Wedding Etiquette Forum

This is an AE. Work advice please. (long)

I figured an AE would be best since this is about work and I don't want anyone to be able to find it.

I work for a really small company. There are 5 people in my office and 5 people who work in our warehouse. We also have a corporate office. At my office, B handles the day to day operations. B got his friend R hired to handle the service portion of our company. I don't work for either of them. I work alone and I don't have a boss. The 5 warehouse people are loosely managed by B and R.

A couple of months ago they let go the person who used to handle the day to day operations and told B it was his new job along with his old responsibilities. Other than B, I have been at the company the longest. I used to be the office manager and handle the service stuff.

The warehouse people feel comfortable coming to me with their concerns and complaints because they know I'll do whatever I can to fix it for them even though its not part of my job. Recently, I've had a ton of complaints about B and R. B can not manage people or plan in advance. Its just his personality. This never used to be a problem before his job description changed. Now its a huge problem. I've had complaints about not calling customers back, telling employees they would place an order for something we needed urgently and never doing it, lying to employees, not doing their jobs and blaming it on other employees, making unnecessary large purchases with the company credit cards, etc. I also have my own complaints that I've kept to myself.

Since I used to do a huge portion of R's job, I offered to train him multiple times. He's always too busy to ever sit down with me. I don't know what he is doing during the week because his job is not getting done and I'm picking up the slack. I've casually mentioned to B that I could train R or give him some pointers. B basically told me that I shouldn't overstep my boundaries.

I tried not to take it personally, but I can't. I love my job. I want to stay with the company. I want the company to stay in business and B & R not doing their jobs at all or correctly is having an impact on customer relations and the finances. I know that I can't do both of their jobs and mine, but I feel like if my options are doing part/all of their jobs to keep the company running, its what needs to be done.

I know I need to tell the owner about these issues. I'm just really concerned (perhaps paranoid) that if the owner tells B any of it, B will somehow turn around the story to make me the bad guy. Twisting stories is another personality trait of his.

I feel like I should just email the owner and say "these concerns/complaints have been brought to my attention." and just list what they are for the owner to deal with. But I also know that the owner will ask me for more detail, how I feel about the situation, and what I think should be done to fix it. What would you do?

Re: This is an AE. Work advice please. (long)

  • edited December 2010
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_this-ae-work-advice-please-long?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:321757c3-6356-4d1b-9ff0-8f13a63e739bPost:705980ab-0e2e-4440-8cfe-1b1c92bc80c8">This is an AE. Work advice please. (long)</a>:
    [QUOTE]<strong> I feel like I should just email the owner and say "these concerns/complaints have been brought to my attention." and just list what they are for the owner to deal with.</strong> But I also know that the owner will ask me for more detail, how I feel about the situation, and what I think should be done to fix it. What would you do?
    Posted by candycane1234[/QUOTE]

    Do that part, and then the ball is in the owners court.  Can you add in the email that you would like to stay anonymous?
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  • I would present it (to owner) as "The employees of the warehouse have approached me with the following concerns..."  Just be matter-of-fact about it, and if the owner asks your opinion, then you can offer it.  I wouldn't even really interject your own thoughts on B or R in the first email to the owner.
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  • dnbeach - Thats a really good point about the owner being upset I never mentioned it before. I can definitely see the owner saying 'What? You knew about this stuff and never told me? Why not?"

    Andy - the owner is in a different state than us so visits aren't too often and usually have some work-related agenda.

    aMrs - I'm pretty sure I can stay anonymous but I don't know for how long. Since the company is so small, I'm sure it would be figured out eventually.

    Kiki - thanks. I like the way you worded it.

    I'm going to start making a list of the issues. I hope the owner resolves most of them on his own without my input. It'd be much easier. Thanks!
  • If meeting in person isn't feasible then I think you should take these wonderful ladies advice and put it in an email.

    Good luck!

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  • This is quite a delicate situation that needs to be handled with care as you I'm sure already know.  I am concerned that circumventing B and going to the owner might backfire on you in a "kill the messenger" type way. 

    Firstly, you don't know what B may be telling the owner about you.  If he feels at all threatened by your overtures he may be dropping hints to the owner behind your back.  And since the owner has put him over you in the hierarchical line, B may have more clout with the owner than you due to sheer proximity to the owner that you don't have. 

    Secondly, I would try not to show all your cards in a way that may be misinterpreted as sour grapes or being overly ambitious.  I would keep the identities of the employees anonymous, then provide an email as well as hard copy of the complaints/grievances to both B and the owner. 

    Address it to the owner but cc B.  In that way it cannot seem like you are trying to upend the chain of command  or insinuate that the owner doesn't know what he's doing by entrusting B with his duties. 

    Plus B cannot claim ignorance to the owner and act like he had no idea because you did not officially share these issues with him.  You are being a "team player" while trying to look out for the company.  Then the owner will probably look to B to resolve things and inquire about the status of the quality control efforts on a regular basis.  

    And I would make sure to imply that the employees requested that these issues be shared directly with the owner, which explains why you did not only provide the info to B and entrust that it would make its way to the owner. However, you felt that it was best that they both be made aware.

    Finally, keep copious notes of all of your interactions with B, R, etc. that you find disconcerting,  along with dates and times.  You may need them in the future.  Good luck!
  • I'd ask the employees who talked to you if they would be willing to back you up if you talked to the owner. Just in case.
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  • I'd have documentation on hand for as much as possible.  Evidence that he was supposed to order something, and proof that it wasn't ordered in a reasonable time, etc.  Document EVERYTHING you can.  Then put together a cover letter stating that complaints were brought to you, and that you had some concerns of your own, but that you didn't want to overstep or inappropriately tarnish someone's reputation, so you started looking into things. 

    If you can provide the owner with proof and not just complaints, it's going to be easier for you to remain anonymous.  Plus, at that point, it's not he-said/she-said. 

    Ultimately, I would bring the concerns to the owner's attention while doing as much CYA as possible. 
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  • Ditto Squirrly exactly. CYA first by having something to back up the complaints.
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