What ticks you off?

Paul in Cannon Beach

I really appreciate the sense of community and support I have seen in this forum. Its great to hear "hey, I understand what you are going through."

So, in that spirit... what ticks you off in your job? I don't know if you will get any help or advice but it might feel good to vent and it may be encouraging to others who deal with the same frustrations.

I will start... what ticks me off are managers/supervisors who don't understand that conducting performance evaluations and documenting performance problems are PART of their job and not something to do when they have time. Usually, its the same managers who come to me when a problem with an employee has gotten out of hand.

Your turn...

[email]paulknoch@hotmail.com[/email]

bsa

Executives who don't think before making an employment decision AND they don't ask for help!

ritaanz

My pet peeve xx( is Managers and supervisors who pass/transfer a problem employee to another department to get rid of the headache instead of dealing with it.

tfevergrn

It is amazing to me how many supervisors/managers have conflict phobia. They don't address problem employees and then when they can't take it any longer, they want to get rid of them on the spot. When their personnel file is clean, they have excellent performance appraisals and they basically look like an exemplary employee. A never ending battle !!!

diane

touche!!

Diane

Carol CA

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 06-25-02 AT 11:48AM (CST)[/font][p]A President who has zero people skills and manages by intimidation. He also has knee-jerk reactions which result in me doing damage control which is worse than the original problem.

wire manufacturer

I must agree.

TeresaBlank

Or the President that wants me to enforce policies that someone made up by combining two different sources without have legal review.

Rockie

I see that I am very lucky. I have a CEO that actually lets me do what I was hired to do and respects the HR function. I do what I do well and he does his
CEOing well.

I guess my biggest "tick off" is the ever increasing feeling of entitlement I see among employees in that they tell their supervisors what they are and are not going to do and supervisors are too cowed to stand up to them because (1) they are afraid they will quit and leave them short handed and (2) they will cause them trouble and (3) they are just chicken and don't want to do the confrontating of the problem. Then....when the problem gets out of hand...they want me to step in and fix it. Supervisors will gripe to no end about an employee, but they are not willing to take the initative to try to address it with the employee.

I, too, have had the experience of a supervisor wanting to get rid of a problem employee and then the personnel file looks like Mother Teresa. When I tell the supervisor the person cannot be terminated based on documentation, they look at me like I've taken leave of my senses. What's worse, is when a supervisor inherits a person, they are obviously a person who needs to be helped out the door and the previous supervisor has given them glowing recommendations and reviews.

Even thought it's supposed to be good morale to promote supervisors from within, I feel sometimes it's best to bring in supervisors that don't have a history with the people they have worked with and have an easier time confronting issues.

sonny

Can relate to all of these, may I add. . Directors who you have to beg, hound and threaten to get paperwork ie injury reports, job description revisions, information etc, yet when they need something..boy you shoulda had it done yesterday! {Phew, that felt good to vent.

Crout

This is an interesting subject, and you could subtitle it: "The Hazardous Duty of HR." The problem, as others have outlined so vividly, is that we in HR tend to see all the "messes" that companies can get into, and we are usually the ones who are called upon to clean up. Added to that is something no one has yet mentioned: we know how much money everyone makes. Doesn't it kill you to see someone get a nice raise,and you know with absolute clarity that he/she is an idiot? So the challenge, as I see it, is to be able to absorb all that profound knowledge and maintain your own integrity and morale. Sometimes it's a daily struggle, but then I recite that tried and true mantra from The Godfather: this is the business we've chosen. It's a business that I love and feel fortunate to practice. Thanks for asking.

njjel

Directors that don't take necessary action and that don't remember what they have said!

jriley

You said this perfectly!!! Even the quote from the Godfather!


>This is an interesting subject, and you could subtitle it: "The
>Hazardous Duty of HR." The problem, as others have outlined so
>vividly, is that we in HR tend to see all the "messes" that companies
>can get into, and we are usually the ones who are called upon to clean
>up. Added to that is something no one has yet mentioned: we know how
>much money everyone makes. Doesn't it kill you to see someone get a
>nice raise,and you know with absolute clarity that he/she is an idiot?
> So the challenge, as I see it, is to be able to absorb all that
>profound knowledge and maintain your own integrity and morale.
>Sometimes it's a daily struggle, but then I recite that tried and true
>mantra from The Godfather: this is the business we've chosen. It's a
>business that I love and feel fortunate to practice. Thanks for
>asking.

Don D

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 06-26-02 AT 10:48AM (CST)[/font][p][font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 06-26-02 AT 10:32 AM (CST)[/font]

I guess if I had to pick one today (it'll change tomorrow) it will be the unbelievable number of supervisors who either will not or can not embrace the theory of realistic/meaningful performance reviews. There's an extremely high percentage who operate from the halo theory of supervision. They all cross my desk and I see the same upper-end raise percentages time after time with the same untrue and self serving statements in the review. Our customer service manager turned one in last week touting an employee's punctuality and attention to assignment. I went over and asked, "Is this the same person who is never here prior to 8:22 and the same person who continually takes one hour and 16 minutes for lunch who is also selling Avon at work?" She downgraded the item from superior to satisfactory. x:-( After reading through all these postings from you guys though, these are really challenges and these are what maintains our seat at the table. x:-)

Paul in Cannon Beach

Thanks for all the interesting posts. I really could relate! Others made me feel grateful for my situation.

Maybe we should do one called.. "what do you love about your job?" to balance out the negative with all the good stuff we like in HR.

But before we do that, here is another gripe - being accused of having an agenda that promotes the well being of only our lower level employees (because I stick up for them).

