I May Lose My Job Today

[shanendoah]

It's not quite that bad. It won't be a "you're out" kind of meeting. But I will be meeting with my boss at 2pm today, when I will find out if he will be starting the HR process of me losing my job.
If it happens, he has hinted at trying to provide me with some kind of copper parachute (nothing golden for me, but I'm not a CEO), so I don't think it will necessarily go down as "fired for cause", but at this point, who knows.

Long story short, I've been at my job for 6 months now. When I was hired, they said they wanted to be able to move into Phase II of the pilot after 6 months. That is NOT happening. That would not be happening no matter who they hired. My department is understaffed for the growth they want to do, and my oversight group decided that maybe the staffing model that was being used needed to be changed about 4 months in.
Every time I turn around, I get contradicting feedback- I am too confident, but I'm not showing leadership. What do I do all day, but how is the department going to function when I got called for jury duty, etc. I am non-responsive, but rarely has anyone come to me with direct feedback, and in those cases I have responded.

It's a university. There's a lot of politics and rumor mongering. There was an issue of something we did not actually meeting a deadline. I was not told. My staff was not told. My boss wasn't even told by the department that had the issue. One of the other directors came to him and said "did you know we had an issue in X?" at which point he reached out to X and then to me. Problem was NOT my team's fault. It wasn't the fault of the admin staff in the department either. The subject matter expert, who we all rely on, gave us bad data, that included a wrong due date.

But that's just an example. Supposedly, no one has complained to my boss about me directly, but one of the other directors said to him "have you heard..." So I don't know if it's one of the 8 directors I work with that has an issue with my work, or all of them, or what. Because none of them have given me feedback directly. 

One of my best guesses for what they are not happy with is how long some things take. We're in the pilot phase of a roll out and right now we're meeting every week, so it's like they are expecting big changes every week. That's not happening. And some weeks, I don't have time to sit down and work on the projects specific to them because I am working on projects that matter to my staff and actually getting the work done. While I've asked to not meet weekly, they are certain we need to meet weekly for them to be in the loop, which I feel is creating an artificial timeline.

Anyway, my boss is meeting with the directors today (he is technically their boss, but they are the "customers" on this project) to try and get a good feeling for where they are at. (Why this couldn't have happened during the 3 weeks I was on jury duty, I don't know.) And I will meet with him this afternoon to find out the result. It's possible it's just one person, or a split house. But it's also possible they all feel I am not the right person for the job. Who frickin knows.


On the good side, copper parachute or not, we have close to $30k in savings, which is over 6 months in expenses. We can take out student loans for C's classes this winter and spring quarters if needed. Pop Tart will be covered under medicaid regardless, and C and I still have 4 months Cobra coverage from the severance package from my last job.

And regardless of the outcome of today's meeting, I'm job hunting. I was already unhappy with the commute, but this constant stress about whether or not other people think I'm doing my job (while not complaining to me directly or having any issues with the product my team is putting out) is just getting to be too much. I hate the idea of only spending 6 months on a job, but at least I can talk about it being a pilot and overseeing the rollout and spin my leaving from there.

[NancysSummerSip]

Aw, Shane. WTF, right before the holidays? Honestly, they don't deserve to have you. I hope them and their pilot program crashes and burns out of spite without you. So there on them.

Glad you have been, and continue to think ahead. You've got some good, if brief experience out of this. Make sure that copper parachute includes a good letter of recommendation.

[Deleted]

"Why this couldn't have happened during the 3 weeks I was on jury duty, I don't know"

I am sorry that you may be losing your job. I hope you find a replacement quick (whether you lose it or not).
It is too late for your case but maybe others don't know this. If you have certain deadlines, etc you can have your work place right a letter stating they cannot spare you at this time due to project deadlines, etc to get you out of (postpone) jury duty. I have a coworker who got out of jury duty this way due to work commitments.

[Bonny]

And you're already starting to look on the bright side which is good. Sometimes jobs just aren't a good fit and it's better to rip the Band-Aid off sooner. I've stayed at some bad jobs because I'm not a quitter but I probably would have been much better off moving on sooner.

Good luck to you.

[sarcasticgirl]

Good luck to you! what a headache to endure! 

