Internal promotion, didn't get the job - but they want all of my ideas?

[Unboundcuriosity]

I interviewed for an internal promotion about three weeks ago. I went for the role as a rank outsider, and as expected, I didn’t get it.

However, part of the interview was to give a pitch on how to improve an aspect of our workflow. Knowing I was at a disadvantage, I really worked hard on my pitch and was really proud of the plan I had come up with and the implementation framework I built around the plan.

I am back today after two weeks' leave. I received an email from the lead interviewer asking me to pass over all the details of my pitch, as they were blown away by the detail, the build work, ingenuity, and the work I had done, and they want to implement the changes I suggested.

Um no?

The person who got the job should be implementing their pitch? Right?

the only problem i think of with projects developed within the company is once developed the ideas belong to the company ? i could be wrong

I'm not naive, just someone who has progressed into a senior role in a very large institution. And who in the past went for internal roles that I didn't get (same employer), as is often the case in larger organisations.

The OP's employers have not said OP is not promotion material, it's rude to suggest that they have. She says herself that she was a "rank outsider", so presumably lucky to be interviewed at all. She should be using the feedback she gets and making this suggestion of using her work to her advantage. That does not mean just handing it over.

Being petulant will not just confirm that she's not ready for promotion, it will indicate that she might never be.

one person vaguely curious and might have a second read of it

Id be absolutely honest. I spent 50 hours developing it in my own time if you want it tgen it is for sale at £xxx. Dont undersell yourself!

That sounds like a very measured sensible way of thinking about it all.

Point 7 sounds very reasonable - not that I've deleted my ideas which could easily come across as poor but I've continued to develop them for my current role and you hopefully get some benefit.

You could offer to sell the information to them. Perfectly reasonable as a kind of ad hoc consultancy.

So do I. The OP comes across as sensible and grown up.

But for what purpose if not to scope out ideas that they could take from it and use?!

Respond saying exactly that, pointing out you formulated the plan on your own time, meaning the company has no right to them.
Be prepared to have to look for another job though.

Mildly interested
thought something might be useful
but really.. if they heard the Op said she’d deleted it, unlikely to be particularly bothered (although a bit 🤔) or if the OP decided to use it as bargaining tool, I rather imagine the response would be to chuckle

I honestly wonder sometimes

You've got this OP

Excellent way to frame things.

Fair enough, then - if they aren't really bothered and just asked for the sake of it, she can just ignore their request, I guess.

The situation that you're suggesting sounds rather like corporate negging: where her idea is apparently only stupid, so not worth anything much... yet curiously of genuine interest to them and 'they might just be able to wring something out of her silliness' - which just underlines even more that they want her ideas but don't want her to get any credit for or benefit from them.

I think they are genuinely interested in the OPs presentation... @ParsleySageToiletDuckAndBinBags @Alittletiff as they came back to her when she returned from a two week holiday.

Seeing her update, I am more comfortable with her sharing it. However, I like her idea of using her concept to benefit her own current workflow.