Ask a Manager

It’s seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go…

1. My employees keep going to their old manager, rather than coming to me

The person who formerly held my position was promoted and works right down the hall from me and the three people I supervise. Rather than come to me, the people I supervise go to their former supervisor with problems and questions. If she tells them something, they will do it, even if I say something different. I have been here almost two years now and this has gotten very irritating. What do I do?

Um, manage? You tell your employees that they need to stop going to the old manager with problems and questions and to come to you before taking assignments from her, effective immediately, and then you create consequences if they continue. The first consequence might be a serious conversation about why they’re disregarding your instructions, the second might be a more serious conversation (“I’m concerned that this is continuing, and it’s becoming a serious problem that could affect your job here”), and the third might be a final warning that if they aren’t able to work with you as their manager, you will replace them. And then you’d really need to follow through — if this staff can’t see you as their manager, you need to replace them with a staff who does.

You should also talk to the old manager and tell her clearly to send them back to you when they come to her, and not to assign them work rather than going through you. Also, make sure you  do some soul-searching to see if your own behavior has played any role here — are you as able to help with their questions as she is? Do you delegate as well as she does? Are you accessible? If not, that’s something to work on too.

2. My employees expect me to cover the shifts they don’t want

I manage a new bookings department in my family business. I’m a young manager in my early 30s and I’ve included my working hours in the new roster to help the new staff with the workload. But I’ve noticed that some of the new staff expect me to work the shifts that they don’t want to work, such as Saturday shifts. I think the reason for this is that it’s my business and people in general think that it’s normal for managers to work more hours than the average employee. However, that means I’m working in some cases six shifts a week. Is it worth hiring a new staff member to do my work so the current staff don’t rely on me and I can then just manage? Or should I worry about the staff not wanting to work the shifts that they should be working?

I think you’re coming at this backwards — you’re working too many shifts because you haven’t created clear expectations or communicated well with your employees.

Figure out what shifts you need covered. Find out what shifts your employees can work. See where the gaps are. From there, figure out whether you need to hire a new employee (and whether you can afford to) or whether you need to tell your employees that being available for certain shifts is mandatory (which is not unreasonable to do, particularly if they were told when you hired them that Saturday shifts could be part of the deal — although you also want to balance this with making sure that you don’t lose a great employee who just can’t work weekends).

3. I want to be exempt and escape my employer’s ridiculous time-keeping rules

I’ve worked for nine years for a large manufacturer as an assistant buyer, but labeled non-exempt. I’m in an office surrounded by exempt employees. If I clock in 1 minute late, I get a point. 10 points in a 1-year period, you’re fired. My exempt coworkers come and go as they please. One new upper-level employee (9 months) has only been to work 60% of the time. I’m rarely late, but there are days I would like to come in half an hour early or stay half an hour late to get work done or to make up for any lost time. “No.”

If I do not give a 2-day notice for a doctor’s appointment, dentist, etc., I get a point and lose a half-day vacation, which means that if suddenly ill, you cannot go to a doctor during working hours.

I make over $40,000/year, receive bonuses depending on profits, 1-1/2 times for overtime. I do not manage anyone, but 80% of my day is spent ordering chemicals, corrugate (cardboard for shipping the finished product), labels, reviewing and approving art work for the labels to be printed, and ordering labels, pallets, containers, down to mops, gloves, and toilet paper. HR insist I do not qualify to be exempt.

Yesterday was the ultimate insult to an employee who works in the plant. He was shot in the leg by a random shooting (wrong place, wrong time). The police caught the person responsible. The prosecutor subpoenaed him to be at court the next day to testify. This employee gave the information to the HR Department. You can guess it. He did not give a 2-day notice and he was docked a point and a half-day vacation.

They’re not required to treat you as exempt, whether or not you qualify, if they prefer to treat you as non-exempt and pay you overtime. The requirement is only in the other direction — they can’t treat you exempt when you are non-exempt.

In any case, your employer clearly sucks for how they manage people’s time, but these are apparently the terms of your employment there. You can accept the whole package, or you can decide it’s not for you and go elsewhere (and you should — they suck and you’ve been there nine years; it’s time to move on). But it doesn’t sound like you can change the way they operate.

4. Taking a day for bereavement right after starting a new job

I recently relocated from Texas to Massachusetts to start a new job that begins on Tuesday. A friend who has had stage IV breast cancer just passed away today, and while I do not yet have details on her memorial service, I am hoping to attend. I know that my institution only provides bereavement leave for family members who have passed, but my vacation days start right away. Will it look “bad” if I take a day off to attend my friend’s funeral (depending on when it is held and what airline tickets are available)? I feel that if my new employers are upset that I go, that says more about them than it does about me, but I would appreciate a manager’s perspective.

