To find this colleague a bit annoying

[halfacupofjuice]

Hello everyone,

I have been working at a particular company for a number of years and over the years things have changed but mostly have stayed the same. We have recently recruited a new person temporarily, as our previous colleague is off long term sick but will be back soon, but we are all finding her a bit... much...and I don't know if I should discuss this with her ( of course in a diplomatic way). Here are the reasons:

1. She comes across that she doesn't know much about our field, but when you speak to her and talk about certain practices and policies, she knows ALOT but tends to die this down but only brings up her knowledge when I challenge her about her practice. The reason why I'm saying this is because I can tell that she is a keen learner but has been using some of her working days to go on training (to be far- only two) but she has just started with us. Also, she has recently asked the company to pay for a course that she would like to attend, we of course declined as we don't pay for trainings for temporary staff and plus there are a number of us in the office who are very specialist and have worked in the role for many of years with who she can seek advice and support from, so it's not an efficient way of using resources.

1. In our company, we have been doing the same things, pretty much, for many years and then she comes in and has begun to ask us whether she can change some of our practices when working with clients.

3.She has only worked for a company for a month, but already she is speaking to similar companies to try and increase our own resources. This is amazing for our company, but I am finding her a bit much.

What should I do? Some of the colleagues feel that she is a bit much and should just take a seat back. How can I advise my new colleague?

So actually she had good ideas you just don’t have money to do them
or she has bad ideas?

either way I wouldn’t worry to much. She sounds switched on and progressive so she won’t want to hang around in a backward thinking bitchy company

I know of the network that she's talking about but I was not aware that they also had a fee membership. To be honest, I'm not very into the tech savy world. When I go to work, it work, and when I go home, it's back to family duties and ME time.

Sounds like she would be an asset. Are you worried she's after your job?

Sadly not a reverse.

I know it must read that I'm not painting the company in a good light. I was trying to get a across that we as a team have been working in the field for a very long time and are aware of the pitfalls. We found a solution that it is sustainable in the meantime but are slowly progressing.

No. I don't think she's the managerial type. She's only been working in the field for the past three years. I have been working in the field for the past 20 years! So no, I'm not worried at all 😂

Bitching about your direct report on mumsnet? Ffs.

She's temp, right? She's trying to impress to get a perm role. Good on her for making the most of her time and showing up the complacency engrained in the dept.

Whataretheodds

I have shared the latest research with her. But she "fires back" so to speak and tells me that there's not enough evidence and hence she's worried about quoting so and so.

Why have I just remembered "What colour is your parachute ?" ?

Holy shit OP you don't come across well here at all. I'm with the camp who think your colleague sounds great.

The only thing she sounds guilty of is shaking things up at your workplace.

She sounds exactly what the company needs, hopefully her role will expand to allow her the freedom to move the organisation forward.

We openly encourage new employees to speak to us on differences they have noticed after on boarding. Its brilliant Intel on where we are in our industry, sometimes we take on board comments and make changes as a result. Sometimes we are the more progressive but we certainly don't sit still with our working methods, programmes we use, services we offer to our clients.

Your reaction to this person in my practice would be viewed incredibly negatively and to be honest we wouldn't be keen to retain you.

I mean this kindly, but having worked in a field for 20 years doesn't necessarily make you a better employee, or manager, than someone who's worked in the field for three. There are plenty of experienced people I work with who are actually worse employees for being stuck in their ways. Innovation, ideas, initiative - these are all good qualities that you should be encouraging and promoting as a LM, not trying to quash.

This! She sounds like she can't win. Reading your posts, I can't figure out what she's actually done wrong. You come across as being annoyed that she's not just an 'ok' temp. Instead of being pissed off that she actually knows what she's doing, you should be taking full advantage of her knowledge/skills/ideas/enthusiasm etc.

If you're her line manager it's your responsibility to let her know that she's making life difficult for other colleagues (without using those words of course). I'd simply say to her that she has some great ideas and it's great she's so proactive, however the company is quite set in its ways and staff are used to things being done a certain way. She therefore needs to approach any suggestions for changes sensitively and ideally through you first so you can advise. I'd also just tell her that you'd like her to come to you and other colleagues for advice rather than propose attending training.

