Employee upset by new hire

[Zigzagga]

Will try not to drip feed whilst also not being too outing!

I manage a small and happy team of various job grades and experience. One team member started at the start of the year in a mid level role. They have experience in the sector and high academic qualifications (although these are not relevant to the job or sector) - but this role was a new area for them.

Mid way through the year we realised we needed another senior in the team, I spoke with mid level to make sure they were happy, said they was of course able to apply but that we were looking for someone with direct experience that could hit the ground running, they said they understood and we discussed a development plan for them to become a senior next year.

It took us a while to recruit, so new senior only started a few weeks ago.

Mid level is not happy with this hire, they think the newbie is not as experienced as them and feels undervalued. They said they trusted that I would hire someone worthy of being their senior and this person isn't. They say it's not about wanting the senior title, but feeling that they are not valued.

This has thrown me to be honest. Yes, newbie is not as experienced as we would have liked in all honesty (recruitment a nightmare) but has key additional skills and relevant quals we are missing in the team, plus 2+ years experience in a similar role. We also interviewed people wayyyy more experienced but who performed very poorly at interview.

How on earth do I handle this?

On the one hand, I sympathise, mid level does have some great experience and is doing a good job, really proving themselves in the last few months, on the other hand, they had only been in post a few months before we started recruiting and I genuinely think this new person has the skills for the senior title. I also feel myself resenting my judgement being questioned.

I feel I've been a good manager to this person, I'm super flexible I've confirmed a payrise for next year and confirmed that my plan is they will become senior this time next year based on continued growth and performance.

How do I handle this with grace and try to maintain equilibrium and happiness in the team?

Actually you sound great! What you've done is kept to your original values and you can continue to do that! You might need to keep a careful eye that both colleagues continue to espouse those values and perhaps that might need some additional smoothing but you are perfectly reasonable to say 'I take on board your comments, there were reasons behind my decisions but we have a plan for you and let's continue to work towards that.'
And stick to it. If you don't deliver on your previous promise for advancement though you'll be in trouble. And if they leave that's also fine.

These are not her kids. They don't need gentle parenting.

This is a business and the more time spent pandering to hurt feelings the less time is spent on actual business.

This happened to me , but different in a way as it was a large company , and I did go for the job . Never got offered it.
Fours months later I handed my notice in at which point they offered me a 18k pay rise and the job I applied for.

If they have the experience they are probably v annoyed and demotivated. But if they genuinely don't I don't think they can get annoyed, they also didn't apply for the job I could understand more if they'd applied. But I would be prepared that they might be at risk of leaving.

You’ve got to own the decision now, you don’t answer to the employee.
But why did you discourage them from applying? They had every right to apply, then it would have been a clear “best person for the job” and disappointing, but fair.
That’s what I’d be pissed off about (as the existing employee).

I think you risk your mid level person leaving now. It sounds like you had a reliable pair of hands who could be developed. Instead you went external, got the best of the bunch from who was available, but are they really better than who you had already? I suppose only time will tell. Mid level person’s nose is now understandably out of joint. It would be galling for them to have to train the new person, if that’s what you’re intending them to do.

I'd be surprised if the mid-level isn't already applying, if not interviewing, for new jobs.

You can close this conversation down without permanently shutting off feedback channels which ARE important.

You need to be careful to focus on discussing the mid level's experience, prospects and performance with them and NOT talk about specifics of the senior which would be wholly inappropriate.

E.g. (simplified) once you have xx experience, as you are building up now in this role, you should be in prime position for the next senior role. (But don't promise something you can't deliver)

Oh dear, I suspect I’d have been one of the people you interviewed with loads of relevant experience but who “didn’t perform well at interview.”

I realise not everyone performs well at interview and sometimes people blow you away at interview and are crap in real life. The job requires a certain level of confidence in presenting and answering difficult questions. If people can't perform well in an interview presentation they've prepared for and friendly questions from interviewers - they won't hold up well with some of our more difficult clients.

Yes absolutely a reliable pair of hands, but not performing at senior level when we hired for the senior person. Have developed and will continue to develop mid-level to reach this level which isn't far off.

Newbie will be 'trained' by all of us in the team, not a huge amount of training required but they will be shadowing all of us over the next few months.

So the newbie also isn't performing at senior level but will be developed to reach that level?

I think you have handled this badly and I'm not surprised your existing employee feels undervalued.

