Manager deciding everyone is useless

[flamesdancing]

Just interested in people’s opinions on this and if anyone has experienced similar.

My line manager has been in post for around a year, he is head of a relatively small team and I think was given the task of restructuring and repurposing the team to make it more efficient.

Since he became the line manager, eight people have left the team. Three of those were people he recruited himself. With one exception, everyone has left suddenly, either resigning with immediate effect or going on sick leave and then resigning before coming back to work.

Once these people decide to leave, he starts a sort of “campaign” against them and will tell anyone who will listen that they weren’t up to the job, made endless mistakes, didn’t work hard etc etc. He completely turns on them.

I joined after him and to be honest quite like working at the organisation. The job is interesting, most people outside of the direct team are nice and crucially it fits in really well with family/caring commitments.

However the whole situation is starting to make me really uncomfortable. The latest person to leave was (in my opinion) really good at her job and whilst she did make some mistakes I think it’s largely because she was overworked and under supported. She worked so hard for the organisation but now she’s left the manager has told everyone that she was unreliable, a liar and lazy which just isn’t true.

It’s not directly affecting me yet, although there’s of course always the possibility that he will turn on me next! But just from a moral perspective it really doesn’t sit right with me now and I’m fed up of him destroying the team. I’m not really sure what I’d do about it though - take it up with HR? Speak to his manager? Raise my concerns with him directly (unlikely, as a sure fire way to become his next target…)

I don't think you need to say anything as the high turnover of staff will speak for itself.

Perhaps his role was to downsize the team?

Don't raise it with him. Tbh HR/his manager have probably noticed how many in his team leave, but it's not a priority for them to address it. So I probably wouldn't say anything to them either. On my experience, when someone is employed to turn a team around or shake things up, HR/seniors don't much care about how that's actually done.

If you like the organisation, then I'd probably just look to make an internal move away from him. Once you are free of his influence, you can voice your opinion, but don't paint a target on your back.

Did the 8 people who left make it known that it was because of him?

It’s tough OP. I’d want to say that I find it uncomfortable and unprofessional that he basically gossips and bitches like a schoolgirl after an employee leaves. The person has left and are not relevant to the role anymore, he shouldn’t be bringing them up. But I don’t want to suggest that to you and then you become his next target.

How many people are left on your team now? Is there a way to come together to bring up your ‘concerns’ about the loss of 8 colleagues and the effect this is having on both morale and efficiency, due to the level of work that needs to be done. If the team or higher ups could ‘come together’ to see why these losses happened and what can be done moving forward, it may bring his incapabilities to light.

My ex manager was weak and poor at the job- in the wrong role really. He did the same to everyone including me when I left. I did the best handover ever to multiple people and I made sure my peers and my /his seniors thought well enough of me. Funnily enough after I'd gone an ex colleague got in touch as they had joined the organisation in a newly created but related role. Ex boss had indeed slated me behind my back and everyone was laughing at his MO as everything I had suggested and put into place were being implemented by my ex colleague! Karma will get him don't worry, but obviously don't trust him and build your network outside of him.

I think at the point he joined there were six in the team (not including him) and all but one of them left.

During the time he’s been here he has recruited seven people, three of whom have left.

A relative worked with a nightmare manager.

It took until this manager had lost the equivalent of three departments (say there were 9 in the department and over time 27 had left) before HR noticed.

Once HR did notice, they investigated, and found a way to sack him.

The turnover of staff won't reflect well on him.

But the fact that he seems to have had an endless stream of allegedly lazy, useless staff will also reflect poorly on him. People are going to wonder how he's onboarding, training and supporting staff since they're all apparently crap.

I would wonder if he's OK and ask if there is anything I can do to support without getting into any bitching. Kindness goes a long way.

He's trying to cover his tracks for the massive staff turnover that’s down to him.

I would raise either with someone more senior or via HR, you’ll get nowhere raising it with him.

He’s not downsizing the team though, because he’s recruiting new people to fill the positions who are also leaving.

