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

She also hadn’t applied for the qualification. And not being rude to your manager is basic professional behaviour, not ego stroking. She needs to get a grip.

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

Where does OP say that?

Interviewing her when she could not be appointed because she is not qualified would just be a waste of everyone's time.

It would have been good experience for the team member.

In jobs (finance) that I have held, all internal applicants were interviewed for secondments, at least for the first interview

I doubt very much these roles had numerous rounds of interviews anyway.

Being upset by an upsetting situation as she perceives it is not having an attitude… +it’s not been ideally handled. OP could have lessened the blow, and kept her motivated.

Contriving reasons to dismiss someone is nasty and evidence of a poor and failing Manager imho. A skilled one would have navigated the situation without the need. Trust and confidence is two ways.

The staff member has never applied for the qualification so that's her fault, not the OP's. If she doesn't have the qualification she can't expect to progress when other staff do have it. That's not the OP's fault either.

How is it poor people management to interview the people that met the criteria and find 3 people that were suitable? Sounds like good people management. Not everyone can have everything they want, all the time and sulk like toddlers if they don't get it.

@HelenaWilson Do you realise that a good company does an annual review and training needs are always part of this? It’s a two way conversation and not up to an employee asking to go on a waiting list. Training should be part of CPD and this employee isn’t a favoured one. If she cannot get promotion without the qualification, it must be part of her annual review!

For clarity, training is not purely requested by employees. It’s part of their ongoing review and development. Plus did the employee even know she needed the qualification? Or had it just been added in for differentiation of candidates? This suits the op but is it fair? Possibly not if the qualification requirement isn’t mentioned. How would the employee even know it was needed? Again the annual performance review should cover this.

@MeetMeOnTheCorner

How do you know she wasn't offered the training and declined it - like she was offered a feedback interview and declined it.

I would expect people who are interested in progressing to show some interest In the process and be aware of what they need to do and proactive about achieving it.

A person who doesn't show initiative and has to be prodded and spoonfed isn't a good candidate for a more senior role.

And finally, the new roles were available over more than one department - it wasn't just op setting the criteria and drawing up the shortlist.

Interviewing her when she could not be appointed because she is not qualified would just be a waste of everyone's time.

One thing I've learned is that not taking time to do silly things like giving 1:1 and proper constructive feedback often results in bigger waste of time further down the line. In that scenario, the woman is pissed off and unmotivated and she will either quit or be managed out and will need to be replaced, which will cost OP and HR even more time and money than if they had taken 1 hour to interview her and give her proper constructive feedback (yes, even if that feedback is that she needs to be more proactive and apply for the qualification). Nobody's a winner here.

Yes, managers often have to give bad news to employees. But doing so in a more empathic way often results in less tensions and conflicts, which ALWAYS cost more time/money/energy/stress than resolving things in a more amicable way.

I find the updates very confusing and I can't help but think that this is just poor management failing to have clear processes in place and development plans for staff.

If this internal opportunity required a specific qualification then it was very simple to make that clear in the job requirements.

Then you could have had a quiet word with that member of staff from the start when she submitted her application and reminded her she could not be considered because of the lack of that particular qualification.

You should also have a clear process for people to be able to register their interest in gaining more qualifications.

Because it sounds at the moment it is unclear. People ''having to wait their turn' is not a proper policy or process. Because it is open to favouritism and people getting annoyed by the lack of transparency.

I would focus on working with HR to make sure there is a fair and clear process for staff development of this is going to happen again.

But it's her own fault. She hasn't even put herself forward and applied to do the qualification. The people who have applied are in a waiting list for funding to become available.

If she wants to be promoted and it is the lack of qualification holding her back, perhaps she needs to think about why she hasn't got that qualification, get her finger out and apply for it.

Gosh how interesting...

There are hundreds of thousands of organisations in the UK. How on earth can you make overarching judgements on what "most" organisations do? HR are involved in interviews in every place ive ever worked.

What do you actually do all day if you've handed over all recruitment work?

