Ask the expert: Older workers should be paid for experience

Q: I am employed as an office manager. Among my many diversified tasks are export/import shipping, foreign currency payments, PA to managing director, acting manager while the managing director is overseas, product development, looking after one receptionist and two warehouse personnel plus 23 reps and marketing.

This is over and above the financial accounts for two companies, one in New Zealand and one in Australia to trial balance, wages, GST/BAS etc. I work a 9 1/2-hour day to fit everything in.

While I enjoy my job and I know I take too much on board, I feel at 63 years of age I am lucky to have a job but I feel my wages are very much lacking for the position I fill.

In January I was given a small salary increase to $50,000 a year. This does not include any privileges of mobile phone, company vehicle, medical, superannuation etc, of which I receive none.

While the managing director is very approachable and is always telling me to keep up the good work, I feel I am grossly underpaid.

I have been with the company for 9 1/2 years and at my age it would not be beneficial to change positions. This, I feel, is to the director's advantage.

My question is: Is there a body or company that can assess my job as to what is a fair market wage? Is there was a website on which I can look up a similar position? I would not be able to compare my job with a standard office manager's job as it is too diversified.

What would be a fair wage for a fair day's pay such as mine?

I also have 59 days' leave owing because of being unable to get away from the office.

A: The problem with executive assistant/office manager's jobs such as yours is that they are all different and hard to "price".

My colleague, David Shannon of Watson Wyatt NZ, calls this the "star effect" - there is usually only one or, at most, a few people like yourself in any organisation.

Their jobs are highly skilled and distinctive, and they are always hard to replace.

Looking at the websites for comparable salaries (use "Auckland" and "salary survey" as search terms) you will find that "office managers" earn - on average - between $48,000 and $60,000 a year, with the top of the range closer to $80,000.

This suggests that your salary is definitely at the low end of average, particularly if we factor in how long you have held the post.

As you have pointed out, it is difficult to compare jobs by title, which is why many companies use experts such as Watson Wyatt or Hay, which use a system of job evaluation to compare jobs and pay.

In an effective job evaluation system, the complexity in your job would probably push the salary closer to - or over - the $60,000 mark.

You should also check salaries for jobs that are equivalent to yours in responsibility instead of just relying on the title.

For example, there are aspects of your job that have more in common with financial management, sales management or general management.

If you gather together several different comparison points you will be able to see more easily what your job is "worth" in the marketplace.

That is not the end of salary setting, of course. Market value is usually combined with internal comparisons (whether it is fair compared with other staff and compared with the boss) and the company's ability to pay (smaller companies, or those with financial problems, usually pay less).

Because you are doing payroll and the accounts, you should also be able to resolve this issue for yourself.

In approaching your boss about a raise, pull all the facts together. You may feel at a disadvantage because of your age but your employer should feel a bit anxious as you will be hard to replace.

Being able to manage so many aspects of the business is rare, particularly if you are able to fill in as interim manager while he is gone.

Just think what would happen if you left the company. He would probably have to hire two staff to replace you, and still wait years before he has the same degree of knowledge about the business in place again. That makes a pay rise for you look cheap by comparison.

Regarding your built-up holiday time, really, if the boss can be away and you handle things, you should be able to do the same when he is there.

If not, you both need to start developing some capability among other people in the business who can handle key things for two weeks at a time so you can use up your leave.

You may enjoy being indispensable - particularly if you feel at a disadvantage because of your age - but not being able to delegate tasks, even for a short time, traps you into working all the time.

You may not want to use all of your time now, if your contract allows you to accumulate it, as you may want to take time off for other reasons in the future, but you will still face the same issues with coverage, so you had better get started on that now.