DISCUSSIONS

Responsibility without authority or support

Anonymous Image

Anonymous

Welcome to Fairygodboss!

We’re the largest online career community helping women achieve their career goals. Gain access to articles, jobs, events, and a supportive network of women and allies. Membership is free, always.

Responsibility without authority or support

A few years ago I was asked to take on the role of training new hires. I had been establishing protocols (as everyone was doing their own thing) and this was strongly supported by management. Since then, there have been several problems with others undermining me in training with mid-management telling trainees they don’t have to follow my instructions and new people coming in wanting to changes processes to what they were used to in former jobs. Now management is supporting probationary staff in changing processes without any discussion beyond that person which is significantly impacting the workplace. I can appreciate that it is challenging to come into a new work place and having to learn new processes, but it is also offensive to have someone brand new and less experienced change processes with management’s blessing and no team discussion. The worst part is the lack of respect for my knowledge in essentially being told the processes I have worked very hard to put in place don’t matter and staff doing their own thing is okay. I feel very frustrated in that I cannot help management to see that consistency in how we do things is important both for covering other’s work and training and ensuring that we are in compliance with professional requirements. At this point, I need to stop caring but that is difficult for me. In addition, I am often the one called upon to fix problems that occur and lately, that is all I have been doing. A job I once loved is now a job that I am growing to hate. Although we are to function as a team, it seems to be that we now just do things the way we want, and oh well. I feel as if I have been demoted without being told I have been demoted. I feel it is time for me to quit this job.

Why women love us:

  • Daily articles on career topics
  • Jobs at companies dedicated to hiring more women
  • Advice and support from an authentic community
  • Events that help you level up in your career
  • Free membership, always

Like

18 comments

Share

Share your insight

Join an authentic community that helps women support each other at work. Share your professional experience or ask for advice — you can even post anonymously.

18 Comments

Join the conversation
  1. Anonymous

    Yes, things evolve (for better or worse) and sometimes jobs/roles devolve because management no longer sees the value in organization and adherence to process.

    Since management no longer sees your value, it is definitely time to move on.

  2. Anonymous

    Thank you. It is helpful to have input from others who are not close to the situation.

  3. Anonymous

    I think you answered your own question (helpful to me to write ot out as well)

    Happy New Year and new beginning for you!! Start looking :)

  4. Anonymous

    You are correct. Happy New Year to you as well! Time to get the resume updated :)

  5. Anonymous

    I find that when you don't get the support of upper management, you won't get anywhere.

    I'm a similar situation where I have to work with people I don't manage directly, but I'm leading the project, and responsible for it's success. But since others don't report to me, they don't bother to do their part effectively and on time. My manager nor their managers don't seem to think it's an issue because everyone else's priorities come before my project. Yet, when my project is late or fails, it's my fault.

    You can't win in this situation. I can't win either.

  6. Anonymous

    You are absolutely right. I’m sorry for your situation.

  7. Heather (she/her)

    I'm so sorry to hear this, I know how frustrating it must be for you. Sadly, I agree with other comments that if upper management isn't supporting your work it might be tough to find a way forward. Is it possible that your direct manager is supportive and could help?

  8. Anonymous

    Thanks for your response. There is no middle management that I can seek support from. Finding a way forward is going to be tough sadly.

  9. Anonymous

    While I agree with what others have said, it may be time to try something different. I hear that you are proposing only one alternative to doing something when there may be many different ways. Depending on how much your company relies on conformity for compliance reasons, while onboarding someone new, teach them how you have developed the training, but when they start to do it differently, ask them to explain their process to you. Then, you can explain why the process needs to be done one way or the other and allow the trainee to justify their procedure and why it meets the compliance standard. This way, both of you are heard, and who knows, one of the newbies may have a way to do it better and faster. Training and procedures are organic processes and need to be streamlined as everyone begins to use them. Otherwise, things get stuck in antiquated systems if you aren't careful. Developing onboarding training is not necessarily a "one-and-done" process but grows and evolves with the company. I agree that consistency is a positive attribute, but is it essential? Is it impossible or just uncomfortable when people cover for others? Is there a compromise solution? It may be time to move on if these answers aren't positive. There is no excuse for management giving you a task but not the authority or responsibility to make it successful. I'm only trying to present an alternative way to approach it.

