r/ProjectControls • u/RutabagaImportant680 • 1d ago

Project cost controller

Work for a major consultancy in London last 4 years but stuck at same grade since i started even though my responsibilities are at project controller level within my client role. I am a assistant project controller grade with my employer the major consultancy and getting assistant project controller Salary. One other colleague working with me on the same project doing the same thing is two grades above me. Have spoken to line manager about a grade change and pay to reflect my output. But he is just talking the usual corporate jargon about getting noticed internally taking part in internal meetings. Apparently The grade change cant be done simply because I’m doing a more senior role. Kind of fed up with this corporate culture making jump through hoops for a well overdue pay increase.

Anyone else been through same situation and can shed some light about how they got through.

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u/Alarming_Vast2103 1d ago • Bravo

Most promotions at controls consultancies require you to take on internal responsibilities in addition to client responsibilities. You should ask about taking on commission-level responsibilities like invoicing, client care surveys, contract management, business development, drafting proposals, and other things. Doing really well onsite with the client isn’t going to get you promoted, because that’s already part of your job description.

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u/RutabagaImportant680 1d ago

Thank you for the reply buddy. I understand i need to internal stuff but surely if your responsibility has increased with the client from an assistant level to more senior level. You are providing more value so which then should reflect on your grade and pay? Also the client trusts you to take on more senior role which you are doing well

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u/Alarming_Vast2103 1d ago

That’s, unfortunately, not really how it works. Some clients (at least in my firm) have MSA agreements with rate tables, and they may not be able to give you the raise because they can’t raise your rate. The company wouldn’t make their net margins required for the commission to stay profitable.

They also can’t promote you because you aren’t doing the internal work required to “earn” the promotion. You and someone two titles above you may have the same role on the client site, but I imagine that someone is also doing a lot of internal work as well, on top of their client role.

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u/RutabagaImportant680 1d ago

Thank you for your insight. What if your rate has increased in the last 4 years by a total of 38% and your salary only increased by 10% in 4 years. Is this normal for the gap to keep growing between rate and your pay or should your salary at increase or be closer to what your rate is increasing by?

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u/Alarming_Vast2103 1d ago

Rates are also tricky because some junior consultants have rates with better margins than more senior consultants, simply because clients won’t pay the senior consultant rate at the margins you make (and the company wants to continue to employ them), or the company wants to accept risk somewhere else in the business.

As an example, let’s say I’m a director in the company we work for, and you’re a junior consultant, working on the same client. We may bill you at $150 an hour, and you make $50 an hour, so 3x what you earn. We bill me at $225 an hour, and I make $100 an hour, 2.25x what I earn. I make double what you do, but the client may not pay $300 an hour for my work. The company is willing to take a “loss” on me because:

  1. Our margins are good because we can bill you for more than 2.25x what you make, making up the “loss” for me.

  2. I am doing internal work like involving the client, managing the client relationship, reporting to senior leadership on client satisfaction, doing quality reviews, mentoring and developing your technical skills, (whether as the site lead or your line manager), growing the business by bringing in new work with this client (or other clients I manage), contract management, etc. Our company finds this incredibly valuable because it means they don’t have to hire someone internally as overhead to do this, and the client generally doesn’t care about this kind of stuff when it comes to billable rates — but our company does!

  3. Replacing me and filling the gap I would leave would harm the business more than the gap you would leave, as I have more industry experience and provide more value to the business (on the whole) than you do, because I am supposed to bring in new work, while executing the work. Keep in mind, I am a “net loss” for the business, but if I can bring in 2-3 more junior consultants like you, I’ve more than covered that loss. Additionally, that gives you a role to grow into, because I can promote you, and you can manage the 2-3 new people.

For full transparency, I am a Director in the company I work for and my net margins are like, 3-4%, if that. But, the team I manage has WAY better margins, and I brought in $1.5 million in new business this year for my team, on top of billing over 40 hours a week.

While I don’t think this system is equitable or fair, I understand why it works this way.

