Manager cut me out of a significant meeting… do you agree this is fundamentally wrong?

[Rattlle]

There is some background to this which I am happy to share but also don’t want to post a huge essay that nobody will want to read! In essence I’ve had a tricky time over the last few months with my manager and I did wonder if I was being a bit paranoid. But now I am starting to think I’m not.

I was due to attend a huge client meeting in May which I have been involved in preparation wise for a few months. Last week I had two days of leave and returned on Friday to an email from the manager relating to the matter generally, then at the bottom simply stating that I wouldn’t be attending this meeting anymore as it was cheaper for a junior male colleague to do it instead.

I have not responded to that point as I wanted the weekend to think about it but I can’t help but feel this is pretty shit treatment. Just interested really in others’ thoughts as I know sometimes at work you can end up failing to look at things objectively when it’s happening to you.

@Enjoytherush i can see on the file. I’m still being asked to do the prep!

All the more reason for a conversation, which your manager is at fault for not having instituted to explain What's being done here and why.

It doesn’t make sense. You’re doing all the prep, and presumably the client is being charged for your time. Therefore, one meeting isn’t going to blow their budget. I smell a rat. Absolutely raise it.

Are you and the colleague who is now attending equally involved in prep?

And, do you think your colleague has a better relationship with your manager than you do? My instinct is that either he's asked for more client exposure and your manager has agreed or your manager has some issue with you for some reason.

What would happen if you breezily went back and said 'ok that's fine, I'll cut my rate as it's important to keep continuity for the client'. What do you think he'd say?

OP, the fact that you’re still asked to do all the prep but the junior male colleague is asked to the client meeting in May doesn’t make sense and you’re not being unreasonable at all. I think it would be best to ask the manager why you’re still expected to do all the prep if you’re not going to be handling the client meeting in May.

Or breezily go back and say 'Just to let you know, as (bloke) is attending the meeting now, I've arranged a handover meeting with him so he can take over the preparation, and say 'This is me taking initiative and being a good colleague' if manager objects.

How do you know that client hasn’t said to your manager

any way we can start cutting costs a bit?

Why do you think you’ve been taken off?

Over the course of my career, I have prepped for big meetings that I haven’t attended numerous times.

I have also presented to clients with presentations largely put together by others

@Rattlle is the junior male your manager's golden boy???? is there a manager above your manager that you could ask? can you delegate the prep to the junior and let him balls it up??? I would be definitely asking why this is happening!!

Is the junior also working on the case? What benefit does it bring to the client and your firm if you attend? How does that outweigh extra costs for the client?

I would be wary of some of the suggestions here about not sharing work or letting the junior do a disastrous job. I would be looking at other jobs.

Most importantly start with a meeting with your manager, genuinely asking questions and take it from there.

I would not be a happy bunny if the senior is working the file and billing for full hours and a junior rocks up to the meeting.
If anything I would expect the junior do the bulk/more of the prep, senior review and do the q&a at the meeting to deliver the higer level experience.

How will this tie into your annual review / deliverables?
Pay / promotion / total charge out / client sadisfaction?

it’s not until May
this junior will likely very much be involved in planning in the next two months

Have you been uninvited to the meeting or had you assumed you'd be going instead of junior colleague?

I'm ex-professional services and I'd not be happy though.

Is there a sexist element at play?!
Can not understand how you are being expected to continue with the prep work and dropped from the final meeting.....

The differential here in the Op v a slightly more junior person for a meeting can’t be more than a couple of hundred quid. This would be a drop in the ocean on a case lasting many months of prep.

So either:
the OP is being excluded from the meeting, under the fake reason of costs, but for reasons unknown
the company wants to take the OP off the case, but just hasn’t got found to saying this (alarm bells)
the op is a fall guy for real cost concerns, and this is being mishandled

I would not care about very much involved for the project. If needed the junior can do all the grunt work at a lower cost once its signed off by the senior.

If its an in-person meeting at the end of the project i would expect the most senior ee to attend for Q&A as that a better cost benefit for me as a client.

So why are they rolling a junior into a final meeting its a bit of a professional snub as its usual that the senior be seen in important meetings as is says I am an important client getting the highest level advice (i am paying for senior sign off)

My team can get the document and review them internally and circulate questions etc without a formal meeting what value is added is it to have either attend. If there is a value added to have one attend why am I doing a cost saving by replacing the senior with a marginal extra charge out at the project end...

Its an odd choice.

I meant “but still a fully qualified solicitor”