Staff constantly asking questions!

[SantasComingToTown]

I’m a junior level manager but have been in the role 7 years so have a lot of experience. Earlier this year I moved into a different team which included staff with various levels of experience (some 40 years plus).

They are really lovely people but honestly they exhaust me with constant questions. None of them can make a decision and they refer every little thing to me or the other manager. They don’t bother to look the answer up before coming to me which really winds me up, have no concept of personal boundaries (interrupting me when I’m in important meetings or when I’m trying to eat - I even had one follow me to the toilet to ask a question). Then on top of that they quite often tell customers that I will call them back, or book appointments for me without asking and expect me to just drop everything to see a customer. I often come into work with piles of crap left for me to deal with because they are too lazy to look it up or deal with it themselves.

Very rarely do they ask me something that doesn’t have a simple straightforward answer. And when they aren’t asking me a question they are just making statements at me like ‘oh it looks like the printer is out of ink’…because they want me to change the cartridge when it’s in a box right next to it.

This has all been caused by the other manager who has allowed and enabled this type of behaviour for way too long, but quite honestly it’s really getting on my nerves. Most departments I have worked have one person like this, I’ve never worked somewhere where the whole team is like it. I’m so overwhelmed by it all as I’m being constantly bombarded and interrupted and my own work is suffering because I can’t get anything done.

I need some advice on professional ways I can tell them to back off and deal with things themselves, without making me completely unapproachable. Im a manager so I want them to feel they can come to me when they have a problem or need help, but I need them to also understand that I am a human being and their behaviour is impacting me.

Thanks

This. And a blame culture if anything goes wrong. I worked somewhere like this and I wouldn't be surprised if you have poor processes and nothing is clear cut it's probably only OK for you as you've been there for 7 years.

This is a training, coaching and leadership issue.

You need to take coaching, leadership & management and assertiveness training that will build your own skills.

And contact your training department and get them to deliver some refresher training for your team on procedures and approaches to their work, etc.

Review their JDs and objectives and KPIs and set out exactly what is expected of them.

Then bring in a quality assurance scorecard where their skillsets, behaviour and results are assessed on a rolling monthly basis.

Hold regular 1-1s where all this will be reminded and reinforced and highlighted as you coach them to change their behaviour.

They'll hate it. There'll be push back and whingeing. Your life will be harder for a while as a result.

But as time goes on their competence and confidence will build, their habits will change and they'll became more self reliant and resilient.

You'll be able to delegate, step away from the micromanaging and infantilising they have become used to, even comfortable with. And get on with delivering your own work to target instead of doing theirs for them.

But it starts with training and development for all.