[email]paulknoch@hotmail.com[/email]

Don D

Looks like somebody needs to.....after reading some of the responses to Rockies question about exec perks. THEY certainly have advocates somewhere in the system.

cmergl

I have the same gripe about managers not doing performance evaluations in a timely manner. When it comes time to terminate someone, I get the problem of having no documentation in the personnel file. If only reviews were done annually like they are supposed to be done . . . .

Other gripes: 1. Employees who don't read benefit information when it's given to them and they are asked to read it. I'm constantly repeating myself, and once I help them with their question, they act like it's the first time they've have heard the information.

2. "the high maintenance employee" gets on my nerves - everybody has at least one - always has questions or requests you to do impossible things i.e. "I'm going on vacation & I don't have direct deposit for my paychecks - can you deposit my check for me?" Or "My 401(k) fund is loosing money - what are you going to do to fix it?" This guy kills me!

ritaanz

I love it! The"high maintenance employee"...... and I always had other names for them. x:-8

Sally

Yep--managers who don't like to do performance evaluations but as soon as there is a problem with one of their employees--look out! I actually had one tell me one time that the evaluation for a probationary employee was not a priority for her and it wasn't like the IRS was going to come after me if she didn't do it!

TALLEY

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 06-26-02 AT 03:58PM (CST)[/font][p]I really get ticked off when department managers try to hide employee issues from me. For example, I don't find out a new employee has been hired until the last day of the pay period and the person has been working for ten days already. Or finding out an employee has terminated and I'm already late with a COBRA notice. Or an employee's Mom calls to ask if she can pick up Jr.'s check. When I tell her yes, with signed authorization from Jr., she informs me that he can't fax a note to me and they need the money from his check because he's going to be detained for a while (like 5 to 10) - AND the department manager is fully aware of the situation.

And of course, we only hear about the absenteeism and attendance problems when the department manager is fed up and ready to get rid of a problem employee.

I've always said I could love my job if I just didn't have to deal with all these people!

memiller

What ticks me off? Employees who are NEVER happy. No matter what you do for them, you only hear the negative - never a thank you or that's a great improvement in benefits - only what else can we get. It is also difficult to hire people in making more than I do and they aren't even a manager. I've had to look at it that at least the company is finally hiring new employees at market rate - now to try to get them to increase the "older" staff members. I also have an owner of the company that thinks everyone is out to get her. One person does something wrong and WHAMMO - a new policy/procedure is developed. That's enough for now! :-)

dmartenson

In response to your "ticks me off", we have handled this rather well by making sure that the supervisors know that how well and promptly they conduct their subordinate's reviews is one of the major items that they themselves will be reviewed on. When they realized that their own promotions and merit increases depended upon how well they conducted their reviews, they spiffed right up.

shendrickson

Gee, where do I begin! How about this - a GM who ignors problems and hopes they will go away - but they always end up in my office and we go back over them time and time again.

Or - a Manager who has worked in one dept for 38 years and thinks he owns the company and every other dept in the plant! His nick name is the "bully". I inherited much when I stepped in here a year ago!

Or - employees that tell you they will not work overtime, so you hire weekend people to take their place then the whole facility is in an uproar because they accuse you of taking away their overtime! I just love it!!!

Or - Supervisors & Managers that complain and complain about a problem and when you go to fix it they change their story because they are non-confrontational!

Or - People who continually complain about an issue but the minute you offer the solution - you're the bad guy. Come to find out they just like to complain!

Or - you have the opportunity to work for a company whose doing business in this day and age but their mindset is stuck in the 60's! What fun!

Perhaps I should stop complaining and look for another job!!!

Hope you all have a better day

barry

What really ticks me off is being asked to find a job for a VIP's son, daughter, girlfriend, etc. They refuse to let the regular process work but rather call me every day asking why I haven't yet found a really wonderful job for them.

Barry

diane

I'm ticked off that we have a president who had an affair with the admin.
assitant, left his wife, married the admin. and decided not to come in
the office anymore because he doesn't want to spend too much time with
her! (I'm guessing) To top it all off, she whines to him about employees
who don't treat her well, and he fires them...by email! Oh, and I'm
supposed to keep the Company out of legal hot water!

Why do I keep this job? It's part-time and I work work around my children's
schedules! That's what I love best about my job.

Don D

The reason he doesn't come in any more is because he's having an affair with his ex-wife! His new wife would keep an eye on him if he were at work! x}>

System

x:7

Christy Reeder
Website Managing Editor
[url]www.HRhero.com[/url]

Paul in Cannon Beach

Wow.. some of you put up with some really awful stuff. Here is another complaint of mine.. applicants who are nuts but you can't really say to them "you know, we aren't going to hire you because you're nuts." I remember one application that was completely ripped to shreds and re-taped together. My no-hire letter stated we had "better qualified applicants" for the position.

Just once I would like to be able to say "Im sorry, but hiring you would violate our 'no psychos' policy."

Have fun, its friday!

[email]paulknoch@hotmail.com[/email]

JKK

I agree with all the comments so far, and often have to deal with similar situations. What really ticks me off though is a Director who won't fire anyone because they have been with the company for too long... we recently re-structured and had the perfect opportunity to get rid of someone who has not been performing and had numerous complaints about them and their attitude. But what does the Director do? Insists I invent a new position for the person! I can't believe it. As a result I have had other much more valuable staff resign and this person is parading around doing very little and being paid very well to do nothing.

2626987

Dido!

However; What REALLY ticks me off are employees who have been in the
company for more than 15 or 20 years and are practicing their "ownership"
rights of the place and therefore feel they are no longer subject to
correction, direction, education or work!

How do you break through such an established wall?

lrenoll

The biggest challenge is getting my Managers to understand my function here in the HR positon. I am tired of the tasks that no one else wants to do being gift wrapped and labeled as employee relation and handed to me to do. I mean when did HR become the responsible for making personal dinner reservations for people .... Ugghhhh.