Monday, June 23, 2014

Animosity created

Some time back I wrote a letter of recommendation for a fellow co-worker, a long term substitute worker.

He had applied a number of times for a permanent position, but always was passed up.  Instead they would hire someone off the street that they had no first hand experience with.


This guy was/is quite flexible and I suspected and I suspected they didn't want to lose him as a substitute.

The problem is the permanent person that they awarded the position to, always turned out to be less deserving.  I.e. they sucked, as deemed by all the other workers.

So I wrote something along these lines:

Dear HR, and Immediate Supervisor,

I have know XXX for 7 years, and have worked with him in and out of the district.  He has a great work ethic, is flexible, and easy to get along with.

The only possible reason that I have been able to come up with why XXX hasn't already been offered a permanent position, is because management likes controversy and problems as it somehow helps them justify their own jobs.

And from what I have seen, this is totally illogical, as they aren't very good at resolving conflict among workers, which goes back to why would management not hire someone that they have first hand direct work experience of.
Sincerely, some guy who has seen to much stupid stuff...

As you can imagine this was not well received.  One supervisor who I purposely did not express my feelings to on this for good reason, got a hold of my (what should have been treated as confidential) message and came down to tell me he was offended by the message (that I didn't send to him.)

I thought supervisors were supposed to have experience with  dealing with upset people, and well, were used to getting screamed at from all angles.  I guess he doesn't get out of his office and interfaced with people often.  And what was really disgusting was that he made this about him, and his "feelings." 

Unfortunately, I don't specialize in tact.  I try to specialize in trying to get my point across and to stick.

This happens often with professional staff too.  A long term substitute teacher won't even get an interview, but they'll hire someone from an adjacent district.   Now you tell me, who should be "offended."

Is management is totally blind to the animosity created by how they award positions?  In every building there is someone who dislikes someone else because they feel they should have been awarded the position they other guy got. 

Perhaps if there was a more spelled out procedure on how they award positions, then this would be less prevalent? At least then a level headed person can't rightfully say "it should have been mine", they then know how the procedure works.

Another thing that would help (and has been suggested) is if there wasn't such a large pay difference between positions.  People have asked time and time again what the difference is between a level II and level III person, and the answer is never the same and always has a very blurry line.







Thursday, June 5, 2014

Guy is spot on.

HOWARD — The scandal at the VA is yet another symptom of the “bonus culture” that has infiltrated management of all our institutions. When the measures used to evaluate success of the organization become the target by which executive pay is determined, corruption and criminality follow.
This was the case when bankers falsified mortgage applications and financial products almost destroying our economy in the financial meltdown. It happens when chief executives rig company earnings to give themselves fat checks and it happened again at VA hospitals. At the VA (unlike the banks) someone may even go to jail.
However all these are examples of how thievery has become the acceptable norm among those who profess to lead our largest corporations.
Frank Ingram