Submitted by DesmondJ on
in
Forums
I just want to relate a conversation that took place last week because it made my mouth fall open. My specific request is, how do I respond to the people who made the comments? Do I ignore them? Respond in O3s?
I have been listening to MT for about a year and have O3s, give feedback and walk the MT walk. I am a high S but have been delegating more and pushing harder. I believe that some of my staff (I oversee about 11 people) want to return to the way it was when life was easy and routine (before MT).
I was in a group meeting with about six people the other day, including a new supervisor and two people who have been staff for a long time. One person is at the top of her range, but her job responsibilities have been modified frequently (senior management decisions and changes in structure). Another person has assumed new roles, is performing effectively but is not a team player (I have another forum topic about some of the incredibly "disrespectful" things that she says, such as, "yada yada...I'm not being disrespectful, I'm telling you the truth. Everyone else thinks the same thing but no one has the guts to say it". ). They are both dissatisfied with the current structure and the fact that "I am not supporting them" by requesting upgrades for them and the fact that a new vacancy will be opened to all possible candidates, not just internal candidates. So they are kind of bitter about the system and organization.
They made these comments, "Mr New Boss, in the past, when people took summer vacation, consultants were hired to cover the additional work. Now, we have to coordinate the work amongst ourselves. This isn't right and it needs to change."
And the real gem, "Mr new Boss, everyone here has a job description but people are asked to do work beyond their job description. For example, one of the drivers is being asked to perform supply distribution work and filing. Poor guy, it is not in his personality type or job description. He wasn't hired to do these tasks and he shouldn't be asked to do them. This other guy, he has been a staff member for 30 years. How can we now start demanding things from him if he has never done them before. He has always done job "A". We can't now ask him to do job A plus B. So what if he has half a day available, we can't now ask him and expect him to effectively carry out additional (similar) tasks which were never his."
OMG!!!!!
My response, "the org pays him to do what needs to get done. If filing is more important than letting him watch the Internet, he will file. And all job descriptions say Other Duties As Required". (the mgmt responsibility is under the new boss).
Mr. New Boss's response, "Everyone should have accurate job descriptions that list all appropriate tasks. Work should fall within this list. If necessary, we need to revise job descriptions" (this new boss will shortly be leaving the organization)
My position is, the needs of the org trump the job description (which state "and other duties as required").
However, my concern is how to respond to my two directs who complained to the new boss. Should I just ignore this conversation or should I discuss it in private with them?
Or am I being a jerk?
Thanks,
Des
I really can't say whether
I really can't say whether you're being reasonable or not from a forum post. What I can say is that the way you've written the post is very condescending towards them. I hope that it is just the way you've chosen to relate the details but if your communications with your staff include even a 1/10th of that then it will guarantee poor relationships with the team.
The difference between saying "Your job description includes other duties, so do it" and "I appreciate that this hasn't traditionally been part of your job, however I know you are more than capable of doing it and would like you to manage this from now on" isn't just namby pamby nonsense. Be up front with your team. Hiring a consultant to cover holiday is a considerable cost, controlling cost is critical to businesses and if you don't then the entire team will suffer when it comes to promotions and pay. You'll always have pushback from some directs, but at least if you make clear why you're doing things they'll have to try and justify there gripes in those terms.
I hope it goes well for you.
John
Agree completely
I agree with you 100%. In my company we've starting having a "that's not my job" problem and are about to clamp down on it hard with new policies and bold statements about everyone having to help out and may from time-to-time and being asked to do things that are not in their job description.
Job descriptions are a list of what their primary responsibilities are, but can never be a complete list of everything they may be asked to do.
Your position seems reasonable to me
In my experience work environment becomes really bad when people start measuring, controling and comparing what they should or not be doing. It is impossíble to put everything in writing. These people are people i rather not have in my team. That saíd i can accept them saying it but i ignore it or respond to it dismissing their comment.
I use certain rules these people seem to be breaking as well. For example hás the driver himself complained about being asigned more work? Maybe he is thrilled about it só who are them to judge what is good or bad for others? Also the complain about sharing work load when people goes on holiday. We have always done that in my company and it is no big deal.
I think it is fair enough to make Things as clear as possible and give the reasons to your staff, but somethings just are the way they are, Things change and they should accept it. The reasons they are giving for not doing the job are not good enough. If they gave me good reasons, i would consider accepting it and justifying it differently, but their reasons to me just deserve a simple explanation like: " well Things change all the time, now this is the way it is.", and move on.
If they saíd the comment to me i would respond, but without making a big deal out of it, if they saíd to somebody else i would just ignore it and continue doing what i knew was right.
Nara