[Sum Dum Gai]

That sucks. Good luck.

[The Captain]

Shane,

I am so sorry to hear you are going through this!  Good luck with everything!

[mmhmm]

Good luck Shanen!  The whole mess sounds like a real PITA.  Whatever happens this afternoon, I hope you can find something that's a better fit for you.

[raeoflyte]

Dec 17, 2013 13:20:55 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Shane,

I am so sorry to hear you are going through this!  Good luck with everything!

[shanendoah]

@bunnysmom - what I meant was, why couldn't they have had their "is she working out" meeting while I was out. The office did not need me while I was on jury duty. Everything went fine, and I knew it would (it was the couple of weeks right before Thanksgiving). No, there had already been stress about where we were headed, as in not ready for phase II, and my boss had heard the "what does she do all day" comment already. But again, they all then freaked out at the idea of me having jury duty.
And he claims this isn't about not being ready for Phase II, which I'm not so sure of, since no one has ever given me specific feedback.

It's a mess. The eight directors are very driven people who volunteered to lead this project. Their reputations are at stake in this as much as anything. Which is why they launced hte program when it wasn't ready to launch- one of the tools for one of our processes STILL hasn't been made available, almost 6 months in. So they launched when they weren't ready to launch, and now want to consider adding new services when we still don't have all the tools for the services we are offering ready. And now, I am not displaying leadership. But this isn't about phase II.

And none of this even addresses the staffing model changes they are making. And guess who gets to tell the staff? Not them. Not the director of the department they came from who is the one pushing not to let them go (right now I share two staff with that department). Nope, I get to tell staff who volunteered for this and have pored their time and energy into making this process work that the way things look, they will be going back to their old jobs, but they'll be welcome to apply for the new jobs we're creating in this department, which will be at a substantially "higher level" than their jobs, meaning they may not meet base qualifications.

I am annoyed at the whole process.

I have told my boss that no matter what the final decision is today, what I would really like is actual specific feedback. If there is an HR action (letting me go), they'll have to write it all down and code it anyway. But even if I stay, I'd really like to know what it is I have or have not done.

C, being my wonderful and supportive husband, thinks I need to figure out who it is that is trying to sabotage me and find a way to sabotage them back.

[shanendoah]

I should mention I am in another meeting from 12-2 today. Meet with my boss at 2. If it goes badly, I will likely just take a bus home from there and not be online again until later this evening. If it goes well and I come back to my desk, I'll try to pop in here and update.

[The Captain]

Shane - I could try to lighten the mood and ask if you are part of the ACA rollout...

Sounds like a toxic environment - hopefully this is one of those "One door closes, another one opens" kinda things.

[Bonny]

Dec 17, 2013 13:44:42 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Shane - I could try to lighten the mood and ask if you are part of the ACA rollout...

LOL, I had the same thought. Get out of my head Captain!

[The Captain]

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I'm sorry Shane...university politics really sucks and there is normally nothing you can do if someone wants you gone.

My boss played this game, I got to watch from the sidelines. What someone will do to massage their ego is ridiculous and they think nothing of destroying in order to get what they want. In our case, it took a professional department from the #1 in the US with an obscene amount of grant/industry/private funding to a laughing stock.

I don't get it, I don't see how someone has the stomach for these kind of games, but they DO get played. IMO, the best thing you can do is to protect yourself however you can.

[Nazgul Girl]

Sorry, Shanen, that sucks.   This rollout wouldn't have anything to do with Epic stage 3 going live this June during fiscal year end, would it ?   If it does, we probably work in the same place, maybe in the same building, and should have lunch sometime.    Best wishes and I hope this crap goes away for you.  

[movingforward]

So sorry to hear this.  Keep us posted

[Jake 48]

,  Good Luck and Karma for you

[Deleted]

Sorry you guys are going through this.  Truly great job using the planning skills to soften and smooth things though!  

[thyme4change]

There are definitely times when people lose their jobs because of a failure on the part of the employer.  Unclear objectives, lack of training and other things make it difficult to be the employee they want.  I've been there.  I quit before they could come up with a plan to lay me off.  

