Dustup with boss? Start from scratch or move
Advice from office experts Marie G. McIntyre and Liz Reyer
Q: I recently got a new boss who is difficult and obnoxious. In my eight years with this company, “Carol” is the worst supervisor I have had. She has treated me unfairly and underestimated my abilities.
After working with Carol for two weeks, I complained to human resources. At that time, I was going through a lot and not really thinking straight. Unfortunately, I found that Carol had already described her problems with me to the HR manager.
This situation with Carol just adds stress to my already stressful life. How should I deal with this?
A: While Carol may not be the boss you would choose, she is the boss you have. As you recently discovered, complaining to management about a new supervisor can easily backfire and make a bad situation worse. If you had been thinking clearly, perhaps you would not have been so hasty.
At this point, you seem to have two choices. If working for Carol is truly unbearable, you can always decide to look elsewhere. In that case, it’s time to polish up your resumé and begin networking. But if you wish to keep this job, try to repair the relationship by acknowledging your mistake and attempting to correct her first impression.
For example: “Carol, I want to apologize for the comments I made to human resources. That was a very stressful time in my life, so I’m afraid I overreacted. My hope is that we can put this event behind us and start over. What could I do to better meet your expectations?”
If Carol is a mature manager, she will welcome this overture and forgive your lapse in judgment. But if she refuses to give you another chance, the job search is always an option. — Marie G. McIntyre, Tribune News Service
Expanding business wants to stay unified as it grows
Q: Monique, 47, owner of business consulting firm, writes: I’ve been growing a small business, and we’re getting larger now, adding new locations and expanding the team.
So far, we’ve all been based in the same office, but now I have to consider how to remain unified when some people work from home, and others have offices in different cities. What’s the best strategy for us?
A: There is no “one size fits all” solution. The best approach depends on your industry, your customer base, your service model, and your employees’ needs and preferences.
For better or for worse, your industry lends itself to a structure distributed across locations. Different industries — for example, manufacturing — will have different challenges to consider, especially when work from home options are under discussion. But for you, all options can be on the table.
Consider your current customer base and service model. If you’ve built your company on in-person service, this will affect your decision.
This is a harder approach to scale up, since you will either have facility costs and specific recruiting needs in each market you want to expand to, or high travel costs to get your people to your customers.
A more virtual service approach provides more flexibility in company structure. Take time to determine what suits you best moving forward —where would you like to be in five years?
Now, employees. Start with the needs of current team members. Some may want flexibility to work from home, and others may not.
There may be perceived inequity if it’s available to some based on their roles, and not others. Seek out candid feedback on the options.
Then move on to the employees you need to attract in order to grow. Availability will be a big deal.
If you’re seeking specialized skills, you’ll need to go where they are or be able to offer something sufficiently attractive to bring them to you. The former is easier — including the work from home option. If you’re looking for a more general skill level, you’ll have more leverage.
Regardless of your decision, when you grow, you need to tend to the company culture that you foster. Let’s assume you’ve settled on some blend of central office, satellite locations and home officing. As the owner, you’re the visionary and the articulator of your company’s shared values.
So, be clear about your expectations and put systems in place to support them. Do you want a company where employees have each other’s back? Then they need to know each other.
One approach would be periodic in-person, all-staff meetings.
And, especially in a smaller firm, make it truly all staff, regardless of level. That way, even if most people don’t see each other day to day, the personal relationships that are the glue of culture can be formed. Deploy technology to help, as well. One critique of dispersed workforces is that it can limit innovation; challenge yourselves to find solutions to that downside.
It’s your vision and your company; incorporating others’ wisdom, create an approach that works for you and put the effort and investment into making it work.
— Liz Reyer, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)