Potentially being let go, manager says they don't know why.

[The LadyKiller]

I work at a large, corporate company. A few years ago, the company wanted to "trim the fat" in regards to lazy employees sitting on their positions and instituted a policy that anyone not promoted from Level A to Level B in a certain amount of time would be let go. They explained to us that those doing their jobs well would have nothing to worry about. I think you know where this thread is going.

I have about as good a case as anyone at my level in my department to be promoted to Level B. My written evaluations have been top notch for a number of years. My supervisors have written that I am doing the work above what people at my level typically do. I am someone sought out to mentor and train our new employees. I've received letters of recommendations from not only them, but influential voices within the company. A higher-up told me I should have already been promoted, but was "screwed over" - twice.

So, I was surprised when I met with my manager (who I've reported to for a few months and has some say in promotions) and he told me that I am likely to be fired in two months. His direct quote: "You're doing outstanding work. You're doing all the right things. But you might be getting let go in two months and I don't know why."

Now there is a chance that something happens and I do get promoted shortly, but that is far from certain. The company is dead-set on sticking with their new policy, which will affect several employees. But as I said earlier, the system was meant to get rid of the employees who are struggling, not one who grades out higher than most everyone else.

I'm relatively young, so some of you with more managerial experience might be able to help - what is really going on here?

 

[Sho-No-Luv]

Some one higher up doesn't like you/your personality. You have been MARKED!

Either that or the company is having financial problems, a complete change of management, a merger etc..

There also exists the possibility of you being over payed for your position and that they are letting go of people like you(trimming the fat) and hiring new people for lower pay.

Start looking for a new job.

 

[BeExcellent]

Some one higher up doesn't like you/your personality. You have been MARKED!

Either that or the company is having financial problems, a complete change of management, a merger etc..

There also exists the possibility of you being over payed for your position and that they are letting go of people like you(trimming the fat) and hiring new people for lower pay.

Start looking for a new job.

^^^This.

You manager knows why. He's not telling you. He may not have a say, or the final vote, but he knows.

Ask your manager directly for a good recommendation. See how he responds. Then have someone (even if you need to pay a consultant) to call your manager & ask for a recommendation. THAT is how you find out whether or not to allow new prospective employers to contact your current company.

You need to know what kind of recommendation you would actually get. For now assume your current company would not endorse you & do not let potential employers call them.

Personally when I've had to let people go or when someone has quit out of dissatisfaction or attitude problem etc., I'm happy to give a good reference if they ask & if they were competent at the job. Sometimes people simply stagnate in a position and need a change to get engaged and invested in what they are doing.

But plenty of companies either encourage people to quit (this takes away the employee's ability to file unemployment) or kick people when they are down with a non-endorsement type recommendation.

If you want to be hard nosed about it, stay on. Make them actually fire you. Unemployment benefits come out of the company's pocket and with hard copies of emails and positive performance reviews your company will have a hard time refusing to pay unemployment benefits. So if you go that route have a pile of recognition, positive performance reviews and the like to show the unemployment office.

I think they are subtly telling you to move on so you can't get unemployment benefits.

If you get a good offer elsewhere then go on and leave but realize they are worried about the bottom line, not about you.

 

[AAAgent]

Some one higher up doesn't like you/your personality. You have been MARKED!

Either that or the company is having financial problems, a complete change of management, a merger etc..

There also exists the possibility of you being over payed for your position and that they are letting go of people like you(trimming the fat) and hiring new people for lower pay.

Start looking for a new job.

Spot on. I was top performer, over achiever, stayed late, won sales competitions in account management, highest client retention, etc. I applied for management role twice when it became available and both times I was overlooked. Second I asked why and i brought printed documentation from Salesforce which showed me as the top performer. I was basically told that people wouldn't like me as a manager. I knew from that point on that I wasn't getting the position. I thought about fighting it because it doesn't make sense and why wouldn't my employees need to like me as a manager. It didn't matter, because the director didn't like me either because I made a major fvck up when i first started. When I first joined the team a month in, they asked the entire account management team if anyone wanted to move to HK for an opening and I jumped at it. I met with the Hong Kong manager and she basically told me I was too new and to try again later which i was fine with. She apparently told the director and my manager and from then, I was blacklisted.

