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How to respond to this?

48 replies

jaundiced · 13/06/2024 12:48

one of my direct reports complained recently about feedback I gave him in January. There’s no reason why he has left it so long to complain.

I got his views on feasibility of a piece of work. Based on this, the task given to him was collate numbers in a spreadsheet in 3 weeks time. He agreed this was reasonable. I was going to use the data to deliver a presentation.

I trusted him to get on with it. The deadline passed and I asked for an update. He gave no clarity, just that it would be “soon”. He was then given 3 extensions ultimately. By this point, the data was no longer required. I presented without those figures.

When he showed me what he produced, the issue was that ended up giving me something that wasn’t described for example he was asked to supply numbers in a spreadsheet, but instead he was working on a presentation of his own (that he wasn’t asked to do).

When I gave him feedback I praised his work, advised of what was good, and also said one of the priorities here was the timing of it, and it would help me plan my workflow if I had accurate timings of how long things may take. And that ultimately on this occasion I wouldn’t be able to use his presentation as the deadline has passed, and I would have been able to work with just the numbers if it would have saved time for him. I didn't want him to invest time in something that isn’t going to be used. Whereas if he told me what he was really doing then I could have incorporated his work in my plan. I’d love a ready made presentation but we’d need to discuss that first as he doesn’t know exactly what it needs to cover. His complaint is this made him feel micro managed and upset.

but I don’t know how best to present this or whether it’s better to just not say too much. Had he approached me at the time, we could have sorted it.

OP posts:
Silvers11 · 18/06/2024 11:51

@jaundiced - I think you just need to be very professional and reply in the way you have described what happened in your OP.

There is a difference in micro-management and 'managed'. Your OP sounds like you did the right thing

GB81 · 18/06/2024 12:46

What the hell was he doing that would take 3 weeks in Excel? I'd guarantee you whatever it was I could do it in a couple of hours. You need better staff.

ImCamembertTheBigCheese · 18/06/2024 12:52

I agree with a PP, state factually the events that occurred. Say that in this case pulling someone up on not delivering to stated timeline and providing vague updates about the progress of the work was required as the work was not on time and not what you asked for. He was essentially not delivering on his job.

NigelHarmansNewWife · 18/06/2024 16:37

jaundiced · 13/06/2024 16:04

No protected characteristics and no wider grievance.

well the background is he was on a temporary promotion when I joined the team and he failed the application process for the permanent job. None of which I was involved in. So he’s generally pissy at work.

So there's the reason he's complained. He's trying to make out he should have got the job. Be wary in your interactions with him and document things. Does he operate alone do you know or has he got a group of mates he has any influence over in the team?

ttcat37 · 18/06/2024 17:23

You were way too nice. I would have told him, yes, very good, but a week too late so a waste of time, and give him a warning for unsatisfactory performance

AngelicPeace · 18/06/2024 17:32

ttcat37 · 18/06/2024 17:23

You were way too nice. I would have told him, yes, very good, but a week too late so a waste of time, and give him a warning for unsatisfactory performance

Exactly my point. As a side job, I manage someone. I am always very nice to him, until he tries to take a piss (usual Gen Z personal non-issues being dressed-up as employer's issues) and then I am not. I document everything too. He is brilliant at his job though. He produces data too as asked, and doesn't take weeks.

Dmsatdawn · 18/06/2024 18:39

I think the short answer is; if you want something doing - do it yourself.

PloddingAlong21 · 18/06/2024 20:49

Be factual and non emotive in your response to HR. Give a timeline of events, as you asked them, his responses and the ultimate output. A summary of the discussion you had.

you sound incredibly reasonable and not delivering to a date wouldn’t be tolerated by most managers.

sounds like he’s raising this as he’s perhaps fearful he will get sacked for being a bit crap.

Ohnobackagain · 18/06/2024 21:38

@jaundiced you asked him for
data and gave a deadline which he missed. Did
you tell him what it was for?

Once he missed it you should have said ‘no, I needed it by the given date and so managed without’ and told him not to bother. I think you could have been clearer but just tell HR you asked for data by a certain date and he missed the deadline and turned the task into something else and still missed the deadline. He sounds an absolute nightmare.

Marblessolveeverything · 18/06/2024 21:43

YellowCloud · 13/06/2024 14:00

Well he sounds like a total twat.

Having three weeks to pull some data and still not managing it is also ridiculous. What sector do you work in?

