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.

I've told my boss. However if those guys aren't selling anything, there's nothing I can do at all.

To me it was obvious that from the moment it became imbalanced another of those colleagues should have been assigned to me, but that didn't happen until last week. Mind you this happened in late May.

I'd there a reason that you couldn't ask your colleague gor some of her cases to share the workload even if they were not originally passed on to you.

It is quite possible that your quality has never been up to par but that they were mindful you were new/ Cancer scare / other external issues and giving you some slack but now it's got to the point they can't do it anymore. Either way you are being told your quality and quantity are no longer up to scratch and you need to do something about it whether you agree or not.

If you want to keep this job you need to request a 1:1 and go through the issues with your TL, be open to the feedback and not make excuses. If you don't want to do that role anymore and moving to the other team would suit you better then request that instead.

You say you are being assessed for ND, that's a pretty broad spectrum from dyslexia, dyscalculia, ASD and ADHD and adjustments can be made within the workplace if your struggles are down to that so uf your TL is not aware ask them for what can be put in place as you go for the diagnosis

I was just about to say that maybe they were quiet about being reassigned because they were aware of lower work quality. People do talk

When you were a manager you used to make your ‘direct reports’ have 1:1’s with you every WEEK to discuss their performance based on your spreadsheet detailing their performance?!

So your own management style is micro-management… and you’re struggling now with working in a role where you’re not micro-managed and are trusted to be self-starting and sufficiently motivated to get on with your job rather than being whipped to perform.

I don't necessarily see typos, but I don't think that's part of the ND.

So yes, I did ask my colleague but she showed no interest in sharing the load. Even two weeks ago when it was an order she openly said she didn't want to.

To the other poster who mentioned about my "reputation" it has never been down to my colleagues to decide. It's always been my manager's decision.

I've told my boss. However if those guys aren't selling anything, there's nothing I can do at all.

If they're your direct reports of course you can do something.

You are a very confusing communicator, judging by this thread, and I wonder if I’m wasting my breath here but still…

I’m thinking of an employee we had in my directorate these past few years. They were incredibly frustrating and ultimately fairly poor at their role. Causing work for other people and just generally not being up to standard.

About a year ago we had an opening for another post, but because of cost restraints we had to recruit internally. This person was transferred to this new role (with consent) and I have to say it’s been the making of them. It’s a fundamentally different role and suits their skillset much better. So moving might be a good option.

as a manager, if someone is underperforming then you have a duty to try and create an environment in which they succeed. But it’s not always possible and the above is a good option.

It was like a "call centre" environment. I had 7 direct reports, but the indirect reports added to 100+ because of the sheer volume, all of those 1:1s were needed . They might have been bi-weekly, but I definitely remember them being every week.

I was also required from a reporting POV as the QA Vs Prod report went out every week

They're not my direct reports... They're a completely different team with their own manager.

OP - I think your manager is being incredibly lenient here.

The crux of it is you are not performing, the fact you are full of excuses and buck passing would piss me off no end.

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Move teams.

You're right, you have posted a lot about work and your worries recently. Skimming your other threads it sounds like these issues may have been going on for longer than you realised but it took time for them to become obvious because of salespeople from "your" side of the business leaving etc. it also reads that your company have been understanding of your cancer scare and possibly even other stuff going on outside work and have been supportive in not pulling you up on your performance. However there is a limit and they have obviously decided to take action now.

From what I can understand from this or other threads, you and your colleague share the workload which comes from salespeople and she is doing about 5 times as much as you? This is partly due to some of the salespeople that you support leaving the business but also seems that people prefer to deal with your colleague so are more likely to go to her? Unfortunately if she has a reputation for getting through large amounts of work and your reputation is beginning to be that you make mistakes that is unlikely to change unless you do something about the quality of your work.

I am assuming the new work which you have taken on for another team is the PM role which you mentioned in another thread? If so, although you say here that you enjoy it, on the other threads you have mentioned difficulties in knowing what the role encompasses and difficulty in managing the colleague on the project effectively so I wouldn't bank on that being a solution to your problems now.

Just a few things:

They don't know about my cancer scare. They do know I have complex health care (every now and then) but that has nothing to do with the scare.

No, the salespeople don't decide who they deal with.

No, the PM role is tangential to my main role (or something that could always have been a career path) - definitely don't enjoy it.

What I've been enjoying is the product management, account management, and general training (as in others).

The "existential crisis" is that I don't know if I was built for my role or if I even enjoy it or if I ever will.