That said I agree with others, it does sound like your company could do with a shakeup and if she's doing things to bring in more resources why would you not support that wholeheartedly? Sounds like you and others could learn from her, even if she is trying to push things at a faster pace than you are comfortable with.

I know it must read that I'm not painting the company in a good light. I was trying to get a across that we as a team have been working in the field for a very long time and are aware of the pitfalls.

Thing is, OP, this mindset can be really damaging to an organisation for two reasons:

a) It means the perspective of the incumbent is always given precedence over an outside perspective. This means that people close their minds off to fresh thinking which could actually be really helpful. You say you are "aware of the pitfalls" but what you actually mean is you've done things the same way for a long time and are not open to alternatives

b) This attitude can be incredibly alienating for new people coming in as it makes them feel their opinions and perspectives are not valued and eventually they will stop trying to offer fresh views and likely they will ultimately leave.

I've seen this sort of attitude choke growth and innovation out of so many companies and I've been on the receiving end of it from "who moved my cheese" people who like things done a certain way. It's really offputting and if you want to hire good people to push the company forwards you will not want to put bright, ambitious people off.

Of course people with experience should be listened to and their views taken into account. But they shouldn't get to red tape any suggestion made by a newcomer just because "that's how things work around here". That's a fast road to the death of a company.

Could there be a touch of unconscious bias here? Had this been a man, would have been the Golden Boy, on his way to permanent job, promotion, partnership etc. Not seen as “too much”.

Are you NHS OP? This sounds exactly like the toxic culture endemic in the NHS. “Because we’ve always done it this way” is a mantra to so many.

"No. I don't think she's the managerial type. She's only been working in the field for the past three years. I have been working in the field for the past 20 years! So no, I'm not worried at all 😂"

After this post you should be worried I am afraid. Managerial roles are no longer just about the time you have spent in a field. There is a human element to being a manager now and for any company to survive you need to attract new blood and innovate and change as well as supporting your team, temporary or permanent.

This post certainly does not reflect well on that and your comment is very dismissive of someone fresh and who you have said yourself is very knowledgeable. Things are very different in the world now compared to 20 years ago!

"New ideas pass through three periods: 1) It can't be done. 2) It probably can be done, but it's not worth doing. 3) I knew it was a good idea all along! Old people will always tell you that the young people have got it wrong; that they're naive, inexperienced, reckless. But the world progresses by the naive, the inexperienced, the reckless - almost half of all progress in science, technology and the arts have been made by people aged 25 or under. Old people have one thing to their advantage - they're going to die."

Arthur C. Clarke said this during an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1984, and the quote has been widely circulated since then. It is a commentary on the tendency for established thinkers to dismiss new ideas and the importance of younger generations in advancing science and technology.

You sound a bit jealous to be fair. Maybe it's something you could analyse for yourself and help your own self development

You see, this would make me want to leave. It’s crushing and dismissive. I winced when I read it.

Nothing you’ve added paints the organisation or the management culture in a positive light. Hopefully the employee will take her skills and enthusiasm to a company that will value the contribution, as opposed to being nastily dismissive.

I read and re-read to be sure I wasn't missing anything. You have a temporary dtaff member who is quite knowledgeable in your field. She's not boasting or showcasing her expertise but you somehow feel she's deliberately 'dieing down' (playing down?) her ability. You're annoyed because she asked to attend some training. The request was declined and presumably she hasn't sulked or screamed about it.
She's asked questions about some of your procedures and has come up with suggestions for improvements to your practices. She's also increased you business (through her networking?).
It sounds to me that you expect her to be 'humble' and 'defer' to the establishment. Her only crime seems to be that you don't like her. As her line manager I'd be very careful what I said to her. You have an obligation to treat her fairly and not let your personal feelings bleed into your professional life.
All I know is that your organisation sounds like the last place I'd want to work. Never mind, hopefully Darleen will be back soon and you can all go back to your old ways. Maybe in a few years time your temp will be able to offer some of your staff jobs.

I wonder if the OP is working on a plot for a sitcom episode ? This is almost too trope-y.