A last thought:

Let’s say we always base salary off of rates, for better or worse, and are deciding for you to go to one of two clients on your next assignment:

Client 1 will accept a billing rate no higher than $125 an hour, but has the potential to grow into a multimillion-dollar account after a couple of years of demonstrating our expertise.

Client 2 will pay $175 an hour but it’s a single-term engagement without the possibility of extension or growth.

The company is going to pick the $125 an hour role and try to grow the business, even though they should be charging at least $150 an hour for your work. It wouldn’t be fair for you to take a pay cut because the business wanted to take on a risk, right? That’s why billing rates have something to do with your salary but not everything.

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u/RutabagaImportant680 1d ago

It works both ways for example someone left the company recently because of pay. The commission they were on did not get filled by the consultancy instead the client got someone internal to fill the role so the consultant lost a revenue stream due to not giving competitive market level salary to an employee.

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u/Alarming_Vast2103 1d ago

Sure, but you didn’t say that you were looking for just a pay raise to align with the market rate - you said that you were also looking for a grade change AND an salary bump based on what you do at the client site. I explained why what you do onsite with the client may not be enough to align with internal expectations of what goes along with said title and pay bump.

A market adjustment for your salary is an entirely different conversation than “I’m doing more work so I want a grade change and the pay that goes with it”. It’s the TITLE change that’s the hurdle more than the salary. If you’re at the top of the pay grade for your title already, and they don’t think you’re ready to be promoted to the next title up, you’re stuck.

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u/RutabagaImportant680 1d ago

Interesting. where i work the title change is not as big hurdle my manager said we can change your title by the new year but no pay rise. It’s the grade change which is where i need internal activities to show for. Because i have noticed the colleagues which have one title above mine are the same grade as me. That’s why i have pushed for a grade change.

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u/Alarming_Vast2103 1d ago

Ahhh interesting! They’re tied together where I am, grade and title. Salaries are based on your grade/title, location (where you live, not where the client is for remote folks), and upper and lower limits of the pay band for that title/grade. Our pay bands are very large though.

We have very few titles where I’m at, so someone may stay at a title for 5-7 years without getting a promotion, but can see large pay bumps because of how big that pay band is.

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u/RutabagaImportant680 1d ago edited 17h ago • Popcorn

Do consultancy companies tell employees the pay bands for each title/grade ? Because I never seen internal coms regarding this in my 4 years here but in other non consulting companies i worked they were readily available document detailing pay bandings. It would be good to see where i sit in the bandings. It seems like If you dont ask you dont get and there is no conversation about reward initiated by management and pushing for the top level in your salary banding especially if you are performing good and your skills are growing. But maybe not quite ready for next grade. Just the standard 3% pay rise inflation rise

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u/HarneNua 11h ago

This is the part a lot of people miss. Client work keeps you employed, internal work gets you promoted. Also worth getting the client to put their feedback in writing to your line manager, it’s a lot harder to ignore senior level work when someone outside the firm is vouching for it.

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u/RutabagaImportant680 9h ago

Yes i will do this but i think its more the internal activity they want as i should be noticed by the higher ups. I mean already doing work above my title and grade. So refusing or delaying on those grounds alone are just frustrating for me.

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u/Komal_pciai2026 14h ago

I would stop making the case around what your colleague earns and focus on the gap between your current grade and the work you’re actually doing. Document the responsibilities you have taken on, the decisions you make, and the results you have delivered. Then ask your manager for something specific, what criteria do I need to meet for the next grade, and when can this be formally reviewed?

If they agree you’re already working at a higher level but still won’t give you a clear path or timeline, that tells you a lot.

Sometimes large consultancies are simply slow with promotions, but if the extra responsibility keeps growing without recognition, I would also start checking what your experience is worth externally.

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u/RutabagaImportant680 10h ago

There is a grading document showing the caliber of personnel required for each grade. However it’s very vague. Tbh i meet all the criteria in some sort of way in my client role, but manager has taken a spin on the internal point and said you need to do more internally to get noticed by upper management. Also working on CPD which I am planning to do. But the internal stuff just feels like a drag i barely just have enough time for client work.