Layoff or Pay Cut - My Position

This post represents my thoughts on a forum question posted on April 10, 2009. Which is the better approach: A uniform pay cut for all employees to spread the burden and save jobs; or layoff individuals because economic downturns usually call for a reduction in staffing anyway? Click here to see that post.

While there is no perfect answer to this question, I believe the following guidelines should apply:

First, layoff any marginal employees including poor performers and people with bad attitudes. Now is a great time to clear the deadwood.

Next, make sure you've brought in all outsourced and sub-contracted work as can feasibly be brought in-house to keep your own people employed.

Third, follow the "Lean Thinking" approach of using idle time to make improvements to your processes, practices and physical facilities; improvements you've been wanting to make but never had time to do when you were busy. Those improvement efforts will position you to be more effective when business picks up.

Fourth, begin to trim staff in proportion to business volume forecasts. You may want to consider "voluntary" layoffs. Frankly, given a choice, some people may want to take some time off (and collect unemployment benefits).

As a last resort, consider pay and benefit cuts. Here's where it gets difficult, especially if you have people working for minimum wage or at the lower end of the pay scale. So consider doing what you can with bonuses and highly paid employee compensation first. But ultimately, since a minimum staffing is probably required in order to be a viable business, you may need an across-the-board cut.

About Pelleyblog: Pelleyblog is designed to be a resource for supervisors and other first line managers. Currently most of our readers are from Rhode Island (RI), Central Massachusetts (MA) and Eastern Connecticut (CT). But everyone interested in management topics is welcome.

Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
All rights reserved.

Layoff or Pay Cut?

Interesting discussion on a financial talk show the other day. Apparently a company had just announced an across the board pay cut. This was necessary to avoid layoffs and all employees would be cut by the same percentage. The discussion revolved around the question of which was the better approach: A uniform pay cut for all employees to spread the burden and save jobs. Or, have the layoffs because economic downturns usually call for a reduction in staffing (why pay people to stand around when we don’t have the volume of work to support them?).

What do you think? I'll share my opinion after I've heard from some of you. Participating in our forums is simple. To learn more about forums, and the comment tool we use to gather thoughts, click on the link below. Meanwhile, I'm off to hide some Easter treats for 3 grandsons.

Click here to learn about forums in a post published on 2/13/09

Click here to read "How to Comment on Pelley Blog Posts" published on 2/10/09

About Pelleyblog: We are striving to be a communication device for managers where many people can share their thoughts, ideas, opinions, perspectives and points-of-view. We focus on topics of interest to supervisors, group leaders, foremen, department managers, project managers, team leaders, assistant managers, associate managers, office managers, nurse managers, crew leaders, unit managers, and other first-line managers. But managers at all levels, and people interested in management topics are welcome and are encouraged to join us both as readers and participants.

Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
All rights reserved.

You're Not The Manager

This issue resulted from a comment on our February 11, 2009 post "I Welcome Your Comments"

Anonymous said: Dan, I have a problem. I "oversee" a team but I have not yet been officially made "supervisor" or "manager". Basically the lead person of the area in which I work, I am expected to have the answers to the problems and keep the area staffed appropriately.

One of the girls who works in my department only does 4 hours per week as a float, her home base is another department. Last week we had an issue - when she came in to work in our area she refused to sit at an empty work station, instead she made a fuss because she wanted to sit where someone else was already logged on (that person was not scheduled to be at that station until the afternoon, but since it takes so long to log into the system she had opened up all programs and locked her computer station so she would be ready to work in the afternoon).

When I asked her to please sit at the empty desk she raised her voice and ended up walking out to get her manager. To make a long story short, the employee ended up getting her way (the employee scheduled in the afternoon had to come in and shut everything down). Once this was done the part time person proceeded to sit at the empty work station that I had asked her to sit at originally!!! I was infuriated! The air in the department was thick and tense for the time she remained with us.

Once she had left for the day it was brought to my attention by another that when she had walked out to get her manager she was bad mouthing me - making comments to the effect of "who does she think she is - she's not the manager - I don't have to listen to her".........how should I deal with this?

P.S., I would love to see this put into a forum and see the different ways people would approach this, thanks!



Dan's Response: Let's put first things first. You need to discuss the situation with your boss and get a clear understanding of your role and responsibilities. You may not have an official title, but you have apparently been given some responsibilities that need a commensurate amount of authority. You and your boss need to reach a clear understanding of how much authority you are expected to exert.

Having done that, you need to also discuss the specifics of this situation and how it should have been handled. Do you have the right to assign workstations? If not, what are you supposed to do when someone sits at a station that has already logged in for another employee? And as a side issue, what is your boss's position on people logging in early so a work station is ready to go when they start work? And you also need to discuss how to handle insubordinate people who do not report directly (I assume) to your manager.

