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Seeing as this is my first post, I'd like to first say.. hello! Now, on to business, lol.
So I've been working at a factory for a little over 3.5 years. I feel that I've always tried to put as much effort into my job as possible, and having come in with no experience whatsoever, I've always made it a point to learn as much as I could, when the opportunity arose. I've taken anything and everything they could throw at me and I gave it all an honest effort. Ranging from being a temp for over 6 months, working 1st, 2nd and 3rd Shift whenever they needed me to. In this time, I've even managed to cross-train myself in multiple departments and have since become a Manufacturing Lead.
Last year, we unfortunately had to lay off a lot of people, including 1st Shift's Supervisor. (I work on 2nd Shift, by the way) My Supervisor was given the opportunity to take up the 1st Shift Supervisor position, and as a result, I was asked to watch over 2nd Shift. In March, it will mark 1 full year of me running 2nd Shift. Not only have I performed all my duties as a Manufacturing Lead, but I also have had to go above and beyond my job title, in order to keep things running somewhat smoothly. See, our shift is rather small compared to 1st Shift, so cross-training was always a little easier to do. I've dealt with my co-workers being taken from my shift to work on 1st repeatedly, I've continued to train a temp to the best of my ability, and I even handle some duties that a Supervisor would have to normally deal with, including closing up the factory at night. So basically, from the first day I walked in the door, I haven't been able to give up or delegate a shred of responsibility due to the constant cannibalization of my shift and the lack of power that I think I have.
Not only am I a Manufacturing Lead that runs 2nd Shift, I'm the ONLY Lead on 2nd Shift, and my boss is on 1st Shift. It's not an impossible job to do, but I'm burning out rather quickly at this point. I understand that the other Supervisors wouldn't let me fail, and I also understand that my boss is rooting for me to have the chance to one day become a Supervisor. With the current position that I'm in, I've taken the liberty to assume that I have a lot more power than I would normally have, seeing as how I literally "run the show". I feel that it is my job to ease as much burden off of my, boss's shoulders as possible. Unfortunately, this is at the price of the quality of my work.
I know the company at least SOMEWHAT understands what I'm currently going through, and that if I felt that I couldn't handle doing this anymore, I could step back and ask for help or no longer agree to be in charge of 2nd Shift. Sure, hinting at wanting to make me a Supervisor in the future is a great feeling. Sure, I could dress the part and act the part... but at the end of the day, I'm still just a Lead, at the moment.
I see a career with this company, and I've realized that I'm pretty good at what I do. If I wasn't, then they would never have asked me in the first place or would have replaced me a long time ago. I don't plan on giving up, and I'm more than willing to do what ever it is that needs to be done in order to reach my goals, as well as keep this 2nd Shift strong.
So what I'm getting at here is... Does anyone experienced have any solid advice or possible insight? I understand that it's one of those situations where they're literally giving me the ball, and seeing where I run with it. I've been running for a year and I don't quite know what more I need to do right now. I would go into further detail, but I'd rather not discuss actual details about my job.
Thank you in advance.
Last edited by Aleksandr26; 02-25-2014 at 12:00 AM..
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,563 posts, read 81,147,605 times
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The difference between lead and supervisor is iin the responsibility for doing hiring, performance evaluations and firing. If you have no experience with that, it might be a good idea to take some classes. Then speak to your boss and show evidence of completing the course, and ask if there is a possibility of promotion in the near future. Companies struggling will often rely on more lead rather than management people because it costs them less. Being better prepared when their budget improves will help you get the supervisory job. As long as you are still there I would continue doing the lead role, because even if you leave it will help you get a job elsewhere.
To follow up with Hemlock, you should ask your boss for people call the "career plan" or whatever you want to call it. Ask your boss what you need to do to move up to the next step. What you need to learn and do. How you need to act. If you are just working your butt off doing task A, B, and C, but in order to be a supervisor you need to A,B, and D, then you'll need to focus some attention on to D to be considered.
Also one last thing, promotions are rarely given out without asking. People that just work and work and work and never get promoted usually don't because they never ask. They could be the best employee ever, but if they show no initiative, why should they be in the higher role that requires that same initiative.
Thanks for the replies. I guess I could have given a little more detail. On 2nd Shift, I'm the only Lead, which forces me to monitor the progress of 4 separate departments, as well as doing my own job and making my rounds around the building.
Also, most my time is spent monitoring progress. I have even given an interview for a new hire, have given write-ups and written Personal Growth Plans for employees. I have also had meetings that included other supervisors, human resources and the production manager, and have stated that my next goal with this company is to become a superisor. It is my next logical step and I am already performing half of the job, on top of being a Lead. Yes, there some classes that I would need to take in order to have a better understanding of being a supervisor, but in order for me to move further into taking on the role, doesn't there need to be some "give" on their end? They are pleased to see and hear how much I want this position, but unless I can clone myself to make my job a little easier, there literally isn't much more I can do. I guess I'll have to keep working towards this position and see how my annual review goes.
Ask for help from those above you on what they would advise you to do or continue doing. Basically make it part of their thought process that thats your goal, and that they are helping you accomplish it. Ask for mentoring.
Either you will learn what you are missing, or they will realize that they need to move you along to that level. Either way its a win. Maybe its just time in grade, who knows.
You're a very articulate individual, and it sure sounds like you have an excellent work ethic and are good at what you do. So at this point I suggest you simply ask them for the job title (and associated promotion/raise/etc) that you want. Before doing this, prepare a brief written page describing your extra duties the past year, and how you have helped the company during this time. Make an official request to speak with your boss/upper management (you may cc: HR on this) and present this statement during your meeting.