If you communicate with your manager in the way you're communicating on this thread, I feel quite sorry for her, because this is like pulling teeth. For a start, you don't seem to realise that most of what you're saying about your 'outputs' means absolutely nothing to anyone else here - you're just assuming that because what you say is clear to you, it must be equally clear to us, even though we have none of the information that you have about your job.

From what you're saying about your own management style, it sounds to me as if you perhaps focus entirely on counting 'outputs' and specific mistakes, but don't understand that the way you do things, the way you communicate and the way you interact with your colleagues (you mention you 'clash' with some of them) is also relevant to the quality of your work. I also think it's interesting that you had to be told to make notes of your meetings with people - do you have a lot of misunderstandings with people over what was agreed in meetings, by any chance?

I'd be interested to know what form of neurodivergence you're being assessed for.

Could you go back to your previous call-centre type role? It sounds as if the more straightforward method of measuring results in that type of environment suits your management/measurement style better?

Interestingly enough my manager didn't mention anything about the soft skills (at least this time).

No, the notes thing is because of a process thing and because in their experience it has helped them to clarify stuff (in case there are issues in the future) but that has never been the case for me. - as in I've never had any issues once they get out of my assembly belt

Op you mention your self confidence in your job. I think once that goes it's time to change, whether within the company or moving on completely, because you will always always be on edge waiting to make the next mistake or else if you make a mistake it's going to knock you to the ground. If you think it's a low workload joba nd you did it for so long then there's someone else out there that will love it and in the same way oyu'll find something where you can get back to your old productivity. Best of luck

To answer the question in the title of your post, I believe it is a requirement (or at least considered best practice) that it should be
clearly stated when a discussion constitutes a formal warning therefore, if you are sure that this was not done, you should be fairly confident that you have not been given a warning. If anyone out there has more detailed HR knowledge perhaps they can confirm this. Also, even a verbal warning should be confirmed in writing. Have you been given anything of this sort?
However, in terms of the actual work, if you are enjoying the PM side of things and working mostly on that anyway, why look at
moving to that?

I’d guess that there’s actually a bit more to it than just some recent spot checks. I wonder if some of your older work has been spotted as not being up to scratch, but the “moment” has passed to identify that and it’s unfair to go back over old work. So instead your current performance has been out under a lense.

This thread is a bit unclear. Your manager sounds like she is trying to give you options. Maybe you should ask her for a regular 1:1 to keep a track of your progress? It sounds like you would benefit from being managed this way.

I would also point out that you have less work than your colleague and check whether she wants to reallocate some more to you.

Firstly, you need to clarify with your manager exactly what is expected of you qualitatively and quantitatively NOW and going forward.
Whether your performance was satisfactory in the past is irrelevant as either its declined or they've changed the standards. So move away from that and focus on now.
Ask directly if its not clear on your plan : What are my targets? What needs to change for me to achieve quality standards?
Then, consider...is what is being asked of you achievable for you?
If not, what are the barriers? (For example, the side project.)
What might enable you to overcome the barriers? (For example, is it an option not to do the side project?)
Do you need to request any changes? (For example, to better accommodate health or other needs?)
Do you need training? If so, in what?
Write this all down clearly as barriers/suggestions to overcome them and talk to your manager.

Could be, but the implication yesterday was that it was consistently good up until theoretically it went downhill

Firstly, you haven't been given a verbal warning, as this has to be documented as such.

Secondly, you need to get a very clear statement, with quantifiable measures, from your boss on what she expects.

Do you feel that you know what your job is? That may sound patronising but it can happen that people drift for a while without having a fundamental understanding of what they are supposed to be doing. And then so much time passes it can feel too embarrassing to ask. Sounds to me like an honest conversation and reset needs to happen now, as neither you, your boss or colleagues can continue as things are.

I can not actually pull out if all of this what the problem is. I have no sense of what you actually do- other people sell something which somehow creates work for you but they haven't sold much and you have only had 8 of these 'things' passed to you (to do whatever you do with them)in the last few months and 3 you say you haven't completed well. You seem almost surplus to requirement at times, you seem quite happy to have had a greatly reduced workload for months, your manager can't identify anything you have made errors with but wants to move you on, you don't get on with some colleagues but you are very happy there.
It's all sounding very vague to me almost as if you go in, occupy a desk, don't do much, fill in a few forms, don't get on with other staff , have a dull day and then go home. I'm not sure why you want to stay.
Would you not be happier if work was interesting and challenging and you excelled at it?

To an extent, no. Apparently many of our colleagues don't even know what we're supposed to be doing.

There's also a lot of overlap with other roles which makes it confusing