Making them accountable or micro managing

[Paigeworkerx]

I work with an external supplier. This supplier has worked on my programme of 3 years and have now smooth talked the directors into keeping this relationship going.

The whole business hates the supplier and my department doesn’t want to work with them but has to. Issues with lack of accountability, things are never done when expected, never done to a good standard. They also put staff under a large amount of stress due to them refusing to accept our ways of working.

The new piece of work has 3 actions on them that my department has stipulated must be completed for them to sign off on the next stage. These actions were all due today. All 3 are documents. Chased up the supplier today to ask about where they were up to. Director instructed they needed to be done ASAP earlier on in the week. The guys says they’ve been working on them this morning and I’ll get them Monday afternoon do I need them. Questioned this as the next stage to another supplier is being agreed on Monday morning and my department has said they can’t support without the documentation.

Off their history they have never done anything on time and I flagged as I was concerned that the new work isn’t signed off yet and I’m concerned about their delay.

Supply has come back with I’m out of work and micromanaging him and his company and he won’t tolerate this behaviour. Also started making excuses to why it’s not been done. Told me to escalate to the MD of the business.

You’re being reasonable keeping them accountable
you’re being not reasonable and micromanaging

You need to manage the relationship via your senior managers.

Ask for a meeting Monday morning with your Director.

Say

1. delivery date (due today at what time?) was not met
2. your team can't progress their work scheduled for Monday.
3. All of the deliverables from your department will now have to move out by 1 day.
4. your supplier did not contact you to inform you of their delay.
5. during the conversation the supplier objected to you pointing out a) the delay b) the failure to inform your company of the delay.
6. supplier has indicated that you are not to contact their team directly.

Then ask the Director how the Director will solve the situation.

Then NB shut up and say nothing.

If you / your department keep making up time and covering up hassle the process will not change. If you make it your Directors problem, the solution is going to be the Director making it go away.
Either by accepting the delays and your team dont get the blame
Or by making it the suppliers problem.

You can also suggest that as a result of prior history that the supplier is to be given further contracts, it is given shorter delivery deadlines so that their delay has no impact of the overall schedule.

Thank you I’ve escalated to head of department and the director. Asked them going forward if I can escalate every issue them rather than chase.

It is a problem that they directors are aware, they just never hold the supplier accountable. The last contact they cost us 200k but nothing was resolved.

I'd request a meeting with the md to review current processes, issues, escalation points, contractual service levels (if any are in place and if not can you get sone in they need to deliver against)

Can you use another supplier for your next project to see how they compare?

Who's managing your projects and why aren't there financial penalities for failing to supply on time?

Lack of input from senior management is the main reason projects (work packages) fail. This sort of situation is intolerable but will probably never change because those with the real clout just don't give a shit.

You've got to decide how much this bothers you. If that's an excessive amount look for another job.

All the while you're dealing with the frustrating fall out from this, your bosses will ignore the problem.

Asked them going forward if I can escalate every issue them rather than chase.

Stop offering solutions.

You want the Director to come up with the solution and instruct you to carry them out.

Your supplier has told you that this is a game of oneup and name dropping. So now your Director has instructed you, you instruct supplier that you are acting on behalf of the Director. The supplier blows your Director off by blowing you off. You go back to your Director and say the supplier said FO to the Directors instruction so can the Director please contact the supplier directly. All of this correctly nuanced in your "company speak".

Or the Director tells the supplier you have the direct authority and they have to deal with you or find new customer. As the prior overrun was £200k you probably don't want to be the responsible employee if or when the losses are investigated.

If there is a traceable loss you want to be very, very careful to make sure that you document (timestamped emails) the failure to deliver and the consequences for your department (and only your department).

You are now in "crisis mode", the most important thing on Monday is that your department can't allow the new supplier progress with the next stage of work.

You still need to get the documents, quality control them and sent it back to the supplier for correction. This is historic you can't change the past and your first concern is how the Director proposes to mitigate the damage the failure to deliver has caused with the Next Step Supplier.

The deliverables are due but can the Next Step Supplier fit in the delay, etc. etc. How much of an overall delay will this cost the project. Again your Director makes the decison, the responsibility for the loss attached.

If the documents are not delivered that afternoon its a second crisis.

Once that " first crisis" is resolved you investigate why the crisis happened ( failure to deliver and the game playing ) and how it can be prevented in future ( the Director needs to decide if you speak for your company or not ). If you are not given the authority to sack them, and the game playing continues the Director really needs to deal with the supplier directly.

Thanks all.

Its hard to explain the agreement as very outing and due to the niche nature I’d most likely be outing,

The director agreed and now today has already tried to back peddle on a dependency. I’ve escalated to my department.

The supplier is honestly burning me out. The last person on this assignment was moved over to due that. I’m really disappointed in the business for putting staff in this position.

Time to think about looking for another job, though I hope you can make some progress with the supplier in the mean time.

Sorry to read that you have directors who seem unable to act enough.