Rather than blaming them as some posters aggressively propose, you'd be better off treating this as an opportunity for you to learn from your mistake.

Newbie has been in post just over a week...hasn't had a chance to perform yet! Just having intro meetings with everyone and getting systems set up...

Mid level feels this way purely based on newbies background, and made this assertion to me after their intro meeting.

If they had come to me with this thought after a few months I would understand (and like I said I have understood) but newbie hasn't even had a chance to prove themselves.

I admit I haven't handled this perfectly.

Can you let me know what I should have done differently please?

As I have mentioned in my other posts:

• Started recruiting early in the year when mid level was just a few months in
• I did not dissuade her from applying, mid level did not raise they wanted the post or wanted to apply, so in the end I raised it with them to ensure they knew they could. We then discussed what we wanted out of a senior which was to run with the bigger projects that mid level themselves admitted they weren't comfortable doing at that stage.
• Newbie has a qualification that is really useful to our team that none of us has,.plus language skills we are also lacking, plus 2+ years experience in a similar role (this is mid levels first role in this particular type of job) and smashed the interview process.
• Mid-level has received feedback on performance mid this year which outlined they were performing very well and a few things to better work on to build on their experience to become a senior next year.

Many thanks, really useful!

It’s only been a week, poor newbie hasn’t had a chance to show who they are! You hired her for a reason and that has nothing to do with mid.
How does mid know so much about newbie?

The mid doesn’t get to choose who got the job and didn’t even apply. She has a progression plan and I’m assuming that being jealous of more senior staff isn’t part of the plan!

Mid had a 30 min introductory call with her and looked at her LinkedIn! That's it!

I would say.

" we don't discuss other team members as its unprofessional "

I was the senior in this scenario. 2 colleagues, an internal promotion competition by way of interview. I came first, as well as being much more experienced and generally having a better work ethic. The other applicant bitched about me to my manager and said he was taking legal action. My manager didn't support me at all, and basically provided the other applicant with the impression that I shouldn't have got the job, even going to the extent of telling him my score at interview and telling him I was 'only one mark higher'.

It was an absolute bloody nightmare. Other applicant was openly aggressive, refused to speak to me or provide me with any information which I asked for. Applicant and my manager conspired together to manufacture gross misconduct allegations against me. I won my tribunal earlier this year which was at least some validation, but I ended up leaving an almost 3 decade career due to PTSD. There was loads more to it, but I really resented that my manager gave the other applicant his stupid opinion any airtime at all.

Op, please don't give mid level any more airtime and for gods sake, support your senior!

Remember you're the manager not the mate. Your workplace isn't a democracy, and your mid-level is overstepping here. On one hand it seems good (they are clearly comfortable being candid with you) but it's not appropriate for them to make complaints about your hiring decisions, because you are the boss and they are not.

Like others said, nip it in the bud, not necessarily by calling out their inappropriate comments, but you can certainly say that the decision is made and you expect everyone to support one another while the team adjusts and everyone gets more comfortable with the new dynamic. Then end the conversation (to signal it isn't negotiable). You've got this.

By the way, for those defending the reliable hands who were merely disappointed or nose out of joint - there is a correct way they should have approached it.

Firstly they should have given the newbie a chance and seen for themselves whether they are effective in the role. Not had a moan based on a CV or 5min chat.

Secondly, you don't bitch that they hired the wrong person. You highlight their strengths, acknowledge the role is a tricky thing to get a handle on, but you express concern that there are some things they might need support with to ensure they become a better fit.

Bosses do not begrudge someone with a "can do" approach to giving feedback. But they sure as heck don't have to listen to someone whining that it's not fair. Which is how it comes across right now - like a whiny petulant teenager - and unprofessional.

"How on earth do I handle this?"

You must learn proper management skills.

You can understand all the hurt feelings as much as you like, but the new hire has a skill set and qualifications your business needs. That's your answer, that is all the existing staff need to hear. They want more they can work for it or look for a new job.

I agree with @Idontgiveagriffindamn. And strongly disagree with all the posts prior to that. Look at it from their pov, they've been offered to apply, told they weren't good enough, and then the person you have hired isn't that much better than them. How insulting.

Newbie has been in post just over a week...hasn't had a chance to perform yet! Just having intro meetings with everyone and getting systems set up...

I think you need to make clear that you expect the mid to be professional and supportive of the new team member. If this person has aspirations for a more senior position in the team then they should behave accordingly. It is unfair to assume things about someone after a week in the role.