Hello
I work for a private company, and i have a manager who is several levels below the owners. He is usually indifferent towards most of my team, except for one person who he is very considerate and accommodating with. Recently i had brought to his attention that this person is underperforming and lacks knowledge in areas where he should be strong. He was the least bit concerned upon hearing this.
Last year, with another direct that was also underperforming on the same level, he was quick to respond with setting up a PIP.
I occasionally engage in conversation with the owners when they visit or by email.
Should i inform them of this unprofessional manager?
I am also concerned that if the direct that was put on a PIP finds out that his peer was not put on a PIP, he can report discrimination.
Biased?
Fair is not equal and equal is not fair. One of the good things about putting people into positions where they can make decisions rather than blindly following HR procedures is that each case can be dealt with individually.
There could be many reasons that the manager is not recommending an immediate PIP for the second individual. Why don't you ask "Why are we treating employee B differently than we treated employee A?" Your relationship with the manager will determine how best to word the question, but until you get that answered, you have no idea why the disparity exists. You assume it is something unprofessional by your statement that it could be reported as discrimination. Unless you have left out some pertinent facts, I do not see where treating two employees differently in similar situations is necessarily due to bias of any sort.
To answer your question: "I occasionally engage in conversation with the owners when they visit or by email. Should i inform them of this unprofessional manager?"
You had better have a lot more evidence of unprofessional behavior than you have presented, or you are completely out of line with such a statement.
Edit: Having re-read your original post, it appears this manager could be your boss or your direct. If he is your boss, the answer above applies. If the manager is your direct, then you should handle this yourself. In neither case should you go to the owners until you have more proof or reason to suspect discrimination.
Feedback much appreciated.
Feedback much appreciated. He is one of the several managers I report to. During the conversation, the question was asked, and the response was where are the facts. I had mentioned the details of the last three incidents that was fresh in my mind, and were unresolved. Only after I engaged another team, it was resolved. Still he was not concerned.
Career Suicide
It's not your job to manage your boss, and career suicide to try. Just because you feel your team-mate is ineffective, doesn't make it so. More importantly, it isn't your responsibility for your team-member's performance.
By going over your managers' head to another team or the company owners, you will destroy the relationship between the two of you, one of the most ineffective/unprofessional things that can happen. The owners are much more likely to believe your manager, and they have trusted your manager with role-power, far more than you.
And last but not least, you don't know all the facts. There are many reasons why your manager could treat the situations differently. Has may have knowledge that you lack. He may have reasons you don't understand. He may disagree with you that your team-mate is ineffective. It's not his job to explain them to you. And frankly, I'm surprised that you know that any of your team-mates are on a PIP.
If you show results and are promoted into that role, you can deal with the situation. Until then, don't.
An old crude saying: "If you try to manage-up, you'll get ****-on from above"
Discrimination...
Regarding your concern about discrimination, that term only applies in a fairly narrow set of circumstances. Assuming you are in the US, you have to basically be discriminating against someone who is in a protected class, *because* they are in that protected class. Some states/counties/cities have stricter laws, but in general it is not discrimination to treat one worker differently than another for any other reason. If I like Bob more because he has a good sense of humor and brings me lunch, and I don't put him on a PIP at the same point I would have with Fred, that's not discrimination. It's not really professional, but it's not discrimination.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_discrimination_law_in_the_Unite…