When I knew about the blacklisting personally, I made it a point that all the accolades I received were undeniable. I destroyed all the competitions by over 30% so it wasn't even close because I was worried about fishiness and favoritism. It did not change anything.

My lesson was don't be an overt over achiever. People noticed the things I did and new I was doing it to get ahead and did not like it. I had one co worker who was saying I was cheating in the sales contest (manager confirmed that I wasn't). Corporate politics you will have to be liked. You have to put in facetime. You have to schmooze. I tried to do all those things as well and be persistent. Persistence pays off eventually and overcomes all but playing politics well just makes it that much easier.

---

That was just a somewhat similar experience where I was marked that I thought you might find relevant. I was not able to move up and I knew it would take too much time and effort than what I wanted so I started looking elsewhere. It might be hard to find a new job but seems like you will be able to speak well to your skill set and experience. You'll need to craft a good story as to why you're looking to leave. Maybe lack of growth or job security are good ones. Never bash the old company.

 

[The LadyKiller]

Appreciate the replies!

Espi - your response brings up a good debate topic - getting fired vs quitting. Both have pros and cons. For me personally, quitting now wouldn't make much sense. I learned today that anyone being let go would receive some sort of severance package. I feel my written feedback would make my case for unemployment benefits (which I wouldn't receive if I resigned).

I do agree with the consensus that there are politics at play. The thing is, we don't know who is the final decision-maker when it comes to being promoted to Level B. I've been praised for not only my performance, but also my morale. But if this mysterious decision-maker isn't my biggest fan for whatever reason, it may not matter at the end. I learned today that HR had to reach out to the decision-making committee because the positivity of my feedback but not getting the promotion raised questions.

Because this committee doesn't make every hiring decision (only most), I am reaching out to some other groups within the company. If they're hiring, I might be in a better position since they do their own interviews and I would have an "in" entering the process.

 

[Xenom0rph]

As others have said, It sounds like someone above your manager is making this decision and your manager may not have a say in the matter.

Unfortunately this is just a fact of life. The best thing you can do is keep a positive professional relationship with your manager so you can have a good reference if you are let go....

 

[BeExcellent]

I do like the idea of going to another department in the company. It's also interesting what scuttlebut you heard from HR. Somebody higher up is advocating for you, someone else against you (OR possibly against your advocate, you have no idea.)

For now I'd stay the course and see what shakes out. Somebody at HR smells something fishy. Let it ride and keep performing well. Things are dynamic and could change.

 

[The LadyKiller]

I do like the idea of going to another department in the company. It's also interesting what scuttlebut you heard from HR. Somebody higher up is advocating for you, someone else against you (OR possibly against your advocate, you have no idea.)

For now I'd stay the course and see what shakes out. Somebody at HR smells something fishy. Let it ride and keep performing well. Things are dynamic and could change.

Like you said, I'll never know what's going on behind the scenes, but there does appear to be some serious conflict from management.

I have heard that others in my position/situation have already been notified of their end date within the next couple of months. Not me. I scheduled a meeting with my manager tomorrow and hopefully he can provide some clarity on things. Seems to be a lot of variables in play.

 

[marmel75]

I work at a large, corporate company. A few years ago, the company wanted to "trim the fat" in regards to lazy employees sitting on their positions and instituted a policy that anyone not promoted from Level A to Level B in a certain amount of time would be let go. They explained to us that those doing their jobs well would have nothing to worry about. I think you know where this thread is going.

I have about as good a case as anyone at my level in my department to be promoted to Level B. My written evaluations have been top notch for a number of years. My supervisors have written that I am doing the work above what people at my level typically do. I am someone sought out to mentor and train our new employees. I've received letters of recommendations from not only them, but influential voices within the company. A higher-up told me I should have already been promoted, but was "screwed over" - twice.

So, I was surprised when I met with my manager (who I've reported to for a few months and has some say in promotions) and he told me that I am likely to be fired in two months. His direct quote: "You're doing outstanding work. You're doing all the right things. But you might be getting let go in two months and I don't know why."

Now there is a chance that something happens and I do get promoted shortly, but that is far from certain. The company is dead-set on sticking with their new policy, which will affect several employees. But as I said earlier, the system was meant to get rid of the employees who are struggling, not one who grades out higher than most everyone else.

