To think I've been given a verbal warning or even shown the door?

[chatenoire]

Hey ladies!

I've told you about this saga before, but I feel like if I read between the lines, I was either given a first verbal warning or kindly shown the door.

My boss told me that she's noticed a complete decline in my performance in the past two months. I however know that yes maybe in August? I noticed things were starting to go south, but looking at emails/calendars it was early September.

Anywho, it was multifactorial but overall my manager gave me a few options:

*That she'll support me to move to another company in case I'm unhappy (I assured her I'm not, but she mentioned it twice).

*That I can move to a different team (she told me to tell her by next week as she'll meet that manager)

*Work on my current role.

She however did ask (twice) to at least do my basic job correctly (help her to help me).

I do feel a bit stuck, but I think it's because they started pointing things at me and not necessarily because I was terrible to begin with. I also think that because my core workload is low, my output is also low, so it's easier to see mistakes.

Out of the options your manager has given you, I'd move to another role. It sounds like the role you're in is not working out well for everyone so this could be something she feels is more suitable for you.

Yes I do agree with the sampling issue (it would only look bad on me) but that's what I mean that I don't think necessarily my quality has declined.

I don't know what your role is, but after 2 years of doing it I wouldn't be expecting many mistakes at all.

It's theoretically not a knowledge thing as no knowledge or processes have changed up to 20 months before "D Day".

My boss knew our workloads are/were very different but I diversified and up to like 4 weeks ago she had no issue with that.

So now my diary is full helping two teams (I've had praise for that from those teams) and I wanted to have a "hybrid role" which my boss decided that it was never going to happen.

The move that has been offered (or at least to talk to that manager) is to one of those teams.

Well supposedly up to like 2 months ago I wasn't making any or nothing earth shattering.

Ah right OK! I think I'm getting it now.

So yeah your manager is saying either your performance on your job has to improve. Or you have to apply to work on the other team. Or you have to leave.

Have you been given specific targets to meet? If not I would ask for them.

Do you agree your performance for the last couple of months has been poor?

I think you’ve got a right to know what the mistakes are (if you genuinely don’t) and what your performance level should be- like Key Performance Indicators. I also think if you’re on a plan you should be having slightly more regular updates.

On the issues you’ve explained, it sounds as though you’re either not doing the core role at all, or you’re not doing it very well. So if you’re planning on staying in the team I think you need to speak to your manager about ending the additional responsibilities/ projects as soon as possible and focus entirely on the core job until you’re doing that well.

But obviously if you prefer the new work, ask for a supported move to one of those teams asap.

"improvement plan" that wasn't very specific nor measurable definitely knocked my confidence

FFS - you've identified that nearly 40% of your output has been incorrect, and that your colleague gets through tons more than you do.
You say you enjoy your job - don't you actually want to do it well, or do you just think it's it's an easy ride?
No wonder you boss is suggesting alternatives.

Well it's not very measurable (apart from making zero mistakes, and she'd had to spot check as there's no way to automate).

I've taken feedback on board i.e. take notes and upload them (which now I do), and tick all the boxes when uploading forms (which again I do now and check like 3 times throughout the week in case I missed something).

I genuinely don't think my quality has declined.

I don't think you are getting it. It doesn't matter one jot whether you like your manager as a person - the thing that actually matters here is whether you like them as a manager, because that is your relationship with them. You have complained about your manager, you have complained about your colleagues, you have complained about the work (so I am wondering what it is that you like about the company) on multiple therads every few days for at least a month.

On the other side of the equaltion your manager appears to be communicating very very well. "Buck up or get out" in basic terms. But even then it actually does seem to be in a psoitive manner - she is actually offering to try to help you move into a role that you could succeed in when the alternative is that she could pursue the performance plan and dismiss if you don't improve. Most managers wouldn't dream of offering to support someone into another role in the company - it would be improve or dismissal. Maybe she just wants to pass on the problem (although that usually marks you out in many companies as a poor manager) or maybe she genuinely sees your skill set better matched to other work.

