Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

To be furious and speachless at being told at work to stop contacting a senior manager.

50 replies

gigglepin · 20/09/2011 18:57

He is an acountant and i have emailed him regarding several issues that he NEEDS to be kept in the loop about.

BUT boss came to see me today and told me to stop contacting this accountant because he is " very very very senior".

In other words, too important to be contacted by me.

Fuck the fuck off...if i consider that he needs to be included in things then i will be including him in the loop and i wont be told who i can and cant speak to..im a professional ffs.

Am i right OR is he?
ps its not as if i send him 50000 emails a day, i last emailed him about 4 months ago!!!

OP posts:

SnapesOnAPlane · 20/09/2011 19:30

It doesn't actually sound like egos to me.
Ask your boss for a clear line of report and a plan of action should you need to contact someone 'very senior'.
Does the accountant not have an assistant that you could ask? Accountant assistants are usually more friendly :o

HomemadeCakes · 20/09/2011 19:31

gigglepin, I have absolutely been in your situation!! I used to work for a complete knobber idiot of a boss who was also a kiss arse very conscious of his place and being seen to be doing the right thing.

The trouble was, he was so busy that he became a bottleneck for issues that could turn serious, so I started liaising directly with a Senior person in the US, but always copied in my boss. The reaction though was different to yours though, he received a mail from said Senior person saying that she didn't want to receive emails from me because I wasn't Senior enough!!!

I work for a huge US BlueChip company where everyone is apparently equal (yeah right) so I was shocked!!

My reaction was 'she sleeps, eats and shits washes like everyone else, she is not better than me!'.

Since then my boss has been laid off and I am more Senior than the person in the US.

Don't let them make you feel like nothing - we might all have different roles, but without us Monkeys, there would be no Organ-Grinders!!!

NinkyNonker · 20/09/2011 19:40

Perhaps it is type of contact as well. At ny previous employer there were tight regs regarding copying people in etc, we were encouraged to hit the report button found at the end of each email if we felt we didn't need it cause of spammage.

Does he have a secretary? May be worth sending admin type requests like you mention through his admin person.

Unfortunately there are food chains in most work places, he's just a lit higher up it so work around that.

ginmakesitallok · 20/09/2011 19:41

don't know what sort of nurse you're going to get for £21k - but well done anyway. Be careful you don't cut your nose off to spite your face, snapes gives good advice, find a less senior accountant to link with

gaaagh · 20/09/2011 19:50

You've been asked by your boss to follow a stricter reporting line in future. Why make a problem out of it? Just do it.

I would cover myself by confirming the above in an email to your boss ("just to confirm what we spoke about today") but leave it at that. That way you're following formal orders, but covering yourself. There really doesn't need to be any more to it than that. If you hit a hurdle ahead, e.g. missing information that you might have contacted this senior person about, go to your boss - that's what he/she is there for.

Flisspaps · 20/09/2011 19:50

It could be that your boss is worried that the Big Boss thinks he looks a bit shit if you're emailing him direct, and is after saving face himself.

The Big Boss may have mentioned you emailing him about X contract to the boss (good work by gigglepin there, saving £21k, good job she reminded me to return the stuff to her) and your boss is a bit at knowing nothing about it - if you're doing good work, then he wants to get in on it too!

Meteorite · 20/09/2011 19:56

Ask your boss whether this person requested that you stop emailing him. You'll either get a straightforward "yes" or "no" or possibly some woolly talk which probably means "no".

Then send a polite email to the senior manager, CC'd to the boss, as follows. Say that in future you'll be emailing all the relevant information to your boss, for him to pass on as required. Then keep copies of everything you send so that if your boss doesn't forward it as necessary you can prove it's not your fault.

Original poster

gigglepin · 20/09/2011 19:58

gaah it was "freindly advice" that this gut gave me. Not strict chain of command.

OP posts:

RedHotPokers · 20/09/2011 20:11

Sorry to ask this OP, but is there any chance your emails were phrased a bit badly, a bit over familiar or too persistant?

I have had to ask a member of my team at work to not email senior managers directly. I normally wouldn't have any problem with it, but she just has a bit of an unfortunate tone/manner, which a few senior managers have commented on. Kind of treating them like subservients in a bizarre kind of way. Anyway, its put noses out of joint so I am trying to help her by suggesting she sends things via me!

mousesma · 20/09/2011 20:18

It sounds like this senior accountant does not want you to email him and this being the case you should respect it. It's frustrating when you have to go through third partys to get an answer but if that is the route you've been asked to direct your queries then you should adhere to it.