I would simply respond to the HR email by attaching the evidence (your emails requesting the task) and be factual.

  • I requested XYZ on DDMMYY (see attached email)
  • I asked again on XYZ
  • Bob failed to deliver this. I did my presentation on X date without the data
  • On DDMMYY I provided feedback to Bob that I didn’t need a presentation, I needed the data by X date (see attached email)
  • I disagree with Bob’s assertion that my feedback was upsetting or micromanaging.

Keep it factual, no emotions. See if you can get him moved to a different manager if possible as he sounds like a pain.

This is perfect.

laurwalsh · 18/06/2024 21:46

YellowCloud · 13/06/2024 14:00

Well he sounds like a total twat.

Having three weeks to pull some data and still not managing it is also ridiculous. What sector do you work in?

I would simply respond to the HR email by attaching the evidence (your emails requesting the task) and be factual.

  • I requested XYZ on DDMMYY (see attached email)
  • I asked again on XYZ
  • Bob failed to deliver this. I did my presentation on X date without the data
  • On DDMMYY I provided feedback to Bob that I didn’t need a presentation, I needed the data by X date (see attached email)
  • I disagree with Bob’s assertion that my feedback was upsetting or micromanaging.

Keep it factual, no emotions. See if you can get him moved to a different manager if possible as he sounds like a pain.

Perfect advice

AngelicPeace · 18/06/2024 21:51

thank you to the few posters agreeing op was a bit too passive here.

yes, the guy is a nutcase and having issues, but op must take some blame for finding herself in this mess to start with. this was avoidable at so many stages that went on incl the many extensions given without any quick checks. would have taken you 15 mins to check he is producing data and not writing a presentation.

yes, i also supervise another senior person at a charity i help out. she manages others and i waste no time to point out her approach is lax (she claims to be giving others more time, but i am quick to see she is covering up for the poor system she has in place which needs improvement or buying herself time'. she has just confirmed, there is now speed in her actions and i am happy. all to help her not find herself in a mess like this at a future date.

Dibbydoos · 18/06/2024 22:21

@jaundiced so you asked for data, agreed a timeline extended that 3 times and he still failed to provide the data? Yes he has no leg to stand on. You were uber reasonable.

If youve hurt his feelings its cos he has sour grapes over the failed promotion. He'd like you to be his cannon fodder, present your evidence youll be fine. HR are involved because he may habe already raised a grievance about the failed promotion.

I think he needs to move on. Honestly if someone in my team did this I'd get shut of them. Indeed I have done, its not fair to anyone in the team, in this case esp to you, to carry anyone.

myladybelle · 18/06/2024 22:52

This is bonkers. If anything you sound too nice.

NigelHarmansNewWife · 19/06/2024 06:57

I'd also be concerned if you're being approached about something that happened six months ago now that he's complained about a whole raft of things and probably not only you.

jaundiced · 19/06/2024 11:59

@AngelicPeace i did ask him for updates and where things are up to. My biggest failure in this is not emailing things. We had a lot of verbal conversations and Teams messages but in my company, Teams messages automatically disappear after a month.

OP posts:
jaundiced · 19/06/2024 11:59

Thanks everyone, I did respond to HR and they haven’t asked for anything further

OP posts:
DullFanFiction · 19/06/2024 12:18

I have to say I’d want to start putting everything into emails. Incl Teams conversations,
I wouldn’t trust this man.

And tbh, it’s good to point out all the good things done etc… but dont look like a doormat. You are his manager. He is still supposed to do tasks on time. Asking for updates isn’t enough when you have a presentation to do and are dependent on his data.

AngelicPeace · 19/06/2024 17:01

jaundiced · 19/06/2024 11:59

@AngelicPeace i did ask him for updates and where things are up to. My biggest failure in this is not emailing things. We had a lot of verbal conversations and Teams messages but in my company, Teams messages automatically disappear after a month.

Thank you for engaging my point. I will say, you are not bad. In fact you are reasonable- as some others wanted to exclusively focus on that. Few other posters and I even commented you were too reasonable. Please take this as free feedback from people who can both see your oversight and that the bloke is a right pain.

Thank you for identifying where you went totally wrong - not documenting everything. However, I have seen worse mistakes than that.