Since you didn't mention any other troublesome people, I assume everyone else in the department understands that you are in charge and have certain responsibilities and authority. If that's not true, your boss needs to communicate your role to the people who work in your department. If there are only one or two people who fail to appreciate your role and the level of authority you have over them, your boss needs to clearly establish that with the individuals involved. If any of those individuals directly report to another manager and are temporarily assigned to your department, your boss needs to clarify with their manager and their manager needs to clarify with the individual your role and authority over the individual when they are working in your department.

As presented, you imply that it was the temporary person's manager who let the person have their way. If so, I am astounded that your manager would accept another manager coming into the department and telling you how to run it. If this in fact is the situation, you need a clear understanding with your manager on how to handle a similar situation in the future.

On the other hand, if it was your manager who let the person have their way, then you need to explore your manager's reason for doing that. If you can accept the reasoning, fine. If you have difficulty accepting the reasoning, especially in light of the impact on your morale and that of the department, ask your manager if things might be handled differently in the future. For example, unless you are totally out of line, perhaps your manager could address insubordination by telling the employee to follow your directives. You're manager could then take you aside to discuss whether or not your directive was solid. If not, then you're manager could coach you on how to go back and revise the directive with the employee. For example in this case, if the work area in question should not have been logged onto, your boss might have you get the absentee employee to log off, and following that you might tell the temporary employee that they can now move over to that terminal if they want to. That way, you're still in charge even though it may have been that the work terminal shouldn't have been locked out.

In any case, it is your boss who has to establish the extent of your authority and how you are to handle things. And it may be that you don't have as much authority as you think you do and/or it may be that your boss might think you are being too strict. If so, clearing the air on these matters will help put your role into better perspective. But in any case, you and your boss need to agree that you can't effectively be in charge of the department if people are allowed to be insubordinate and do whatever they want in defiance of you and with the support of one or more managers in your company. If that's going to be the case then the employee, not you, is running the department.

Finally, becoming emotional or infuriated when you face a difficult employee ends up diminishing your leadership persona. Even though you took a hit which seems to be unjustified in light of the insubordination, you look much better when you learn to put your emotions aside and rise above it. Having a good rapport with your boss so you can talk through these situations so they can be avoided in the future is a good way to start.

About me: Dan Pelley conducts training programs for supervisors in the New England states, with a concentration in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. His programs include "Handling the Difficult Employee," "Working Together," "Managing People," and "Leadership Skills."

Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
All rights reserved.

Will We Have a Forum?

Will yesterday's post regarding the abrasive employee become our first forum?

As defined in Wikipedia an Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site. It is the modern equivalent of a traditional bulletin board. From a technological standpoint, forums or boards are web applications managing user-generated content.

When I began to think about expanding my on-line presence, I considered having both a blog and a forum. I decided to focus on the blog first, but I soon realized that Pelleyblog's small (but growing) list of regular readers sharing similar interests might allow us to create a forum on any topic of interest to us. We could use the blog comment function for that purpose. Later, when we get enough readers generating enough comments to make that process unwieldy, then we can move to create an official forum site in addition to Pelleyblog.

The post on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week set the stage for the "abrasive employee" issue initiated by Nancy and posted yesterday. If you've read that post, you know I gave Nancy my input. But she asked for yours as well. If you'll respond to Nancy's request, we'll have our first forum; a group of people dealing with an issue of common interest in a bulletin board fashion. If we all worked together in the same place, it would be the same as putting a huge sheet of paper on the wall so you could read what others say, and add your thoughts as well. As often as you wish.

If you're a manager of people, as most of our readers are, I think you know most problems have more than one answer, and most issues we face can be approached in more than one way. If you'll share your experiences, your perspectives and your points-of-view, and if others will as well, all of us can collect more perspectives, insights, approaches, and answers that we can add to our managerial knowledge base for our own potential future use.

Please join us won't you? I know Nancy is reading today (and will be in the future) hoping to see your comment on her issue. Feel free to comment on yesterday's post, the abrasive employee, and/or on any article, post or comment in the blog.

If you are not sure how to comment or what commenting is all about, see our post on Tuesday, February 10.

About Pelleyblog: We focus on topics of interest to supervisors, group leaders, foremen, department managers, project managers, team leaders, assistant managers, associate managers, office managers, nurse managers, crew leaders, unit managers, and other first-line managers. But managers at all levels, and people interested in management topics are welcome and are encouraged to join us.

Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
All rights reserved.

Issue: Abrasive employee

Nancy submitted this issue:

G", a long term employee of the company, has been in the department for many years and has an exceptional command of her own job as well as the job of the person under her. She actually used to do that person's job several years ago, and currently she reconciles the majority of the work this person does. So an amicable working relationship between these two is important. Unfortunately, “G” can be quite abrupt and abrasive at times. Because she's a master at 99% of what she does (which is not necessarily bad), her attitude seems to be that everyone else should be too. She takes this tone not only with the person under her, but also toward a newly promoted peer (who is learning), and on occasion toward me, the supervisor.

