Team member sulking - any suggestions?

[Blushingm]

I am a team leader and have 2 deputy positions vacant. Another 2 teams have 1 each so we advertised together. We short listed and one if my team members applied but wasn’t short listed

Shes now sulking. Not speaking to me. Not speaking to a team member who got an interview and is just making an atmosphere in the office. Even the students are picking up on it.

I found out she went to my senior to ask for a transfer - Or when the next deputy job is coming up. My senior is great and agreed that it’s good she wasn’t short listed if this is her attitude

i called her to my office to say we need to clear the air - the decision stands - I understand she’s disappointed but it’s not fair on the rest of the team - it’s disrespectful and disruptive.

I asked what she wanted me to do - her reply was nothing. I explained it wasn’t personal but other people were more experience etc - her reply - ‘well some might think differently’

now I’m really pissed off - she’s rude. Disruptive. Disrespectful. And not sure what my next step should be……I’m relatively new to team leader

You know, reading back it is not clear.

You say you offered feedback in the original rejection email.

Do you mean, you gave feedback in that email?

Or do you mean, you said you would give feedback later?

Could be read either way.

I maintain I'd absolutely have done this in person though, by the sounds of it you only had 6 people to disappoint.

The only time I have sent rejection emails in a case like this was when I had 53 internal candidates apply for 6 positions- and my rejection email started with a sincere apology that I had to do this via email bc of the volume!

Just basic people management IMO.

She's actually evidenced that your decision was correct.

There were no external candidates - it’s a secondment. All internal applicants. 4 roles in total and interviewing 7.

She was offered a meeting to discuss feedback and she turned it down

The qualification asked for is very much job related - she will have the opportunity to undertake it eventually but she needs to wait her turn as there are only so many places and so much funding available and other people are already waiting

Jesus. I have worked with someone who behaved like this after not getting a promotion and I was gobsmacked at the behaviour and cringed so hard on their behalf.

This person sounds like an entitled child rather than someone who would grasp at opportunities for development or - perish the thought! - create her own.

There is absolutely no cause for her to be rude, and it’s crossing the line. We’ve all been disappointed like this but need to be professional. I had to make a very hard decision (worse than this situation) and I knew the person I managed was very unhappy, and they were never friendly with me again. Just polite and brief. You need to very firmly explain why her behaviour is unacceptable, that you are going to have a fresh start and assume she will improve her behaviour, and then see if she can move past it all.

Does that mean she wasn't shortlisted because she hasn't got a qualification that she can't get due to limited funding in your department?

So the lack of a specific qualification was a big part of why she was rejected?

Then why not make it clear from the start in the job description that the qualification was needed to apply for this internal role and avoid wasting applicants' time?

It was clear - very clear. She chose to apply anyway

She can get it but not this year as places and funding are allocated already - it’s not unattainable. She’s never put herself forward to apply for the qualification

Again, thanks for clarifying that. I'd give her another week or so and then schedule a 1:1 with her to go over things. Don't rush to HR or anything formal at this stage, but her behaviour does need to be addressed in the near future if it continues.

Well you won’t let her progress because she needs the qualification and she can’t get funding for it this year. Maybe she’s decided to just get her job done and not bother with going above and beyond by stroking her manager’s ego and making everyone else feel good about themselves. Is it possible you have got used to her being all super friendly and nice and now she’s just head down and not bothering with extra niceties you’re feeling hard done by? She’s not your emotional support animal.

@Blushingm So you have a queuing system for qualifications and that deliberately keeps staff in their place. They cannot get promotion because they have to serve their time? Hmm. So promotion isn’t on merit is it? It’s by whose bum has been on the seat longest. That’s not really acceptable in my book. There’s no chance for good work to be recognised or rewarded. I’m assuming your annual review gives no acceleration either. It must be a bit soul destroying if you are good at your job.

Maybe the feedback would be 'put your name down for the funded places or find a provider that does the qualification yourself'. Just like we all had to do before this colossal entitlement brigading started.

They were all internal candidates though. What HR department has time to interview 13 applicants, more than half of whom don't meet the full criteria, just to give them interview experience, when the chances of them getting the job against those who actually do meet all the criteria is very low?

As the applicant I'd prefer to not have to go through all the stress and time spent on prep if I never had a chance at getting the job.

There’s always been an entitlement culture at work, it’s just that the source of entitlement has shifted away from corporations exploiting workers and more towards employees demanding whatever it is they want.

Gosh. I’ve not had my team interviewing anyone that wasn’t for a role in our team in about 20 years. Managers recruit in most organisations…….

You should have offered her an interview and could have asked you don’t have x qualification so what other skills do you have. It’s understandable she’s disappointed but your reaction too sounds emotional. Defuse the situation and avoid further escalation. If anything it shows she cares and wanted to progress.

Not necessarily. Sometimes ideal candidates on paper perform terribly at interview (as well as on the job) and experience, other skills, willingness to learn and so on can beat a qualification imho.

@RedRock41 Interviews are an exchange of dialogue not an interrogation. However your general point is correct. This employee had no chance of getting the job even though she could have been perfect in every other way. Waiting in turn for the qualification has outweighed anything else. Obviously you need to be qualified for some jobs but that’s normally obvious and a professional position such as solicitor or Chsrtered engineer. Either you are or you’re not. This company hasn’t evaluated all skills equally and has weighted the qualification denied to some applicants as being the deciding factor. It’s ignoring all other attributes and qualities of the employee.

So you have a queuing system for qualifications and that deliberately keeps staff in their place. They cannot get promotion because they have to serve their time?

Did you miss the part where she has never applied to do the qualification?

And the qualification might be an external requirement, from a regulating authority or similar, and not in OP's power to overlook. As some roles require safeguarding training for example.

Exactly this. Poor people management on your part OP.

I’d be making plans to manage her out, via disciplinary for her attitude if necessary

i would hold off on saying anything to your supervisor just yet.

Accusing someone of “sulking” because you find their disappointment hard to sit with is unprofessional. Using personal insults makes you sound weak; you would need to point to mistakes she is making at work if you actually have a valid point.

If she is still fulfilling her work requirements then complaining that you need her to be more sycophantic and bubbly just sounds a little pathetic really.

A secondment for a role which the team member felt she was doing already and/or knew the job from the ground up.

I think you did her a disservice by not, at least, interviewing her

If it was one role, then obviously, it would be easier for her to accept but for there to be numerous roles available, and she wasn't given the chance to interview is very poor form and of course she will feel demoralised.