Confidential statements made to Managers and Nepotism - HELP!!
slm
7 Posts
One of our employees come to me today and asked to speak 'in confidence'. He said that his Manager had repeated personal information (that he had told her in confidence) to other members of our staff. He also stated that she had discussed his work performance, and how it related to the confidential personal info, with others as well. He was made aware of his Manager's indiscretions when two of the people that she talked to, told him of their conversations.
This employee has been here 13 years. His performance evaluations are always at "exceeds" or "outstanding". As a matter of fact, his last PE was just completed last week, he scored "exceeds expectations". There was no mention of any performace issues.
The Employee is upset, but feels that nothing will come of a complaint because of the command structure here - he believes a formal complaint will jeopardize his job.
Now the [i]fun[/i] part:
This used to be a small "family" owned business (located in Maine) with many relatives working here. We were purchased, two years ago(about the time I was hired), by another larger company (located in Florida). The former owner was retained as the President of the Maine location.
We currently have ~45 ee's, which include:
[b]President's Daughter[/b] - she manages a department and reports directly to him.
[b]Daughter's Husband (President's Son-in-Law)[/b] - he is not a manager, but reports directly to the President
[b]Two (2) of the President's Sons[/b] - one reports to his Sister (the President's Daughter), the other directly to the President
[b]Three (3)of the President's brothers[/b] - one is a Manager and reports directly to the President, one reports to the President's Daughter, the other is part time and works for me (I report to the President x:o)
[b]President't Brother-in-Law[/b] - he reports to the President's Daughter (his Niece)
In my position as Office Manager, I act as liaison between our staff and the parent company. Part of that role is HR related issues. All of our policies and procedures come from our parent company. Any formal complaints are investigated by their HR director and/or his staff.
The employee was not willing to lodge a complaint today. I think it is just a matter of time before things come to a head and I don't want to wait for it to happen. I feel the Manager was in error and should be reprimanded. However, I don't think the President will agree.
Short of finding a new job, anyone have any suggestions??
-SLM, in Maine
This employee has been here 13 years. His performance evaluations are always at "exceeds" or "outstanding". As a matter of fact, his last PE was just completed last week, he scored "exceeds expectations". There was no mention of any performace issues.
The Employee is upset, but feels that nothing will come of a complaint because of the command structure here - he believes a formal complaint will jeopardize his job.
Now the [i]fun[/i] part:
This used to be a small "family" owned business (located in Maine) with many relatives working here. We were purchased, two years ago(about the time I was hired), by another larger company (located in Florida). The former owner was retained as the President of the Maine location.
We currently have ~45 ee's, which include:
[b]President's Daughter[/b] - she manages a department and reports directly to him.
[b]Daughter's Husband (President's Son-in-Law)[/b] - he is not a manager, but reports directly to the President
[b]Two (2) of the President's Sons[/b] - one reports to his Sister (the President's Daughter), the other directly to the President
[b]Three (3)of the President's brothers[/b] - one is a Manager and reports directly to the President, one reports to the President's Daughter, the other is part time and works for me (I report to the President x:o)
[b]President't Brother-in-Law[/b] - he reports to the President's Daughter (his Niece)
In my position as Office Manager, I act as liaison between our staff and the parent company. Part of that role is HR related issues. All of our policies and procedures come from our parent company. Any formal complaints are investigated by their HR director and/or his staff.
The employee was not willing to lodge a complaint today. I think it is just a matter of time before things come to a head and I don't want to wait for it to happen. I feel the Manager was in error and should be reprimanded. However, I don't think the President will agree.
Short of finding a new job, anyone have any suggestions??
-SLM, in Maine
Comments
For example, if the information relates to a disability or medical condition, the company could be in for a big liability hit. However, the manager might not have clearly understood that it was "in confidence."
I feel sure that you can address the situation with the president "in confidence" (I wish I knew how to put an emoticon in here). You also don't have to tell the president that the employee complained. You can just say it has come to your attention through some sources.
Rather than phrase it as discipline for the manager (if you think that won't go over), you could mention to the president that maybe this shows that this manager and others need some training in legal issues related to employment. Now that the company is getting bigger, the risks are getting greater -- and you may be able to play this situation as almost a positive (we have, for example, told clients that a claim brought by an employee challanging a policy was actually a good thing, because it gave the company a chance to revise the policy).
I don't think you can sit back and ignore the complaint. If things go badly (and you suspect they will), you will be blamed. After all you had the knowledge about the issue and the duty to do something about it, and you didn't.
Take some time, though and think through how this could be dealt with rather than as a negative.
Good Luck!!