I’m sorry about your friend!

Explain the situation to your new manager and ask if you can either use a vacation day or take unpaid leave to attend. You might not have any accrued leave yet, but if they won’t allow you to take even a single day unpaid, I agree with you that it will say something about them.

5. My manager shared my resignation letter with others

I handed in a two-week notice letter of resignation in a personal and confidential envelope. After my meeting, the director who I reported to shared the letter with other subordinates. After inquiring with HR about my confidentiality rights, I was informed by director that I didn’t have to work until my resignation date and could leave at lunch with pay. While the being paid part was nice, I felt very sad and disappointed. HR never followed up with me. Were my rights violated?

No. There are no “confidentiality rights” that would prevent your manager from sharing your resignation letter with others. (Also, what was in this letter that made it worth sharing? The only thing a resignation letter needs to contain — if you even write one at all — is one or two sentences explaining that you’re resigning and what date you’ll be leaving.)

6. Should I go back to the place I worked for 26 years?

I voluntarily left my prior employer after working there for 26 years. I was looking for a change and was having some disagreements with my manager. She has recently left the company. I took a job in a similar position 9 months ago, but I am not happy working there. My prior position is now open at my former employer — in fact, they have been unsuccessful in filling it. Should I reapply?

Well, you shouldn’t just apply like a stranger would. You know these people, so you should reach out to them and ask informally about whether they’d be interested in talking to you about coming back.

That said … if you were there for 26 years and you go back after the job you left for didn’t work out, if you ever apply for other jobs at other companies in the future, you’re likely going to face some skepticism about whether you’ll thrive anywhere else. The 26 years would raise some of those questions on its own, but returning will strengthen them. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it, but you should be aware that it’s going to cause some questions when you’re job-searching in the future.

7. I don’t like how close my coworker’s salary is to mine

I’ve been working for a company for nine years, have huge responsibility, and receive no assistance. A coworker of mine has been there five years, with a third of the responsibility and a full-time assistant, and is earning only 5% less than me. My responsibilities have increased significantly over the years, while she is performing the exact same duties as when she started.

I don’t ask for pay increases every single year because some years I have received without needing to, but I usually ask if one isn’t going to be given. I have voiced my concerns in the past and have used my education, knowledge of industry, and efficiency in order to compare to her and received a very small increase. I have the advantage of seeing the accounting records and it’s obvious from recent transactions that favoritism is present within the corporation. Her husband is very close friends with the owner. Could this be the reason I am earning only 5% more than her?

Sure it could. It could also be that she negotiated better when she was hired and/or for raises, or that they value her work more than they do yours, or that the work she does has a higher market rate than yours does, or that your assessment of your own work versus hers is off-base.

Would you be satisfied with your salary if you didn’t know hers (which frankly isn’t really your business)? If not, then go make the case for why you deserve more. But arguing for a raise based on what someone else gets is usually a weak argument.

It’s seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go…

1. What does this email about my job application mean?

Recently, I applied for an executive assistant position that I know I qualify for. The other night a little after 8:30 I received the following email: “We are currently viewing your resume and application and have placed you in a ‘hold’ status pending review of current candidates.”

I’ve already decided to move on. I wanted to know what this means. I’ve never been placed on “hold”; it’s always been a yes or no for me.

It’s a little awkwardly worded, but it sounds like they’re saying that they have a batch of candidates who they’re interviewing, but if they don’t hire from that group, they’ll consider your application further. It’s a bit more information than they needed to provide; they could have simply said they were considering candidates and would be in touch.

2. Can my employer call my home phone without my authorization?

My employer has assumed that they have the authority to call my home phone number when I am on call and do not answer my cell. They have also distributed my personal phone number to my department colleagues. I say that if they do not pay for or contribute to my home phone, they have no right to assume its use.

This is common, and it’s perfectly allowed, both by the law and by convention. (And you know, other people also reach you on your home phone without contributing to your phone bill.)

3. How can I tell a prospective employer I’d like to retain two freelance clients?

I have been self-employed for 8 years, 2 of those as a freelancer, then 5 as a co-director of a company I built up with my now ex-business partner. Learning how to be a manager was very much a trial-by-fire for me, and your blog has been a massive source of support and advice, particularly when I decided to leave my business partnership earlier this year and go solo again.