The good thing is that, even as your conversations with him were not properly focused on the issue (data production- perhaps because you failed to spot what the issue was causing him delays) but only on 'giving extensions' (you still don't say you would have recognised that he was doing a wrong task had you taken 15 mins to just have a quick glance); instead of also not checking the task was on teh right track. Or are you new in your field/ role that you couldn't have spotted a presentation from 'data' a mile off? If so, you need to work on your hard skills too.

Managing people is not easy. It is why, I refused a big promotion and lots of money, within 3 years of experience and I could do the job, because I was determined I wanted to continue picking up more skills in another specific practice area, in addition to that I was expert in, so I would be self-employed at a later stage as I too disliked being employed, but rather wanted to focus on delivering on actual issues.

I am a lawyer. That means, keeping accurate records of all interactions is part of my day job. So we get to learn to do it, in 5 mins. I can however confidently say keeping records is part and parcel of managing others. In a situation like this, you ought to also share your notes (or one of them) in an email to the bloke so he can comment if he doesn't agree. I am sure there was a stage where you lost confidence in what he was doing, hence you decided to just get on with your preparation of the presentation without his data. AT this point, a bit more was required from you, instead of a shrug or annoyance and 'getting on with it.'

I have some good news for you though, why I took the time to write fully. HR are unlikely to come back to you, mainly because you have evidence that you spoke to the bloke many times. That is enough (at least for now). But your line manager, should be sending this post I have just made for you. There is no reason why you should not be believed. I hope though, that you didn't follow the earlier advice of quick points in your reply, (you had not sufficiently said you spoke many times), as that is what HR need to hear about. And if they do come back to you, it will be for more content of those conversations.

Hard lesson, but I feel you have/ will learn(t) from it. Don't overlook hard skills, if you need to address that too- your line manager should be able to point that out to you, if perhaps you cannot see it and it contributed to this oversight. HR might take a different approach to a similar complaint from same bloke about you, so watch out.

azlazee1 · 19/06/2024 17:55

Micro managed? He screwed up the job, did not complete it on time and then disliked your feedback. What I don't understand is why you didn't tell him outright during the review the things he did wrong - literally the whole assignment. You could still tell him he did a good job, just not the right job.

ilovegranny · 19/06/2024 18:51

I had a staff member like this. Lazy, entitled, passive-aggressive, but always looking for promotion. 15 years later, and long out of my team, he remains at the same grade. Waste of space and energy.

SpeakEasy2311 · 19/06/2024 19:36

jaundiced · 13/06/2024 12:48

one of my direct reports complained recently about feedback I gave him in January. There’s no reason why he has left it so long to complain.

I got his views on feasibility of a piece of work. Based on this, the task given to him was collate numbers in a spreadsheet in 3 weeks time. He agreed this was reasonable. I was going to use the data to deliver a presentation.

I trusted him to get on with it. The deadline passed and I asked for an update. He gave no clarity, just that it would be “soon”. He was then given 3 extensions ultimately. By this point, the data was no longer required. I presented without those figures.

When he showed me what he produced, the issue was that ended up giving me something that wasn’t described for example he was asked to supply numbers in a spreadsheet, but instead he was working on a presentation of his own (that he wasn’t asked to do).

When I gave him feedback I praised his work, advised of what was good, and also said one of the priorities here was the timing of it, and it would help me plan my workflow if I had accurate timings of how long things may take. And that ultimately on this occasion I wouldn’t be able to use his presentation as the deadline has passed, and I would have been able to work with just the numbers if it would have saved time for him. I didn't want him to invest time in something that isn’t going to be used. Whereas if he told me what he was really doing then I could have incorporated his work in my plan. I’d love a ready made presentation but we’d need to discuss that first as he doesn’t know exactly what it needs to cover. His complaint is this made him feel micro managed and upset.

but I don’t know how best to present this or whether it’s better to just not say too much. Had he approached me at the time, we could have sorted it.

😂😂 He's having a laugh, it's because he wasn't micro managed as to why he missed the deadline and didn't give you the piece of work that was desired. He's very lucky!

Cariadm · 21/06/2024 17:41

I have read quite a few of the posts and am wondering if my spidey sense for pig headed' and by default arrogant misogynistic behaviour is not something of an issue here?!🙄It seems to me that this guy has pushed and pushed way beyond the limit of normal expectations in the hope that the situation will be seen and treated by HR as 'unfair' in his favour, which it blatantly isn't, but males with this type of personality just don't seem to get?! 😏

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