job-share nightmare - sorry long

[choufleur]

Here's a bit of background.... I started job-sharing in january 2007 after i returned from maternity leave (previously i'd done my job full time). There have been various problems with my job-share partner, typically her management style (or lack of it), which means that she is very adept at upsetting people who work for us, her lack of experience and knowledge in our area of work (she has a master degree but no significant experience) and her attitude towards our customers, which is appaling. I work for a local authority and our customers are internal.

Last July she went on secondment to another job within the council - which is completely unrelated to ou area of work. Since then i have been working 4 days a week to cover.

I have been told today that she is returning to our team w/c 2 march. I've had a run in with my manager as i requested notice of my change of hours in writing (didn't think that was too much to ask). having told my team that my job-sharer is returning i'm now left with a very de-moralised team.

I have a meeting with my manager on Thursday ths week to discuss how we will manage my job-sharers return. Any tips or ideas of what we should be discussing would be gratefully recieved. I've written loads of notes but mostly, at the moment, sound like i'm moaning without any helpful suggestions.

Thanks

[flowerybeanbag]

It sounds as though there were major problems before she went on secondment. I am assuming your manager was aware of these problems at the time? What was being done at the time about addressing these? Or was it a case of 'ship it out rather than deal with it'?

In terms of what you should be discussing, well, the problems you mention really, what steps will be taken to either ensure that said problems don't occur again or what steps will be taken if they do re-occur. You should go in with positive actions that should be taken by your manager and yourself, rather than a list of complaints before she's even arrived back.

[choufleur]

thanks flowery. i know the list i've written sounds like me complaining and i need to put down some positive.

yes there were loads of problems before she went on secondment. two members of staff had put in complaints about her but they seem to have been swept under the carpet in the hope i think that they would go away. the staff members are now understandably upset that they complaints weren't dealt with and that she is coming back.

hopefully i'll be in a better frame of mind tomorrow and can come up with some constructive things to say.

[flowerybeanbag]

It's not that you shouldn't say the things you are saying, obviously you should and they are important. But if you can go in with 'this is the situation therefore we should do x,y,z', that's much better. It will help in terms of how you feel about it, in terms of pushing your manager to deal with the situation and also in terms of giving your team more confidence that their complaints will be taken seriously.

[choufleur]

thanks - that's really what i meant. you just said it in a better way.