  10. Anonymous

    Thank you for your response. The difficulty is that we are required to keep client files for a minimum of at least 7 years and often indefinitely. The organization of the files is key for multiple reasons, without going into much detail. It’s not that I am open to new ways of doing things but we do need to have consistency so anyone can, even in 15 years from now, find what they need. Changing processes on a regular basis on each team member’s whim is definitely a poor practice and may cause serious problems. I think I need a new job where people care.

  11. Anonymous

    Oh gosh.
    It honestly feels like this post might have been written by me in my sleep. I deal with this constantly (I do operations for a saas start-up).

    Not surprisingly, most people aren't operationally minded, and they don't see (or care about) the downstream ramifications of not following process. At my company, every other dept runs a 2wk, 7 session "onboarding", while in our dept, I run a 30day, fully scheduled & curated onboarding. We have proven metrics to show our employees ramp 2x faster than other depts and I can show business outcomes, but it doesnt matter.

    I don't have advice for you, since I am struggling to figure out a solution as well. All I will say is keep fighting the good fight. A solid onboarding is one of the #1

  12. Anonymous

    Thank you for taking the time to respond. I appreciate your thoughts. Good luck to you in your role.

  13. Anonymous

    Onboarding new employees is a challenge no matter what but if this is no longer satisfying to you its time for a change. unless the program is fully locked and sanctioned by leadership it seems like they want new employees to have the freedom to make impactful decisions for themselves.

    If the fixer part of your role is solely based upon this erratic behaviour perhaps document specifics on how this is negatively affecting the business but do it from a place of positive changes and suggest some or you become part of the problem. Good luck.

  14. Anonymous

    You are right about a change. Thank you!

  15. Anonymous

    You did not mention what industry you work for, but because management appears to be blase about training, I have to believe that you are not working in a well regulated one. You might want to consider moving to a regulated industry such as aerospace, finance, construction or biotech (either pharmaceutical or medical device).

    I have worked in biotech where standard operating procedures are used to train new hires. They are controlled by the Document Control Department, which means that if anyone wants to change an SOP, they would have to get permission from Document Control and add collaborators before they could even change the document. There is no changing a document just because you feel like it.

    More importantly, in a well regulated environment, your company is audited by regulatory bodies such as the FAA, FDA or the Federal Reserve, which means that they will want to know how your company's employees are trained. This means that they will want to see the list of SOPs that an employee has to read. No regulated company that is routinely audited would allow for the kind of mess that your company permitted in their training program.

    Try to look for training coordinator positions in regulated industries. I wish you all the best!

  16. Anonymous

    Thank you for your thoughtful response.

  17. Anonymous

    It doesn't matter what the field is so much as the culture of the individual workplace. Experienced aka older workers' input being disregarded is a form of ageism- "We'll hire you but be prepared to have your input about processes and innovation ignored or otherwise discounted" . If you don't look for a culture positive for ALL in your next position you're just asking to wind up in the same situation as you're already in or have been.

  18. Anonymous

    Start looking for a more supportive environment. I'm guessing management is listening to Millenials and GenZs and anyone who is older or has more experience is being ignored or their concerns are shrugged off, getting scolded for not "seeing the big picture". Do your homework to find your next step in your career where they will value your expertise and not listen to new employees who have not earned it.

Browse recent posts

Test
Ready to land your next sales or marketing role? 🚀💜
Hiii everyone!
I'm. Current looking for remote jobs
The Great American Job Hunt is on. Despite advanced hiring technology, thousands of qualified candidate's report being rejected before a human interview.
I am looking for remote opportunities so that i can stay at home with my grandkids.
See more
Fairygodboss VIP
Achieve your career goals.
Be part of the largest online career community for women to find jobs, advice, and support — for free.
Fairygodboss members