Which leads me to my question. A former boss of mine recently got in touch and asked if I’d like to apply for a job at the company he is now managing director of, a respected international firm. In fact, the firm is actually a client of mine and I’m in the middle of a project for them. While I’m not actively looking to go back to being an employee again, I am seriously considering it for this job, should it be offered to me. However, I have two clients that I would like to carry on working with; it is not unheard of in my industry for someone in my position to carry on working with a client or two alongside a full-time job, as long as the client is not a competitor. In my case, my links to the two clients I’d like to carry on working with would actually be extremely beneficial to my as-yet-theoretical new employer.

Assuming that I wind up being asked to interview, how do I broach this subject, and at what point would it be appropriate?

Just be straightforward, explain what you’d like to do, and ask if it would be possible. I’d raise it toward the later stages of the interview process — not the first interview, but if you continue to talk about the job after that. If for some reason there’s only one interview and you don’t get the chance to wait for later stages, then it’s fine to bring it up once you have an offer.

4. How can I leave the door open to return to this job after a law clerkship?

I will be starting as an associate at a law firm very soon. However, I was contacted for an interview with a federal judge (for a clerkship in his chambers). Federal judges hire their clerks a year in advance, so the position that I would be interviewing would not start until September 2014. If I was offered the position, I would absolutely accept.

If I did get the clerkship, I am certain that the firm that I will be working for would understand. However, I am unsure (because I haven’t started working there yet) whether I would want to return to the firm after the clerkship is over, but I want that to be an option. How do you suggest that I talk to the managing partner about this (assuming I have to talk to her, which would only be necessary if the judge hired me)? I do not want to promise that I will be returning after the clerkship, but I also don’t want to foreclose that possibility.

Yes, I know, I am jumping the gun a little, but I want to be prepared. I think that the judge will make his hiring decision quickly, and there is a good chance that my managing partner will hear about it from someone other than me, which is obviously something that I want to avoid.

I don’t think you can get a promise from them to hold a spot for you, particularly when you’re not willing to commit to returning. Rather, you should simply try to leave on good terms and to leave the door open for the possibility of working together in the future — for example, “I was so looking forward to working with you, and I’d love to stay in touch and perhaps talk about possibilities as my clerkship is coming to a close.”

5. What’s the role of HR vs. managers?

After 15 years of managing projects, not people, I was asked to supervise a single direct report. I received no management training or guidance on expectations regarding how to supervise. The person in question worked remotely in another state and it soon became clear that this person was not keeping regular hours, was not responsive to requests and assignments, and was not appropriately completing the work that did get done. I spoke to my manager about my concerns and was told to contact HR for guidance. HR provided very loose guidance around conversations to have, documentation to keep, and development of a Performance Improvement Plan but provided no hands-on support or coaching. In the end, this person was terminated for fraud that I documented, but it was a very stressful process during which I was the only person involved in direct communication with the employee. I even had to terminate the employee myself over the telephone, without support from HR.

Subsequently I had to interview and hire a new person for the role. HR provided resumes and candidates, but the rest of the process — including extending the offer and sending the offer letter — was delegated to me. Given that I have no practice in this area, I am sure I did not handle the offer process as well as I should have. HR indicates that its responsibilities extend only to creating policies and guidelines for the company and to completing the legal aspects of hiring and firing (W-2 forms, benefits administration, etc.). Managers are responsible for performance management from hiring to termination.

Recently, I have accepted a new position with a company where the hiring process has been routed entirely through HR, including the extension of the offer and routing of the offer letter. My interaction with the hiring manager was limited to the interview alone. Which is the more common model?

It varies, but at good organizations, hiring managers will lead the process, select their own candidates, and make their own offers. When I have someone I want to hire, I want to make that offer myself and sell the job to the person — not leave it to HR, who is likely to approach it from a much more process-y, bureaucratic angle.

In regard to the management and firing of your problem employee, HR’s involvement sounds about right — managers should generally lead that type of thing, using HR as a resource when needed. That said, good organizations don’t leave new managers to fend for themselves — they should have seen that you had no training or experience in managing and given you more support.

6. Employer wants me to use annual leave for a business trip

I have worked for a well known travel agent as a manager for several years now. The time has come again for them to send me abroad on a business trip for a required conference, but they are asking me to deduct the time from my allocation of annual leave. I have enough problems with child care as it is, and any time off I have is precious to me. Are they allowed to do this?

This is a trip that you’re required to go on for work and they’re asking you to use annual leave for it? You’d need to check the laws of the state that you live in to see if you have any legal recourse, but first try pushing back and pointing out that this makes no sense. Say, “My annual leave is part of my benefits package and is for time that I’m taking off of work. This is a required business trip where I will be working; it’s not vacation time.”

