Job tite?

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#1
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I want to promote one of my senior staff. She is not quite manager yet but with couple years of experience, she could get there. So what's a job title for someone that's between senior accoutant and manager? i can think of "Supervisor". Any other suggestions?
 

#2
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One of the firms I worked for had a "supervisor" title in-between senior associate and manager.

The other firm I worked for did not include that mezzanine step in role progression. And I feel like that is more traditional, jumping from senior associate to manager.

I personally didn't like adding the supervisor role into the standard role progression. I grew to perceive...at least at the firm that I encountered it... that it might have been implemented to retain talent who was slower to progress by making them feel like they're progressing, with the unintended consequence of unnecessarily delaying progression of top performers.

YMMV.

How long as she been a senior? My experience has been that while some individuals can jump from senior to manager in two years, three to four is needed for some individuals, and that's okay.
 

#3
ATSMAN  
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Looks like someone is paying too much importance to the job title. If that is the case then it must actually reflect the actual work and responsibilities of that person. Unless she is really "supervising" another person a title of supervisor is not correct IMHO.

When I hire a person to do general office duties (no tax prep) I always classify that job a clerical and I tell them that and if they want a nice sounding title they are an office associate :P
 

#4
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ATSMAN wrote:When I hire a person to do general office duties (no tax prep) I always classify that job a clerical and I tell them that and if they want a nice sounding title they are an office associate


One of the first jobs I interviewed for at a big box retail store was titled "lot technician".

The responsibilities: "cart retrieval".
 

#5
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couple reasons i want to give her a title: 1. she is very strong technically so she is valuable to me. she is been with me for a while now so giving her a title and raise seems like right thing to do. 2. another reason is because she is 32 y/o, fairly young but one of the bookkeepers is close to 55...and sometimes the bookkeeper doesn't want to hear from her so i thought giving her a title would solve this problem.

supervior just sounds very boring, for lack of better word, lol...just want to see if there are other more creative name.

but supervisor it is.
 

#6
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"Super Senior Tax Associate that all Bookkeepers must listen to and obey" ??

Can you fit that on a business card?
 

#7
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Anent point 2, I assume you are going to have a serious talk with the bookkeeper? The job title on its own will solve nothing and may even aggravate the situation. My perspective is as someone who has faced the problems your new supervisor seemingly has to face. It happened to me in my mid-20's and again in my early 30's. First time, zero support and a departure that nearly ended up in civil (if that's the right term!) court. Second time, unequivocal backing, It took time to put in place but the partners promised me they would sort it and were as good as their word.
 

#8
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ManVsTax wrote:
ATSMAN wrote:When I hire a person to do general office duties (no tax prep) I always classify that job a clerical and I tell them that and if they want a nice sounding title they are an office associate


One of the first jobs I interviewed for at a big box retail store was titled "lot technician".

The responsibilities: "cart retrieval".


One of my early jobs was at a car lot washing and parking cars.
We referred to ourselves as Automobile Cleansing and Placement Technicians.
~Captcook
 

#9
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I like it.
 

#10
ATSMAN  
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eric1032 wrote:couple reasons i want to give her a title: 1. she is very strong technically so she is valuable to me. she is been with me for a while now so giving her a title and raise seems like right thing to do. 2. another reason is because she is 32 y/o, fairly young but one of the bookkeepers is close to 55...and sometimes the bookkeeper doesn't want to hear from her so i thought giving her a title would solve this problem.

supervior just sounds very boring, for lack of better word, lol...just want to see if there are other more creative name.

but supervisor it is.


You have some other serious issues in your office IMHO. Perhaps the senior bookkeeper is threatened by this intelligent young lady? Just randomly assigning a title may not do the trick. You will need to show your appreciation for her hard work and reward accordingly.

Just to tell you a personal story. One of my sons is a very good engine builder. He never had a work come back after he signs off. Another 55 year old technician who has been with the company a long time and making more than my son is always second guessing him etc. The owner of the shop knows about it and he always praises my son and gives him cash/gift card rewards just to keep him happy. He can't fire the 55 yr old because that is his brother in law!
 

#11
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Ugg, this is a tough spot for OP.

M vote is:

1) give a fancy title - when you do this, employees are more likely to live up to expectations

2) coach the bookkeeper on a case by case basis so you can point out the issue in specific detail each time it happens, rather than go to the bookkeeper and make a general corrective action needed statement.
 


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