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I am a supervisor of 20 employees. The industry I work in is extremely technical (insurance). My mid-level Manager sucks. We have gone through 8 Managers in 10 years. Each one is worse than the last. I have been with the company for 15 years.
This person has very limited industry experience and does not know basic laws, regulations, or processes that are standard in our industry. He has no ability to resolve complex problems that prior Managers could handle. He does not protect or support his team. Essentially, he hides in his office. He did not inherit a functional department and has not implemented any processes to correct these problems. I have communicated repeatedly what issues we are facing.
Prior Managers were working between 60-70 hours a week. I typically work between 50-60 hours a week. He comes in at 11 everyday and is gone by 4. He allows individuals to work OT that do not meet minimum production or quality standards, has not put anyone on a performance improvement plan who is failing to meet minimum requirements. We are not meeting turn around times. Employees have horrible attendance issues and he has hired individuals who quite honestly are not qualified to work as a Customer Service Representative at our company. He has not reported several privacy breaches that were reported to him -- one of which was caused by a friend that he hired.
I am tasked with training these folks which is a joke. I handle all of the escalated issues, inventory, training, work with other departments on high profile issues. Our Manager does not meet with me or members of the team for regular meetings. I went on vacation last month for a week. After I had been gone for a day, he took the rest of the week off leaving no one to man the team. We get highly escalated issues daily that require immediate attention. I came back to over 200 urgent emails.
I love my industry and used to really love my job. Crap is rolling downhill and I just can't take this anymore. I am doing his job and mine. I have never been so frustrated in my career. I do not want to leave the company I have been with for 15 years, but this just cannot go on. Today I came very close to calling my Manager's boss and requesting a meeting.
Do I --
Go to my Manager's Director who I have never personally spoken with on the phone and address these issues? I did send my Manager and the Director an email with process improvement ideas (since my boss is a moron) and the Director gave me a monetary award. This person is new also and has been in their role less than a year. Our team is spread out all across the country. I am not in the same office as my Manager or his Director. I have no idea what the relationship is between my Manager and his Director. They are in the same office. This option makes me very nervous. We are not serving our clients properly.
OR
Do I transfer out of the Department into another role entirely and let him and our department implode?
You don't have the authority to manage him. If you try to manage a peer, it usually ends up backfiring. The hard working employee is given a verbal warning and advised to work on their soft skills.
If their is a 2nd confrontation, it ends up in a performance improvement plan (PIP) to address teamwork and communication issues and a dismissal at the end of the PIP.
It doesn't matter if you are a VP or SVP. You will burn political capital by going to management with complaints about your peers.
If you are lucky, your peer was given a verbal warning and on his way out the door with a performance improvement plan as the next step.
I have been burned by reporting a slacker. It left a bad taste in the superior's mouth. Eventually, I burned myself out by working from 7 am to 7 pm for an ungrateful employer. I left for more money and work-life balance.
If you decide to transfer departments or leave for greener pastures (not always greener), you better do it by the 3rd quarter. There is almost no staff movement from August to January of the following year. There are no new reqs for anybody to take, unless somebody got fired.
Last edited by move4ward; 03-21-2018 at 10:36 PM..
I find it hard to believe that some people out there actually think it's a viable option to go over their boss's head in order to essentially badmouth the boss, and think that something positive will come out of it.
That's probably why the OP is venting and asking this question, looking for encouragement and support that this option is the best one, even though most of us logical folks on this forum know darned well that nothing good ever comes of confronting management, going to HR, or bypassing the chain of command to dish dirt on a boss.
Actually my former Manager of the same department I am currently in (who transitioned to another role in the company five years ago and has always been a mentor to me) is the one who suggested I go to my current Manager's boss. She also has witnessed first hand how totally inept he is and is aware of the issues.
His lack of managing his staff and complying with turn around times on appeals could result in Department of Labor complaints or lawsuits against our clients. This is not a case of I just want to tattle on my boss for no good reason or to be petty...There are real ethical dilemmas here with legal consequences to our clients. HIPAA privacy breaches are serious business. That he failed to follow company protocol in reporting several known privacy breaches and swept them under the rug is a very big deal and he should lose his job for covering it up. He did not follow our company guidelines or the law.
The next link in the chain of command at my company is my bosses Manager, not HR.
This whole situation causes me great stress...I applied for two positions internally today. I have a stellar reputation and am well respected at my company.
You can be given a PIP or fired on the stop for going over your boss's head. Higher level management will side with his direct report. You can be fired on the stop for insubordination or placed on a PIP.
At one toxic dept, I had 4 managers in 2.5 years. The last two managers were placed on performance improvement plans, AKA notice of firing. Each had been in the role for in the role for only 6-9 months. I saw the writing on the wall, when they would bump heads with their direct manager. As a non-manager, it's always strange to watch your supervisors throw their job out the window over 6-9 month. Do these managers lack awareness of the political ramifications for repeatedly saying "No" to their boss?
In another case, a VP was fired the same day. They refused an order to layoff their employees, during a cost cost. They got emotional and raised their voice to the SVP. The VP got the boot and security escorted them out. The VP worked for the company for several years.
Your job is to follow orders not question your superior. If you want to burn political capital and risk your employment based on a mentor's advice, you can do so. Be prepared to deal with the outcome, whether it's positive or negative.
Last edited by move4ward; 03-21-2018 at 10:54 PM..
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