[Opti]

I was hoping things went better than expected and we'd get an update.
I'm guessing that's not the case.


Your husband does have a point, but odds wouldn't be in your favor.
My guess is it has to be one or more of the directors as they are the
ones who might be looking for a scapegoat on this project. You'd need
to do your own whisper campaign or two as that's apparently what's
happened to you.



I hope in the end it works out for you however it turns out.

[Abby Normal]

Dec 17, 2013 19:09:45 GMT -5 Opti said:

I was hoping things went better than expected and we'd get an update.
I'm guessing that's not the case.

I was hoping the same thing.

[Jaguar]

So sorry.

[jeep108]

So sorry.

[shanendoah]

So yeah, things did not go better than expected. I am going to be out of a job.

My boss is starting the HR process part. Because we're a state agency, he can't really give me a severance package, but the goal is to push my end date out to Feb 1, and then have me on a "home assignment" for a few weeks, giving us insurance through the end of Feb, but also giving me the time I need to actively job hunt.
If I don't find a new job before the end, I will be given the opportunity to resign in lieu of termination. That prevents a termination on my record and still allows me to collect unemployment. 
So that's the plan for now

Mostly I feel really awful for my staff (who I don't get to tell until after the holidays). Two of them especially volunteered to work in this department part time at start with the promise that they would be moving to full time as we grew. They are classified staff.
The new plan is to try and get my department staffed with professional staff.
 
So, these two ladies have 1) Lost their manager from the other department they are with (one of them had worked with her for 14 years) due to budget cuts in the department. Now they are going to be told that the new staffing plan for my department doesn't really include them, unless they want to apply for a professional staff position. Plus, since they are both .5 me and .5 the other department, I am not certain that other department will have the ability to keep them both. So by volunteering to move into the pilot program, they could have cost themselves their jobs.
I also have one full time classified staff who was hired in to the department and works just for me.
And then, once the holidays are over, I get to tell them I am leaving, too. While I have only been with them 6 months, I have a great relationship with the staff. In fact, that was one of the things my boss brought up in our meeting, and says he brought up to the directors that the staff really like me and that would be a problem.




Apparently the directors want this to be considered a no fault situation, of sorts. They hired me knowing I did not have a specific type of experience. They have now decided that experience matters more than anything else I've done, and they need some one with that background. (I will argue with this, since I am supposed to be leading a shared services team, and this is only ONE of the services my team performs, and no one cares if I have a background in the other services. But, staying in a position where I am not wanted is not something I'm willing to fight for.)
They are looking for a scapegoat for not being where they envisioned themselves being. They like me, but I'm the easiest target. The truth is, I can point to one, and exactly one, time that my lack of knowledge in this area delayed the process of getting the new tools done. Considering we are now two months past that point and the tool has not been deployed yet, this is not an issue with me not knowing the process. It's an issue of programming (which I am not in charge of at all). Oh, and I share my programmers with the same department I share my staff with, and that department is launching the exact same tool my department is, and NO, it did not deploy in that department 2 months ago. It is still waiting to be launched for them, too.

But, enough of my bitching. It is what it is. I think I can count on my boss for a good recommendation, should it come up. I'll be starting the serious job search, well, tonight.

And no, I don't work on ACA. In fact, while this job is tangentially related to healthcare, it is not actually in the healthcare field.

[Jaguar]

CRAP !!!

[thyme4change]

[taz157]

I'm sorry shane.  Overall, it sounds like a good attitude about it and have a plan.  I wish you lots of luck in your future job search! 

[Bonny]

Well at least your boss is letting you have a graceful and long exit.

In my (somewhat similar) situation they told me that I would have as long as I needed to find another job. I found a job in two weeks.

You're in good shape financially and with a plan. Enjoy the holidays but hold off the serious job search until Jan 1.

Although disappointing, I think there will come a time when you'll be relieved that this happened. I know I was.

[mmhmm]

Shane, I'm really sorry, hon.  These things happen and it always sucks when they do.  It sounds like your boss went to bat for you and lost.  At least, you know the boss made the effort. That tells you he valued you.  I'm glad you've got a plan in place and some cooperation from your boss to make things easier.  Now, onward and upward!