7. How to show appreciation for a coworker’s help

I work in a large library that will soon undergo big transitions, including major updates to the library building and services. A library administrator assigned a few employees from different departments to help oversee preparations for these changes. I was assigned to one piece of this process. I work closely with a coworker from another department who was assigned to supervise a similar process. This coworker has been most helpful to me. She has previous business and project management experience that I don’t have, and she’s provided guidance and support beyond her obligations to this project.

I would like to do something special to thank her. I considered giving her a small gift along with a card — nothing very expensive or fancy, but something more than just a verbal “thanks.” Does this sound appropriate? If so, how might I decide what kind of gift to buy? And if not, is there a better way to show my appreciation?

A card and gift is great, especially if the card goes into detail about what she did that you’re grateful for and why. In fact, that type of card alone would be sufficient, but there’s no reason not to throw in a small gift as well if you’d like. (Food is always good if she’s not on a restrictive diet.)

But no matter what you do, one element that you should absolutely include is sending an email to her manager, explaining how awesome she was, and giving specifics about how. Too few people bother to do that, and it can make a huge difference in how someone is perceived by their manager (which can pay off in performance evaluations, raises, and general appreciation).

It’s seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go…

1. Who makes the final hiring decision?

I have a panel job interview tomorrow morning that will consist of Human Resource Specialists and my supervisor (if I get the job). My question is, who ultimately makes the hiring decision — HR or your potential supervisor?

The manager for the position, unless the company is horribly run. HR shouldn’t be making final hiring decisions. In some cases, HR might make decisions on who passes an initial screening, before candidates go to the hiring manager, but by the time the hiring manager is involved in interviews, she’s the one who should be making decisions. (Note that hiring manager = the person who would be managing you, not “manager of all hiring.”)

Read an update to this letter here.

2. Can an employer prohibit you from dating a client?

My question stems from your article about how companies can prohibit coworkers from dating coworkers. I have a lady-friend who currently works at the plasma center that I frequent, who I’ve known for about a year (which is longer than she’s had the job!). And when she signed her work contract, they say they strictly forbid dating coworkers and donors, and supposedly they can terminate her for it. While I’m not going to risk her job to date her (as she has a young child take care of and raise), I’m wondering if an employer can bar you from dating someone who is a customer or client? And what if we had been dating before she was hired?

They can indeed. In many cases, employers have a vested interest in prohibiting employees from dating clients — if the relationship goes south, they could lose the client. Or the client might get different treatment than other clients. So it’s not hard to understand why employers would want to ensure that coworkers keep those relationships professional.

3. How should I point that this prospective job doesn’t seem like it should be a contract position?

I have an interview next week for a job that was listed as “full-time, contract.” In re-reading the job description, it sounds much more like an employee position than an independent contractor. Assuming that is indeed the case, if everything were to go well and I were to be offered the job, would this be something I should bring up before accepting?

The company is small and doesn’t seem to have an HR department–the office manager is the one setting everything up, and the initial interview will be with the hiring manager. It may be that they just don’t know the difference between contractors and employees (I had a previous job where that was the case, and they straightened it out on their own soon after hiring me). Would I be in a stronger position to discuss/negotiate this before or after accepting the job? Or is it most likely not up for discussion?

Wait until you have an offer — because at that point they’ve already decided that they want to hire you, whereas if you start complicating things for you before that point, they may find it easier to just go with a different candidate. Once you have an offer, say that you want to get clarification on the contractor status of the role, since the IRS regulations require that contractors ___. (Fill that in with whichever part of the regulations they’d be in violation of — for instance, that contractors control when, where, and how they do the job.) Say something like, “This sounds like it might actually be an employee position, using those guidelines.”

Approach this from the assumption that they simply don’t know or overlooked this (which is likely with a small business) and it shouldn’t be adversarial; if they respond adversarially, that’s a big red flag for you.

4. My son’s boss won’t deal with any problems

My son has a manager who will not deal with any issue, no matter what it is, whether it is personal problems, workload, occupational health and safety … there is always the same response of “If you don’t like it, there is the door.” My son is not the type to go at things aggressively. He thinks before he speaks, but this person is just plain rude about what he thinks of the workers’ ideas, rights, or issues. What do you suggest?

Your son probably needs to accept that this is how is boss is and/or find another job, since this guy doesn’t sound particularly open to changing. The exception would be if laws are being broken or people’s safety is being put at risk, in which case he should speak up and alert someone with some authority.