Insomnia11 · 20/09/2011 20:25

It shouldn't be a question of WHO is contacting WHOM surely but about WHAT they are contacting them. E-mails should be sent to the relevant person to deal with the matter. I've often had to e-mail directors directly about something without copying in my boss - because my boss trusted me to do things without copying her in on every single e-mail. In fact she'd have complained if I copied her into emails unneccessarily as she got so many unneccessary e-mails anyway.

But I agree, if I'd been told to copy in my boss or to put the matter through them then I would.

Nowhere should have a policy that someone is too junior to contact someone else though. That's total arse. Who do they think they are, fecking Upstairs Downstairs?

BeaOnSea · 20/09/2011 20:30

In my experience, reporting lines quite often exist so your boss can take credit for any work you have done

Good suggestion up thread to possibly send information to Accountant's assistant or PA. That's usual practice for senior personnel. Would your boss be happy with that?

Pan · 20/09/2011 20:43

"friendly advice" is a bit of a warning, but been conveyed gently. IT isn't up to you to decide what this blokes needs to know. If there is an ego involved here, have you thought it could be yours?

redwineformethanks · 20/09/2011 20:54

How about you send one last email to the senior accountant, and end with a friendly "Going forward I've been asked to send emails to my boss instead, so won't be bothering you again" just to cover your back. It's possible that with the best of intentions you've been bombarding the guy with info he doesn't need or want.

bringinghomethebacon · 20/09/2011 21:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mynewpassion · 20/09/2011 21:02

Not egos either but sounds like accountant had a word with your boss about your determination, his view peskiness. That's why, paraphrasing here, your boss said friendly advice.

If you need quick action from the accountant, I would recommend talking to your boss before contacting the accountant again.

ginmakesitallok · 20/09/2011 21:03

Definitely wouldn't send a final e-mail to senior accountant- nothing more annoying to ask someone to stop contacting you and then they do it again. Don'y ignore the "friendly advice" - next time might not be so friendly!

cunexttuesonline · 20/09/2011 21:07

It sounds like senior boss man has told your boss to tell you to stop emailing him. You need to speak to your boss regarding the procedure to be followed in the situations where you think this boss has to be involved.

Pan · 20/09/2011 21:10

def. don't email again - in these circs it may well read as you being a bit arsey and provocative.

WoodBetweenTheWorlds · 20/09/2011 21:12

I have told staff not to contact senior colleagues before - either because the recipients have complained to me about irrelevant messages clogging up their inboxes, or - in the case of a particular member of staff - because they have complained about the poor style of communication.

I would have no problem if a staff member asked me to put an instruction in writing but if they chose to ignore "friendly advice", frankly, I'd think they were an idiot!

BrandyAlexander · 20/09/2011 21:22

I also think senior boss has told your boss to tell you to stop emailing him. I did this for the first time ever a few months ago when a junior employee kept clogging up my inbox with emails that i didn't need (including persistently chasing me on unimportant stuff). In my case, I think the junior thought she was being really proactive but in reality it was just pissing me off. When I tried to subtly tell her that she didn't need to copy me in on anything and/or to work directly with her managers, she didn't get the hint. In the end I asked her manager to have a word with her. I would take the friendly advice that you have been offered but have evidence of communications between you and your manager if you feel you need it.

smoggii · 20/09/2011 21:32

You may think he 'needs' to be kept in the loop, he might be thinking that the details are trivial and if he wants to find it out he can but that he has to trust staff to do the work they are required to do.

In my experience of working in the Civil Service, I would e-mail one grade above and no further unless there was something i'd been asked specifically to send or there was an issue with the person above me that I felt warranted me going higher (this happened once and was a very unusual situation of my Line Manager having a slow but very obvious breakdown).

If you think it must be drawn to the accountant's attention, ask your manager to pass it on in the e-mail, if he doesn't you are covered. It sounds to me like he has been asked to stop you sending e-mails, but even if he hasn't, if that is what your boss wants...suck it up.

YABU

redwineformethanks · 20/09/2011 21:43

Having read advice of others, I'd now be inclined to agree that you should back off

Original poster

gigglepin · 21/09/2011 18:08

Thanks, some really good advice and perspectives there.

He does have a more junior partner (doesn't have a PA or secretarial support) so i shall copy him in in the future, he is amenable and a friendly sort.

Oh well, you elarn something new each and every day dont you

OP posts:

TigerseyeMum · 21/09/2011 23:22

I read the thread title and jus knew you worked for the NHS

I am relatively new to the NHS but have learned it is the most hierarchical, protocol-lead structure known to man. Getting a good job done well is not on the agenda. Following the roolz and knowing your place is.

I agree it is a 'friendly' warning so you would be wise to follow instruction. Sadly, in my experience this means that efficiency will fall, but so long as cover your arse, it's the public sector way [cynical emoticon]

Flip

1 2