Then, give them a week or two. If they come back and say "sorry they would like to help but they can't", then simply say you appreciate it, but you're going to have to relinquish your duties as Lead Operator and go back to doing what you were doing before.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,563 posts, read 81,147,605 times
Reputation: 57767
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dude111
Hello my friend,welcome to City-data!!
Are you sure you want the responsibilities of a supervisor??
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR QUEST!!
People are rarely promoted to supervisor without formal training any more, it's too much liability for the company. There have been many lawsuits for improper handling of employees with ADA, FMLA, OSHA safety and MSDS regulations, discrimination in hiring laws and so on. You really don't want to get thrown into a supervisory role without preparation, even if it comes with more money. We have an internal program that is administered by a local college to train new supervisors, or if space available, those interested in becoming supervisors in the future, and the class is five full days.
You sound like a great employee. Thinking back to my days in manufacturing, you would have been just the type of person I would have liked to see developed and promoted into a production supervisor role.
Does your company have any degree requirements for production supervisors? Many companies, rightly or wrongly, require candidates for supervisory jobs to have degrees. I'd check to see if that might be holding you back, if you don't have a degree. These days, with companies often picking up the costs for degrees, and the number of degree programs that allow for online completion or flexible class times, it might not take too long to get that degree.
If there is not a degree issue, one question I would ask your boss is what other job duties does a supervisor do that you're not currently doing? If you are interviewing candidates and participating in a hiring decision; doing perf Evals, etc. it sounds like you're doing work typically done by a supervisor. If they can't answer, then you could push them to promote you. Off-shift leaders are hard to come by. If there are some duties that you're not performing that a supervisor usually does perform, ask for the opportunity to learn how to do those tasks.
Are you mobile? Is there a sister plant nearby? You could try applying there for a supervisor job. We had a lead who went that route. The manager didn't want to lose that person so he talked with her about staying until a supervisor spot opened up, and sure enough, within 4 months she was promoted.
If you are close to burnout and are willing to take a risk, you could tell them that you really want to stay with them for all the reasons you cited, but if they don't promote you then you will have to start looking elsewhere. Some might recommend that you look elsewhere, get an offer, then tell your current employer that you will leave if they don't promote you. This route can be effective, but it could backfire if you really want to stay put. If your company really wants to promote as soon as possible but can't at the moment due to head count restrictions, and you force the issue, you will be in a situation where you will have to say "ok, I will stay anyway" (and you lose face) or you leave and possibly end up going to a company that isn't as good as the one you're with now. Which is why I recommend the discussion rather than holding a competing offer over their head.
You sound like a great employee. Thinking back to my days in manufacturing, you would have been just the type of person I would have liked to see developed and promoted into a production supervisor role.
Does your company have any degree requirements for production supervisors? Many companies, rightly or wrongly, require candidates for supervisory jobs to have degrees. I'd check to see if that might be holding you back, if you don't have a degree. These days, with companies often picking up the costs for degrees, and the number of degree programs that allow for online completion or flexible class times, it might not take too long to get that degree.
If there is not a degree issue, one question I would ask your boss is what other job duties does a supervisor do that you're not currently doing? If you are interviewing candidates and participating in a hiring decision; doing perf Evals, etc. it sounds like you're doing work typically done by a supervisor. If they can't answer, then you could push them to promote you. Off-shift leaders are hard to come by. If there are some duties that you're not performing that a supervisor usually does perform, ask for the opportunity to learn how to do those tasks.
Are you mobile? Is there a sister plant nearby? You could try applying there for a supervisor job. We had a lead who went that route. The manager didn't want to lose that person so he talked with her about staying until a supervisor spot opened up, and sure enough, within 4 months she was promoted.
If you are close to burnout and are willing to take a risk, you could tell them that you really want to stay with them for all the reasons you cited, but if they don't promote you then you will have to start looking elsewhere. Some might recommend that you look elsewhere, get an offer, then tell your current employer that you will leave if they don't promote you. This route can be effective, but it could backfire if you really want to stay put. If your company really wants to promote as soon as possible but can't at the moment due to head count restrictions, and you force the issue, you will be in a situation where you will have to say "ok, I will stay anyway" (and you lose face) or you leave and possibly end up going to a company that isn't as good as the one you're with now. Which is why I recommend the discussion rather than holding a competing offer over their head.
Lots of luck to you.
Thanks for the advice! With my goals and how hard I usually try to push towards achieving them, I seem to have put myself between a rock and a hard place. I've put almost 4 years into this company, and it's the first manufacturing job I've ever had. I'm only 26 years old and I've got a long road ahead of me. I've decided that I'm going to continue pushing forward and learn everything I can in order to become a supervisor. I think I just need to be careful with what I choose to make myself accountable for, and make sure that when I do learn all there is to be a supervisor that I don't end up completely doing a supervisor's job as well as only currently being a lead.
My greatest weakness is giving myself too much responsibility that goes outside the scope of my position. Although I've been careful not to step on anyone's toes, I do this to myself because I prefer to work as self sufficient as possible. When it comes to my work, I often prefer to be introverted and it can sometimes come off as being too comfortable or without issue. In reality, I'm running circles around the shop, making sure all the departments are in working order. Aside from my personal gain, this past year has really shown me who else on my shift is/could be ready to step and become 2nd Shift next potential Lead. If/when I become a supervisor, I know exactly who I would cheer for to fill my old position. It's been a wild year!
Cheers!
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