5. Do these signs mean my company isn’t going to hire me for a permanent position?

I am working for a company in a large metropolitan area. I’m a contractor hoping to be made perm. I took on a large amount of work because the company was short staffed. I didn’t realize, but I had a medical problem. I overworked and needed to take 3 weeks sick leave. I work really hard. Feedback is excellent on my work and I have been working well for past month.

I applied for the perm role but I feel like I’m not getting the job. I got no definite response. I really had to fight in the first instance for the interview. Apparently the company wants to see the full range of candidates prior to making a decision.

I’m not sure what to do, as my contract will come to an end shortly. Do you know if it is standard for companies to advertise a perm role for more than a month? Do you think the excuse of searching for a full range of candidates is an indication that I didn’t get the job? The company is really short staffed and there is only me doing the work, so it’s possible that they are stringing me along until they find someone else. Do you know how in general how companies manage this process?

Wanting to talk to more candidates can mean “we’re not especially excited about you for the job so we want to make sure we see who else is out there,” or it can mean “our policies require us to interview at least X candidates before we can make a hire,” or it can mean “we’re not hiring you and we’ll let you know that once we decide who we are hiring.” In other words, it’s all over the map, so you can’t really conclude anything from it. Similarly, advertising the job for more than a month isn’t that unusual so you can’t really read anything into that.

What you do know for sure, though, is that there are no guarantees that you’ll get this job, and that would be true even if they seemed wildly enthusiastic about you — so you should be actively job searching since your contract is ending soon. If you end up getting this job, then great — you can curtail your search. But you should be proceeding as if you don’t have and won’t get this job, until you have an offer letter in your hand.

6. Can I reapply after interviewer expressed concerns about my ability to excel in the job?

I was interviewed for a customer service job last week, and everything seemed to go really smoothly. Because the company I applied for is asking for the job applicants to be available as early as possible, everything went quickly. Yesterday, however, I got the dreaded email saying I wasn’t chosen. I followed up right away, asking for feedback on how to put myself up better for other jobs.

The interviewer replied today, saying that my experience was just a bit under, but that wouldn’t be a problem in normal circumstances. However, because her team can get rather vocal about what needs to happen, she feels that I will get “snowed under” by the pressure. She ended her email with, “But maybe I misinterpret you.”

To my suprise, the job vanacy was reposted, maybe not even an hour later. I’m somewhat confused. Is reapplying a good idea, or would that make me come across in a bad way? I’m really interested in the job, but I also don’t want to come across in a bad way and ruin my chances on the job market in my current industry/area. (It’s an industry where everybody literally knows each other, and one mistake can ruin a lot here.)

Do you think there’s merit to her feedback? Would you thrive in an environment where expectations are high and people are aggressive and maybe even pushy? If you think you’d do well there, why not email her back and tell her that, in fact, she might have misinterpreted you, give some examples of times you’ve excelled in that type of environment (or at least say that you’re not cowed by that kind of thing), and tell her you’d still love to be considered. (Don’t just reapply though — that would come across oddly since you’ve already been interviewed and you’re already in contact with her.)

7. How can I let me neighbor know I won’t be offended if she rejects me for a job?

Recently at a ladies social function in my neighborhood, my wife made the acquaintance of a woman who is a manager in my field of work. I had not previously met this person, as she had only moved in a few months ago. During the course of conversation, jobs came up and long story short, my wife came home with a business card and instructions for me to email my résumé to this manager.

I sent an introduction email, as well as my résumé, and although to say my qualifications matched would be a stretch, I was granted a phone screen and a face-to-face interview. During the interview, it was mentioned that the hiring would probably be on a temp basis with the option to go full-time. Here is where I need your help. How do I communicate to her that it is okay if she goes with another candidate and if after the temp part she cuts me loose if hired? The only knowledge she has of me as a person and professional is what she gleaned in the interview. I don’t want her to feel any obligation based solely on the fact I live four houses down. While I would be disappointed, I am not about to go all DeNiro stalker crazy person. Would it look like I was down playing my interest by communicating that before the decision is made? Also, if I don’t get selected, I would very much like the chance at an informational interview and to maintain her as a contact because her company will be bringing in a lot of remora companies that I might be able to get on with.

Well, first, she’s probably not worrying that you’ll become a crazy stalker. She’s probably assuming sanity on your part, and most hiring managers are reasonably comfortable with having to turn people down. Plus, since you noted that your qualifications weren’t a great match for the position, she has a perfectly easy way to do it — she can easily point to that.

That said, you could certainly send her an email thanking her for her time, telling her how much you enjoyed talking to her, and adding that if the fit isn’t right for this particular role, you’d love to stay in touch with her. That conveys that you’re not assuming the job is yours and that you’re a mature, sensible adult without going overboard.