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Demotion at work
A friend of mine just called me in tears because she basically overheard her manager and operations manager discussing about how she wasn't up to her role, and she was too young to have been given the position in the first place. Their conclusion was that they'll demote her, and replace her with someone else who has been working at the company for the same length of time, someone who has been working beneath the friend of mine.
Probationary period (of 3 months) has passed for her, so I just wondered where she stood?
The managers in question haven't mentioned anything to her just yet, but if they were to, what can she do about it, if anything?
Probationary period (of 3 months) has passed for her, so I just wondered where she stood?
The managers in question haven't mentioned anything to her just yet, but if they were to, what can she do about it, if anything?
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It's a new hotel, everyone has been working there since December 1st, but it only actually opened for business 2 days ago - the construction etc. got delayed!
Yeah, she's really down - way to kill your motivation, eh?
Knee-jerk reaction from me is I would prempt any meeting they call by arranging a meeting myself. I'd arm myself with details of what I now felt (after being in the job X months) were successes under my period of management and then what I thought I needed to do (training courses, information, meetings with other departments) to better manage my role.
Ideally have a plan of changes or tweaks to procedures to enable things to run better and perhaps a slight switch of responsibilities to enable the more experienced person to take something that s/he's ideally experienced to do. The more experienced person should be made a strong ally and your friend's friend should learn all she can from this person. Assuming the more experienced person isn't running a campaign undermining your friend behind her back. It happens.
I would make no mention of overhearing anything. She needs to take control of the situation, not wait for it to come to her, and to position herself as a proactive, thoughtful, manager who understands where she needs more experience and has plans to acquire it.
Anything discussed in this meeting I'd copy to my manager and HR.
This is a bit rushed because I'm going out but hope it helps.
Sound advice, thank you, I'll pass it all on.
It makes far more sense to be proactive about improving your work than dwelling and being bitter about whats been overheard.
If it happened to me though, I know I'd be heavily lacking motivation to continue!
Would you be able to remain working somewhere with a manager who used to be underneath you? I don't know if I could do it.
I could if it paid my mortgage!! We have the 3 year pfotected salary where i work,.id happily drop down to a lower position and keep same pay.
I would start looking for a new job immediately, but wouldn't resign without finding something else first.
Not really, she was kind of thrown in at the deep end. She'd worked in hotels before, but not in this position. In reality, nothing they've been doing over the last few months has been hotel related, it's all been checking bedrooms for faults, so she's only been doing the job she applied for for 2 days!
It does seem very unfair doesn't it? No one will progress anywhere if they're not given the opportunity.
She's already started looking
To be honest, she could be shite, I have no idea, but I can't imagine her doing anything drastically wrong
I would recommend checking out her contract regarding details of exactly when the probationary period finishes and what happens then, perhaps with a bit of advice from a Union rep if there is one or the CAB or a similar organisation as well as having a good think about how she feels she has performed in the post and what help she needs. However, I really think she should wait until they approach her for a meeting and also INSIST that an independent person goes with her to observe proceedings and perhaps offer her advice. She needs to hear the reasons for any decision they have made before deciding on a response. For example, is it possible that this person who they are thinking of promoting has been reporting untrue things about your friend's performance?
The good thing is that she can now prepare for a meeting with them, with some ammunition and ideas of her own to throw back at them, but she really has to be careful because sometimes we overhear part of a conversation and jump to conclusions which are incorrect.