Over the past year, our Head of Customer Service has gradually taken on managing our billing systems and client contracts. Her seat has experienced massive role creep, but her core title has not changed. How do we update her seat on the Accountability Chart to reflect reality without causing a salary negotiation?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Role creep is a silent killer of organizational health. When you let a seat expand informally without updating the Accountability Chart, you dilute focus and create massive confusion about who actually owns what.

You must update your Accountability Chart immediately to reflect the actual work being done. This is not about job titles or salary bands; it is about absolute clarity of accountability.

Review the five major roles under your Head of Customer Service seat. If billing and contract management have become permanent fixtures of her work, you have two choices:
- Formally add those roles to her seat box, provided she still has the capacity to manage them.
- Move those roles to your Finance seat, where they likely belong structurally.

Do not avoid updating the chart because you are afraid of a salary discussion. Address the organizational structure first. If she has the capacity and GWC to handle the expanded seat, you can address compensation as a separate, market-based conversation. If she is overloaded, removing the billing tasks to align with the original seat design will solve the issue and protect her focus.