June 16, 2008
Favoritism
I manage my company’s warehouse. My director shows favoritism to the employees in the technical center who do absolutely no wrong in his eyes. He thinks the warehouse makes every error in the book everyday and are a bunch of complainers. My guys are extremely hard workers and will do anything I ask them to do without hesitation. He treats my guys like dirt and they feel it and they see how well he treats the techs. They are very unhappy with their jobs and they are looking for other jobs just because of him. I have tried to tell and make my director see that he does this, but he refuses to listen or to see the proof. He just backs the techs up.
In addition to the reporting I have to do for the warehouse, I have to do the reporting for the tech center. Since he does not have a manager for the tech center he feels that I should do this reporting since I already do the warehouse’s. The executives keep coming up with more reports that need to be done and I am so busy with reports I can’t manage my warehouse properly. I am so far behind that I can’t make deadlines. When I am out of the office he will not back me up and I when I come back I am even more behind. These are managerial reports so one of my employees can’t do them. I have asked him for help but he tells me don’t worry it will all work out. I feel like I am just his secretary.
I have even gone to his boss and have told her about the problem but nothing has been done there either because she is too busy with other things to take care of this. I try to tell my employees to stay positive but it I know how hard that can be because I have a hard time staying positive.
Meryl Responds
Regarding the reports, document the time you spend on each item, along with the time you spend on warehouse management. Then when you meet to discuss your responsibilities, say,
- I need your help. I’ve been logging the time it takes for my various responsibilities and here is what I’ve come up with. As you see, these external demands on my time take up X hours leaving me Y hours for warehouse management. This is unworkable. I suggest we resolve this by delegating X report to (name), streamlining Y report in the following way and eliminating the Z report. Would this work for you, or do you have other suggestions?
Regarding the favoritism, document specific details of the incidents, and when you and your staff “complain”, be sure to talk about possible solutions and what you want more than what you don’t want.
Your question contains generalities, which makes me wonder if you are specific enough when you address the issue with the director. For example, when you say he thinks the techies can do no wrong, warehouse makes every error in the book and he treats your people like dirt, you are speaking in generalities. This may be just in writing me, but I point it out in case you are not specific enough with your boss or boss’ boss.
You can’t make your boss listen or look at proof, but with persistance you might crack the armour. Every time your director says something disparaging about your people or to your people or in some other way is unfair, document it and speak specifically to him about the incident. Say,
- I think you may not be aware of what a great job Joe did regarding…
- I believe your assessment of what happened with the X account is unfair because…
Be sure to let him know the impact on morale. Say,
- When you (blame my staff for errors they did not make as with the X situation, speak to my staff in the way you did Joe, overlook successes such as…, not mention above the call of duty contributions such as…, etc.) the effect is it lowers morale. I’m afraid of losing good people who do a great job because they feel blamed and unappreciated.
In addition, sing your people’s praises at every appropriate opportunity. Say things like,
- Joe found a great solution to a stocking issue we had. He… It would mean a lot to him if you were to acknowledge it.
If your boss refuses to look at the details of incidents, you can suggest,
Since you’re unwilling to look at the details, I will forward my documentation to your boss in the hope she can help me here. I will cc you.
Be aware that you are unlikely to change things with one comment, but with repetition you can make inroads. That goes for talking to your boss’ boss as well. If the squeaky wheel gets the oil, as it often does, you’ll need to squeak enough that they will decide it’s easier to address your issue than to ignore it.
Obviously you care about your people, and it is your responsibility to take care of them to the best of your ability. I respect your willingness to do that.
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