Thanks for all the input so far! I thought about this on the drive home and I think I’ve decided the best approach is to stay out of it but it feels wrong. Like when you’re at school and you don’t stand up to the class bully because you’re worried they’ll turn on you next!

To answer some questions:

• His role wasn’t to downsize the team, just to make it more efficient I think (not entirely sure what this means as it was before I joined)
• Yes, almost all of the people who have left have made it clear that their issue is with him. Some of them have raised grievances etc along the way, but not all.

I think that senior managers know there is an issue but they either just don’t massively care or they believe him when he says the problem is everyone else 🤷‍♀️ I think probably the former.

With one exception, everyone has left suddenly, either resigning with immediate effect or going on sick leave and then resigning before coming back to work.

Are you, or any other colleagues, not in touch with any of your teams mates to check they are ok, find out what happened, have a leaving do? Really unusual for 8 people to leave and not hearing their side of the story.

Personally no because I’m one of the new recruits and I didn’t know many of the “originals”. Most had already left or were on sick leave at the point I joined.

I do know that one of my colleagues is still in touch with several of them and they’re all very angry about the way they were treated and feel they were forced out.

Years ago I taught under a new primary headteacher like this. Within days of arriving at her new post she told a headteachers’ meeting that the children were lovely but the staff were “deadheads”. A colleague’s mother was present at that meeting and she reported back to her daughter so by the following day we all knew what she thought of us!
There were 12 teachers and she gradually got rid of one after another through various means. She generally made working life very unpleasant through criticism, lies, extremely long working hours or unreasonable demands so one by one teachers either looked for a new post, retired early or went off sick.
I was the last of the 12 to be picked on. I had a child at the school so I was also a parent so I think that gave me a stay of execution until my son moved schools.
Once I left she started picking on the staff that she had recruited since starting at the school.
She was supported for many years by the Local Education Authority ….. until the latest victim was made redundant without the head following the correct procedures and the school /county was sued. I understand that a large sum was awarded in compensation and her reign of terror was ended when she was laid off.
The 12 original staff met regularly for many years at social events with the previous headteacher and we called ourselves the Deadheads.

I wouldn't rely on your HR team noticing that there's been high turnover. I worked somewhere where there were four roles in the team, together with one manager. Within three months of her arrival, one had gone off with work related stress and taken out a grievance; the other went off on work related stress and never came back; a third had resigned (I was her replacement) and she deliberately attempted to keep the other one close to her. She started bullying me within two months of my arrival (and I was her appointment!) and in the eighteen months I survived at least nine people had come and gone out of those roles all refusing to come back. We even had temps who would ring their agency after their first and day and refuse to come back. I went to my union about her and they suggested things were so bad we should look to take out a collective grievance as a team. My colleagues were all too nervous to do that as they knew how miserable she could make your life. They only got rid of her when she was so awful to an external consultant we worked with, that he said something to our Director. They played golf together so that was the final straw. We'd all gone to HR and him previously and they'd batted it off.

He sounds horrible and bad at his job! Is he bitching and moaning about those currently staying in the team? It sounds like he just does it once they resign or leave, but then you also said people suddenly leave and it's known that he is the cause...I think if he's just doing it to people who are leaving or have left, then I'd ignore it. It's annoying but not harming anyone really, as they're not working there and presumably don't care too much what he thinks anymore. If he is doing it to people in the team, and its basically bullying to the point people feel they have to leave then that's pretty bad. I'd suggest trying to build a relationship with someone outside the team in a senior role, perhaps because you can move teams, but also as an ally if he turns against you, if you have that you could also confide in them. You want to build enough reputation and support outside the team, that you'd be "rescued" if he wanted rid of you or so that you could raise a grievance potentially and have people aligned to you, or so you can apply internally for new roles away from this manager.

I do think eventually the world catches up with these type of managers, recruitment is expensive and HR will be logging the turnover and cost of replacing people. Engagement (if they do a survey) will be down and presumably the team performance won't actually be great if there's always new people not up to speed. Ideally though, you don't want to be there for the fall out!