But whatever the case, there is a clear message here and whether you like the company or not will not save your job - it is improve, move to another job if one is available, or ultimately be dismissed.

Why is your colleague doing so many more cases than you?

Why does your colleague have 40 assignments while you have 8, three of which were not performed to the correct standard? Are they being given what should be your work because you cannot do it fast enough or to the correct standard consistently. If your colleague is on the same pay grade as you shouldn’t you have the same type and quantity of work? OP, have you asked for specific pointers or training so that you can reach the required standard? If not you need to go back to your boss, tell her you’ve taken on board her comments, and want to put in place a plan so that you can reach the required standard. That said, if your boss is encouraging you to move jobs/companies it suggests she doesn’t think this role is right for you and perhaps you should reconsider your position there.

There's something off about the way you're writing and responding here. Almost like it's all at arms length and nothing really to do with you. You're coming across as not taking any responsibility for your poor performance. I think you need to check your attitude towards your job, colleagues and manager, because you sound a bit difficult to me.

It's definitely a mix of both, my workload is like 80% the other stuff and 20% my core.

It's really high to have real KPIs in my role .

They DO need the headcount within my wider team which is a chat I'll have with that TL and our manager.

But no, I've had no regular updates until yesterday. It hadn't been mentioned to me on a 1:1 basis until yesterday

You say that you enjoy this role far more than many previous jobs.

So you need to work out how to improve your performance. Was it satisfactory before August. If yes, what's changed since then? Can you revert to your previous methods and outputs?

If it was previously unsatisfactory but it flew under the radar, then you need to brush up your training, ask for support, focus on whether you're in the right job.

If you were your boss, what would you be expecting to happen?

That's a fairly long story, but we are aligned to other colleagues that feed the work to us. Two of mine left the company, so I was left with almost half of her number,.plus the ones I have are barely busy which means I have less to do too.

I genuinely don't think my quality has declined

but this contradicts your opening post where you indicate it declined from sept, as you’re arguing it wasn’t August. It also reads like you’re saying you’ve always been a bit crap and made mistakes, not terrible but not great either, and it’s just now they are spotting it. That’s no kind of defense.

I don't understand why only 20% of your time is spent on your "core" work. Is this because the workload is just not available? (Hard to see how that's the case when your colleague is clearly doing loads.) Or is it because you're choosing to spend your time on helping this other team, instead of actually focusing on your main job? Or is there some other reason?

From what you've said, it sounds like the quality of your work has never been up to scratch but it just wasn't picked up on previously?

Your manager sounds like she is being very reasonable. Is moving to the other team an option you would like to explore? If you want to stay in your current job, it sounds like you need to up your game pretty quickly, as you clearly won't be allowed to stay if you continue working as you are.

Your responses feel all over the place. Not structured. This may be how your boss feels about you/your work. I'd ask for a meetingnto fully go through all of the issues. I'd be mortified if my boss suggested I leave though. I think I'd leave.

OK, so the issue is that other colleagues aren't "feeding" you the work. What steps have you taken to address this, and what has your line manager said about it?

I think that of my boss was semi suggesting I move on I would do everything in my power to do so. I just wouldn't want to work in that environment, it wouldn't make me feel happy or confident.

So when I was a manager a few moons ago.... I created these spreadsheets and calculators so my reports knew exactly what numbers they needed to get back on track.

I would also run SQL queries of their work and do spot checks, while trying to see any trends in their mistakes, which then would give me pointers for refreshers.

I had 1:1s with my reports every week, all my feedback was measurable and actionable. That's been my favourite role so far.

I’ll be honest, I’m assuming English is your second language as your posts are all really difficult to understand. However, the core point is very clear - you don’t do enough work and the work you do compete is poor. So you can surely see how the company may want to sort this out?!