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Chain of Command
Mar. 11th, 2006 04:54 pm
So there's been ongoing bruhaha at work over our new badges. About a month ago, people started coming to me asking me if I'd gone & gotten my new badge yet.
"What new badge?" I asked, and people would start looking nervous, "who told you we had new badges?"
"Uh, just some coworker"
"And you believed them?"
"Well, yeah"
"Is there a memo? Has a supervisor told you to go get a new badge?"
"Uh, no, not yet"
"Well, until a supervisor tells me or a memo comes out or something official, I'm not going to get a new badge."
So anyway, a couple of people attempting to get their paychecks were prevented from doing so unless they got re-badged. A few people just meandered down to HR on their own. Apparently, HR was open for extended hours during the first two weeks of re-badging so people working graveyard could have convenient times to get their badges. How thoughtful, no? And did anyone tell us a lick of this? No. No memos, no e-mail, no supervisors knew what the heck was going on. So last Friday Jeff asked me, "have you gone & gotten your new badge yet?" To which I replied, "No, as a matter of fact you are the first supervisor to even say anything to me about it. Where is the memo? I do nothing without a memo." Jeff just said, "Just go get your damned badge." He didn't know when HR was open or when the deadline was (the rumor mill had it there was a deadline). Molly, an assistant manager, came in Sunday night so I grilled her about it. I think I even told her I was going to e-mail HR to find out what the hours were, which I did Sunday night. Monday morning I got a reply from HR, printed out the e-mail & set it on my desk for the world to see. Monday night, I came in & lo & behold, there was a memo about getting the new badges. Of course, it didn't have HR's hours or a deadline on it.
Last night, I went to work & had an e-mail w/the deadline in it & a date for when the old badges would no longer function. Amazing what some complaining can do. Anyway, before I came home this morning, Jeff let me know that upper management didn't approve of me contacting HR & they felt I had snitched on them for not informing their employees about the new badge. They said it was a serious offense & I should be informed of the correct chain of command. I had contacted a supervisor and an assistant manager before e-mailing HR. Trying to call our HR department is a waste of time because it's all voicemail & no humans answer the phones. I'm sorry if I blew their social engineering test to Hel, but what were they going to do on the 20th when no one's badge worked to get into the building or clock in? And all those people w/no badge were saying, truthfully I might add, "no one told us we needed new badges!!!"
I have learned nothing about the Excalibur except this: the chain of command has some broken links in it. They try to 'empower' the employees & then yell at them for taking initiative. They tell you to 'use your best judgment' & yell at you when you do. They expect you to handle problems thoroughly & then ask, "why didn't you ask a supervisor first before making the guest/coworker angry?" It's driving me nuts, which is all part of why I'm looking for new work.
"What new badge?" I asked, and people would start looking nervous, "who told you we had new badges?"
"And you believed them?"
"Is there a memo? Has a supervisor told you to go get a new badge?"
"Well, until a supervisor tells me or a memo comes out or something official, I'm not going to get a new badge."
So anyway, a couple of people attempting to get their paychecks were prevented from doing so unless they got re-badged. A few people just meandered down to HR on their own. Apparently, HR was open for extended hours during the first two weeks of re-badging so people working graveyard could have convenient times to get their badges. How thoughtful, no? And did anyone tell us a lick of this? No. No memos, no e-mail, no supervisors knew what the heck was going on. So last Friday Jeff asked me, "have you gone & gotten your new badge yet?" To which I replied, "No, as a matter of fact you are the first supervisor to even say anything to me about it. Where is the memo? I do nothing without a memo." Jeff just said, "Just go get your damned badge." He didn't know when HR was open or when the deadline was (the rumor mill had it there was a deadline). Molly, an assistant manager, came in Sunday night so I grilled her about it. I think I even told her I was going to e-mail HR to find out what the hours were, which I did Sunday night. Monday morning I got a reply from HR, printed out the e-mail & set it on my desk for the world to see. Monday night, I came in & lo & behold, there was a memo about getting the new badges. Of course, it didn't have HR's hours or a deadline on it.
Last night, I went to work & had an e-mail w/the deadline in it & a date for when the old badges would no longer function. Amazing what some complaining can do. Anyway, before I came home this morning, Jeff let me know that upper management didn't approve of me contacting HR & they felt I had snitched on them for not informing their employees about the new badge. They said it was a serious offense & I should be informed of the correct chain of command. I had contacted a supervisor and an assistant manager before e-mailing HR. Trying to call our HR department is a waste of time because it's all voicemail & no humans answer the phones. I'm sorry if I blew their social engineering test to Hel, but what were they going to do on the 20th when no one's badge worked to get into the building or clock in? And all those people w/no badge were saying, truthfully I might add, "no one told us we needed new badges!!!"
I have learned nothing about the Excalibur except this: the chain of command has some broken links in it. They try to 'empower' the employees & then yell at them for taking initiative. They tell you to 'use your best judgment' & yell at you when you do. They expect you to handle problems thoroughly & then ask, "why didn't you ask a supervisor first before making the guest/coworker angry?" It's driving me nuts, which is all part of why I'm looking for new work.