“G” has little to no patience for the person under her (a person who has been in this position for about a year). When there’s an issue to be resolved or some training to be done, “G” doesn't explain things in a logical, linear fashion. She doesn't tell the story of the problem. While she knows it in her head (or at least I think she does), but she's very clipped in her verbal communication. She can't understand why, after one or two attempts, the person doesn't understand what she's trying to explain. This lack of understanding invariably comes across as abrasive, generally via her verbal tone and sometime via her body language.

She can also be abrasive on occasion with me (her supervisor). For example, if she has a problem that she needs direction on, and I start asking questions because I don't understand her issue or the process, her tone gets short with me.

“G” is also resistant when it comes to training other members of the department. Our departmental goal is to cross train everyone. Her job is one of only a couple that we have not been able to cross train. She refuses. Even though I tell all my people they are the master of their job, “G” doesn't believe she has any superior knowledge. I’m trying to get her to understand that she's a master at her responsibilities and I need her to transfer that information to others. I’ve told her she can even do this informally -- kind of like a brown bag lunch thing. Everyone would benefit from it including the person under her. I thought this might be a less structured way to develop “G’s” ability to teach and tell the story. It would also help her strengthen her communication skills in the process.

I need to deal with this, but I don't feel it's appropriate to reprimand an adult (who is older than me) every time their tone is off. Maybe that's the answer, but I'm uncertain as to what my approach should be.

Dan's Response:

Before you do anything, you need to be clear in your role. You are her boss, even though you may be younger than her. Your company put you into your management position because they believed you were the best person to handle any issues in your department. Not only is it appropriate for you to deal with people issues, including reprimands of employees who are older than you when necessary, its your job.

Next consider that its easier to deal with behavioral problems when you know the cause of the problem. Why does “G” act the way she does? Is it her nature to be short with people, or are there issues at work (or at home) that make her act this way? What does she think about her job? Her role in the department? The personality and capabilities of the person under her? How does she view you as her boss? What does she like about her job? What doesn’t she like? What changes would she like to see made in the department? Why does she object to teaching people her job? Does she realize how she comes across to other people? The more you know about “G,” the better able you’ll be to deal with the issue. By the way, the same is true with all your direct reports. The better you know each individual the better equipped you’ll be to motivate, mentor and manage that person.

Some people who are abrupt and abrasive don’t realize it. Other people know they are but tend to ignore it because no one complains or to downplay it (as being minor) if someone does call it to their attention. Other people recognize it, know its wrong, but refuse, or find it difficult, to change. Which of these possibilities fit “G.?”

If “G” doesn’t realize what she does, you need to start there. In a private counseling session, you can start by saying something like; “you may not be aware of this but you are sometimes very short, especially with your coworkers and sometimes with me as well.” You can bet at that point “G” will ask you what you mean. So you need to be prepared with several examples that illustrate the behavior and the impact of the behavior on the department, on her coworkers and you. It may take some time, but ultimately you want her to recognize the problem. At that point you may get her to tell you why she thinks she acts that way. Ultimately you need to get “G” to agree to make an effort to change her behavior. Only when she agrees there is a problem and the behavior must change can you effectively move to the next step – coaching.

The coaching step is where you help “G” develop ways to minimize and hopefully eliminate the behavior. Start by asking her what she thinks she can do to solve the problem. And be prepared to offer your suggestions on what she can do. Hopefully the two of you can come up with a good plan. Most importantly, be sure she understands that you'll continue to help her as much as you can as she works on making the necessary changes. Also let her know that if she slips or falls back, and that certainly may happen for a while, you’ll be sure to let her know so can be aware of the episode. Making her aware of episodes also gives both of you an opportunity to diagnose what specifically happened in this episode and what specific preventative measures can be taken in the future.

If, on the other hand, “G” recognizes the problem but refuses to deal with it, you have a disciplinary situation. Since she already knows what the problem is, you're counseling session will be focused on how the behavior impacts the department, why the behavior must change, and what will happen if the behavior doesn’t change. You certainly should tell “G” that you’ll be happy to coach, advise and help if she wants it. But whether she wants your help or not, she needs to clearly understand that the behavior must change.

Finally, regarding the refusal to teach others her job, you need to make “G” aware that teaching other people is part of her job and she is expected to do it. If she is not confident in doing it or needs some coaching in doing it, you will be happy to help. But she must do it. Gently remind her that if she refuses its insubordination. If she continues to refuse in the future you can ultimately move into a disciplinary process with stronger reminders, warnings and sanctions.


About Pelleyblog. This blog covers topics of interest to managers, particularly those at the first-line supervisor level. Topics include handling difficult employees, leadership, counseling, coaching, problem solving, lean thinking, motivation and time management.

Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
All rights reserved.