I'm relatively young, so some of you with more managerial experience might be able to help - what is really going on here?

Doesn't sound like a company I'd like to work for...I'd get out of there ASAP. It's much easier to find a new job while you still have one.

 

[marmel75]

Spot on. I was top performer, over achiever, stayed late, won sales competitions in account management, highest client retention, etc. I applied for management role twice when it became available and both times I was overlooked. Second I asked why and i brought printed documentation from Salesforce which showed me as the top performer. I was basically told that people wouldn't like me as a manager. I knew from that point on that I wasn't getting the position. I thought about fighting it because it doesn't make sense and why wouldn't my employees need to like me as a manager. It didn't matter, because the director didn't like me either because I made a major fvck up when i first started. When I first joined the team a month in, they asked the entire account management team if anyone wanted to move to HK for an opening and I jumped at it. I met with the Hong Kong manager and she basically told me I was too new and to try again later which i was fine with. She apparently told the director and my manager and from then, I was blacklisted.

When I knew about the blacklisting personally, I made it a point that all the accolades I received were undeniable. I destroyed all the competitions by over 30% so it wasn't even close because I was worried about fishiness and favoritism. It did not change anything.

My lesson was don't be an overt over achiever. People noticed the things I did and new I was doing it to get ahead and did not like it. I had one co worker who was saying I was cheating in the sales contest (manager confirmed that I wasn't). Corporate politics you will have to be liked. You have to put in facetime. You have to schmooze. I tried to do all those things as well and be persistent. Persistence pays off eventually and overcomes all but playing politics well just makes it that much easier.

---

That was just a somewhat similar experience where I was marked that I thought you might find relevant. I was not able to move up and I knew it would take too much time and effort than what I wanted so I started looking elsewhere. It might be hard to find a new job but seems like you will be able to speak well to your skill set and experience. You'll need to craft a good story as to why you're looking to leave. Maybe lack of growth or job security are good ones. Never bash the old company.

Well, I'm not trying to be a d!ck but the best salespeople don't always make the best managers. Managers have to be able to train, teach and hold others accountable. Quite a lot of salespeople that are good at what they do frankly would make terrible managers. I'm not saying this is you, just that a large number of them are not really a good manager fit.

For instance, many of the great players in sports make lousy coaches while some of the best coaches are the backup/fringe starters. Why? Because they had to make the most of their limited abilities and learn every little thing to help them along the way to stay in the major leagues. The stars just relied mostly on their natural abilities and even if they wanted to explain to someone how they did something, it's not likely they could even do it. Many times the stars can't relate to their players because they are on such a higher level than they are, they don't get what the other players have to deal with not having a level of ability anywhere near theirs. This ends up leading to the players just tuning them out after a while since it's obvious he isn't going to be able to help them effectively. Same thing with a lot of great sales people. They can get tons of sales, but ask them how they do it and they just look at you and say "I dunno, I just do this and this, and I get the sales." Ask a guy that is barely making quotas how he is doing it and he can likely break down all kinds of techniques he has tried and some that have worked for him and some that haven't, etc...

My main point is that managing others and selling on your own are two completely different skill sets.

 

[Julian]

Stay as long as possible while milking them for all they are worth...sabotage their asses while ur at it

 

[marmel75]

Stay as long as possible while milking them for all they are worth...sabotage their asses while ur at it

Don't sabotage them unless you want to find yourself unemployable

 

[wifehunter]

It sucks being a slave...working should be a fulfilling activity.

 

[taiyuu_otoko]

Start looking for a new job.

Trying to find out why is a waste of time. Do whatever you can to NOT burn any bridges, you never know who'll you'll need as a reference later on.

sabotage their asses while ur at it

This would be a very foolish and childish mistake.

Some people that might actively get you fired from one company could give you a great reference at another company, especially if they want to remain hidden as the dude who got you fired.

Now is the time to be AS PROFESSIONAL as you can, and start looking. Collect as many letters of recommendation as you can.

I'm relatively young,

Part of the culture of corporate america is working with, and pretending to like, people that you fvcking hate.

Friends close, enemies closer type of thing.