Regardless of your pedantry the same point applies, actually even more so. Managers who actually have work to do rather than HR pen-pushers, are even less likely to waste their time interviewing double the amount of applicants who dont have the key qualifications, when there are sufficient applicants who do!

How long has she been sulking? Not getting a promotion you think you are a shoo in for is painful, especially if there are 3 vacancies. Let her sulk for a few days. But its going on longer, let her go be a problem for someone else. Or start formal disciplinary processes.

People are not entitled to jobs because they followed a process or did a qualification. But it does in this instance look like they have a process and she hadn't bothered to apply for funding for the qualification that they don't even have to offer or fund.

@ShedmistressThe funding and availability of training should be part of the annual review for employees. Often in a person spec, you might say X requirement is desirable and then discuss the opportunity to get the qualification at interview if it’s not mandatory for the job. If you must be a Chartered Engineer (for example) for a deputy job, then it’s a professional requirement. If the employer is paying for CPD but has no system of evaluating who should get what, it’s not acceptable a qualification is a requirement when the employer has not flagged that up. In many cases, working towards or an undertaking to do a qualification is measured against other attributes the employee might well be brilliant at. It’s a floored system and doesn’t look at performance or attributes in a measured way.

No HR involved in interviewing in my company- global pharmaceutical. Usually the hiring manager.

The qualification was very clear on the job advert

It’s a university based level 7 professional qualification. Each annual appraisal goals are set - if people want to progress then this is where things are discussed. Only a certain number each year are then interviewed by the university as there is a limited amount of funding. There’s no favouritism as the university interview and select. As it’s limited funding and limited places then there is a waiting list. To undertake the course you need employers support for study day release but also assessor and supervisor as it would involve professional practice as well as academic study

The candidate has never expressed in her appraisal she wanted to undertake the course. She knew it was a requirement as id pointed it out to her but applied regardless

@Blushingm She should not be the one asking for the course. It should be a 2 way discussion at the annual review under CPD. Do you have that discussion? Did she know at any annual review what would be a requirement for progression. Waiting for you to produce a job advert is very very late in terms of a CPD discussion. I think your CPD is at fault and you knew this would hold her back but never discussed the need for CPD. Why?

Do you mean flawed?

It is not flawed, you are making all your own assmptions based on a sulky staff member who did not put their name down for a qualification that the company are not even obliged to provide.

And how can an employer evaluate whether she should get the funding THAT SHE DIDN'T EVEN APPLY FOR?

This shit is what you get when HR try to manage the business that they have no idea about, you get entitled fuckwits who sulk when they don't get their own way.

@Shedmistress Yes! Flawed! Auto correct! You evaluate based on job performance, previous study, enthusiasm, likelihood of being suitable for promotion and several other measures. You obviously aren’t trained in Performance review! It’s not a one way street where employees ask. It’s a 2 way conversation about how an employee can improve and what they need for that. It might be slightly different responsibilities, more training, a qualification, delivering training, mentoring staff, taking a leadership role etc etc. Just saying “well you didn’t ask” isn’t good enough knowing you are writing a person spec to exclude them. It’s not about the employee applying without any discussion at all!

I didn’t do her last appraisal

Her last review her goals were to achieve clinical competencies, become student assessor, etc.

@Blushingm So what did her CPD element say? What extra training was offered? Nothing?

I disagree.

I'd certainly advocate for giving her clear expectations for behaviour and support for the future if she wants to engage.

But maintaing a professional manner in the face of adversity is priceless. Id prefer to filter out anyone who thought this response was acceptable.

I have been trained in 'performance management' more times than I care to remember, which is how I can spot HR bullshit and nonsense. It is a time sink of such collossal proportions it is no wonder shit never gets done.

Thankfully in this case, they got the 3 people they needed.

Can you speak to your superior? If you feel out of your depth then they are the one to speak to. I mean this kindly but do you think you need more training or more confidence?

Dealing with different personalities (including the gobshites) is a huge part of managing a team and not having the confidence to know what to do in this situation suggests you may need support.