these things, and have seen first hand how effective they can be. Ask if he’s interested in pursuing them, and if so, how might the schedule be changed to accommodate the extra work.
Agree with @augustlan… But don’t forget that the “I have some ideas” approach works best if accompanied by a printed presentation. Just a couple of kinko pages with web photos showing happy successful people drinking wine and a few bullet points of what you’d like to experiment with… and what you expect to achieve for the company…
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You are right on target with how to proceed. Meet with the owner and without bringing up the idea of paying you more or bumping someone else’s hours (how he gets it done is his business), lay out for him some of the things you have been thinking and noticing and why you think they would improve business.
End with “If I had a few more hours, I would be glad to handle some of these things for you.”
You are the type of employee anyone would want! Good luck!
Do something special first without asking (for example by working late on top of your normal duties). Show it to your boss. If he or she is impressed ask for more responsibility.
Make sure you cover your core responsibilities first.
Showing initiative in willingly taking on more seems to already be there.
If you see areas for improvement, make sure it’s ok for you to review as you may not know if it is the highest priority they need to deal with. This is a short informal conversation.
If you get an ok to look into it, make sure you put a well thought out proposal. Focus on what’s going on now and propose long range solutions.
Go gettum will get ya where you and the company needs to go.
You’ve already over planned! Sounds perfect to me. Just do it.
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