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Luna T
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39
Administrative Support professional
07/17/19 at 3:38PM UTC
in
Career

overstepping

Good morning, I work as an HR Admin Assistant in a skilled nursing home facility. Recently, I posed a question to senior management regarding our Scholarship and tuition reimbursement assistance program. I received the attached documentation this morning; please note Colorado Tech already received a payment of $3,000 on 5-21-19 for this employee. I am again seeking guidance on this issue because when I originally posed the question in a previous e-mail if Managers (i.e.) Director Of Nursing are reimbursed at a higher level than employees are and the response was that the scholarship limit to $3000/term per employee.. – When attempting to research this issue for due diligence I have not found this to be stated in anything official It is not in the 2016 Employee Handbook Not stated on the company Policy/Procedure Series Not included in Nursing Facility Employee Scholarship Program documentation Or even the Scholarship Application that the employee fills out Received the following response from Senior Management That is really no something you don’t need to be concerned about as it is outside your scope of work. What is critical is timely and accurate processing in your role. We are able to recoup tuition reimbursement through our cost reports so for critical roles, we can use discretion as a recruitment and retention tactic that is why you may see varying amounts even outside the guidelines. These will need to be considered on a case by case basis Feeling shut down I responded: Humble apologies as I Certainly did not mean to overstep my boundary. Please know that I was asking because if we issue a denial letter to the employee for the reason of being maxed on tuition assistance and employee comes back and says they didn’t know that the cap was 3,000 or perhaps wanted to see it in writing I merely wanted to be able to provide it to them. I strive to help people by my participation in the process and to encourage the professional and personal development of our staff members. Senior management held an in person conversation with me There seems to be enough confusion to warrant an in-person conversation so I am going to schedule time for LunaT/HR Rep/Sr. Manager so we can walk through process for practice/protocol for review & approval by managers, documenting/tracking by HR assistant, and how to field questions from employees related to tuition assistance &/or loan forgiveness. During this meeting I owned my part for an oversight where an employee was reimbursed twice but has since quit and we can’t recoup that cost. I feel as if this meeting was sort of reprimand for speaking out for overstepping my role. I very much value my job and was simply attempting to point out in good faith that there may have been a flaw in our process and not to blame or single out any person or department. I am on thin ice here and want to right this perceived wrong. Do you have any advice for me? Thank you so much for your time and attention to this.

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Anonymous
07/20/19 at 8:03PM UTC
I see that they did not want to put anymore in black and white which was the reason for the face to face. If they are paying out without clear guidelines and doing so indiscriminately they could be open to a lawsuit in the future thus not wanting any company emails which have retention schedules to be subpoenaed. Now that you have brought it to their attention it could be an even bigger liability down the road.
HILYEDUCATED
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285
I AM A GOOD WOMAN
07/20/19 at 5:07PM UTC
I see more of you caught them with their pants down than stepping over the line. You just asked a question and they could have just provided a simple reply and walked away. Senior Management however decided to inflate your question to a larger than need be situation. You found something that no one should have and now they are having to back pedal. Don't feel bad,you did nothing wrong,if fact your action has made them accountable for the program. Yes,what do you do if employees ask for something on corporate letterhead or memo paper? Policies of this type need to be in writing and with a legitimate signature. Too many times policies are signed by a department and not the head of the department or the manager of that department. Go about your normal job activities and if they do threaten you with termination then get yourself a good employment attorney. They are the ones in the wrong, not you.
Anonymous
07/20/19 at 4:54PM UTC
It reads to me like they wanted to stop the back and forth emails and provide clarity on the situation in a face-to-face manner. I find this is usually best as well. Particularly when there are clear misunderstandings and someone is getting frustrated or hurt in the chain. Which, it sounds like is the case with the emails. Don’t take it personally, just take it as an opportunity to get clarity on the process and move on. If the tone of the meeting was aggressive or you feel like you’re being targeted then look for somewhere else to work. How did your boss respond? If you trust him/her then share your concerns and have a conversation about it.
Luna T
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39
Administrative Support professional
08/05/19 at 9:37PM UTC
I was severely reprimanded and ended up resigning
jess2means
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99
Research Chemist - Mother of Two - Avid Reader
07/17/19 at 5:48PM UTC
I would let this all play out and then move on from it, knowing in the future that you may see the problems coming your way but that senior management will not tolerate you anticipating issues. Sometimes, it's simply a matter of how you approach them. Clearly, they were unable to handle your approach on this issue. Was it the tone of your e-mail? Was it something that was said in person? Clearly, their feathers got ruffled and they got upset over it. You don't have to return the favor. I've been in meetings where senior level people are making absolutely no sense and crappy decisions. I spoke out and pointed out that their push and rush on a decision was unnecessary and they should let it move forward slower. This saved OT cost and sanity. But I tell you, the VP moving forward did not like a lower person on the totem pole making them look inept. All I thought I was doing was contributing to the problem solving and helping out. They never saw it that way. If you like your job and everything else generally goes well, let this all blow over. It is good practice for you to find out that your approach may not always work, that someone may unnecessarily get upset and 'reprimand' you, and that ultimately you can keep your job and move past it. Best of luck to you on navigating communication with them in the future!
Anonymous
07/17/19 at 5:02PM UTC
I have learned that at some organizations, my own included, senior managers take personal offense to anyone questioning anything. I am a direct report to the CFO and while she is open to improvement/suggestions, some of her peers are not. I have made process improvement suggestions to some of her peers for areas outside of my direct responsibility and been reprimanded/shut out/criticized. Some people are frankly either insecure and view feedback negatively and others believe in a strict pyramid structure where those at the bottom strictly stick to their jobs without any interaction. with higher levels. My advice, look for a job in a better organization. When senior leadership cannot appreciate an employee pointing out something that could be a financial risk, they are not good managers.

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