New manager making changes without notice or consultation

[MyBossIsAn]

Hi folks,

I hope I am in the right place for the advice I seek. I need to keep it somewhat vague so as not to identify myself but all the below is true but some non important details will be made up, the issues will be real, hope this is ok.

So I have been with my company as a sales manager for several years. I work on a small team of sales managers, about 12 of us in total. The last few years have been good, we have pretty much always surpassed our monthly and quarterly target and performed very well. Recently we lost several senior execs and we hired in some from a competitor. Since the two top roles were filled they have continued to hire from this company, creating roles for friends, jobs for the boys if you will. One such hire is our new manager, they are responsible for three sales teams.

Now we have always had internal issues with our hardware, software, work processes that make no sence, how sales leads are generated/distributed and promise after promise has been made to address and fix these issues and each promise has been broken but we soldiered on. However the new manager has decided to stamp his authority on us, not all the sales teams but just ours who incidentally are the only team that are performing and hitting targets. Just to stress, none of the other teams are getting anywhere near their targets, one team has not made a sale in over three months. Below is a list of things he has started to push on us with no prior notice, consultation or agreement...

• They have decided to bring in a min sales target to be hit every month, 75% of our monthly target. Anything below this will not be paid out. If we go over this they will withhold 25% of any comms and and only release it if we hit our quarterly target.
• They have threatened a colleague via email for raising issues that are genuine grievances,things we require to be able to do our job successfully and that colleague was told that if they did not stop complaining or raising genuine issues that they would not receive any more sales leads.
• Several flaws in their new regime have been pointed out several times with data to back up how flawed they are, we have asked for meetings to discuss this and they have been refused.This person wants sales constancy however we have pointed out that with this new system is pays us more to be inconsistent over a quarter however this has been ignored, he won't back down despite being wrong.
• We have been asked to read and sign a new work process document, when we pushed back and said that again there are several issues here and we need to have them addressed and rectified before we sign, we were told that we now have to adhere to this whether we sign the doc or not or face a possible disciplinary.
• One new team member was moved over from another team without any consultation and was surprised to find out about the new comms plan mentioned above on his first day. When he questioned this he was told that he can take it or leave it and that he will be made sign a new contract. He was told that he was looking after a certain 'Patch' however the new sales manager is now putting in restrictions that make it difficult for this new team member to achieve target, when he questioned this several times he was ignored.
• The sales manager has instilled new but not unachievable KPI's, they were picked out of the sky to make it difficult for us to hit. When we asked for benchmarks as to how they got to these KPI's, what industry metric did they use to understand the larked so we could be confident that we could hit those KPI's, this too was ignored and we were told to get on with it or leave.

The above is targeted at our team only, the other sales teams are left alone. Prior to this person joining the company the moral on the sales floor was low, it is now rock bottom. Some of us are here several years, some less than two years. We know that nothing will happen to this person as they are the UK boss's mate so we are in a bind here.

We have suggested fairer alternatives, nothing crazy and well within line of similar companies and industries but these have as per all above been ignored!

Any advice greatly appreciated on what we can do here?

Thanks,

 

[Mr D]

Insane as the idea sounds, it appears this manager wants to gut the team, produce higher profits or possibly both.

Does this manager have the authority to change payment like you mentioned or is that from higher?

 

[MyBossIsAn]

Insane as the idea sounds, it appears this manager wants to gut the team, produce higher profits or possibly both.

Does this manager have the authority to change payment like you mentioned or is that from higher?

Thank you for the quick reply. That is what we were thinking as some of us have heard on the grapevine that he has promised old colleagues jobs here so we think he is just making space for them bit by bit.

Re Payments, it only affects the comms structure which according to our contract is discretionary. Whether he has the authority or not we don't know as he will not discuss it with us, we know that his role is safe though as he seems to have impunity!!

Love the Abe Lincoln quote you have on your sig, it seems power is really affecting this guys character!!

 

[AstEver]

If a workplace becomes highly politicised, which your description suggests it is the case, you play the games too, become very defensive and evasive, or just leave.

 

[MyBossIsAn]

you play the games too, become very defensive and evasive.

To what end though?

 

[AstEver]

To the moment when the toxic organisational culture leads to business collapse, to the moment when top executives wake up, to the moment when you win, to the moment when you build strong defenses around you, to the moment when your health deteriorates, to the moment when you sue your employer for workplace stress ...

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

I have to agree with @Mr D - Sorry... It sounds like they've targeted the best team and is asking you all to aim higher... nothing wrong with that, the only issue that I can see is that they're not willing to discuss the decisions... that will be their downfall... let them fail...

When the time comes and they try to drag you lot down with him... show the facts.

 

[The Byre]

Some random thoughts here in no special order -

• You are playing the same game they are. i.e. worrying about process, targets and structures, instead of getting shi1 done.
• An employer cannot unilaterally change the terms of employment. Whether those terms are stipulated in a contract or are established by repetition and adherence, they are not open to arbitrary alteration by one side or the other without agreement from those affected.
• This does not sound like a company I would want to work for.
• What other teams do is not really your business or at issue here.
• If you are any use as a sales manager and are able to achieve genuine sales and profit growth, other companies should and will be welcoming you with open arms.
• Your handle '@MyBossIsAnArsehole' would suggest that you might, just might (remote possibility, I know - but live with the idea!) have a teensy-weensy tiny wee bit of an attitude problem!
• All this fretting over KPIs (I had to Google that - apparently it means 'key performance indicator' for those out there playing 'The Home Game') and the revolting word 'metrics' that you, the team and the company you work for are obsessed with the kind of goofy nonsense and pointless jargon that belongs far away from private enterprise and would be right at home in The Army Pay Corps.
• I recently closed a part of our company that was actually making a profit. The person in charge refused to go for growth, despite repeated discussions on that issue, so we reluctantly closed it - the capacity thus released is geared to growth and development and I personally dislike people who are looking for a safe number. Staff involved all found gainful employment elsewhere. There's no such thing as a safe job.

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

There's no such thing as a safe job.

Pfft, we do safe jobs all the time... we get asked to install a safe... we install a safe = a safe job.

 

[Mr D]

• All this fretting over KPIs (I had to Google that - apparently it means 'key performance indicator' for those out there playing 'The Home Game') and the revolting word 'metrics' that you, the team and the company you work for are obsessed with the kind of goofy nonsense and pointless jargon that belongs far away from private enterprise and would be right at home in The Army Pay Corps.
• I recently closed a part of our company that was actually making a profit. The person in charge refused to go for growth, despite repeated discussions on that issue, so we reluctantly closed it - the capacity thus released is geared to growth and development and I personally dislike people who are looking for a safe number. Staff involved all found gainful employment elsewhere. There's no such thing as a safe job.

Used to have a manager set KPIs for me. She told the directors what she was setting, they agreed with her - the figures sounded good. Then she told me and I refused to have anything to do with her setting them.
Was totally beyond her to ask the expert (me) what suitable KPIs would be.

Metrics and KPIs do have a place, some jobs they are the defining element of what must be achieved and process by which work is done. Neither bad nor good, used properly they should help productivity.
Made up by some idiot they can harm a business.

 

[Mr D]

Pfft, we do safe jobs all the time... we get asked to install a safe... we install a safe = a safe job.

I thought safe jobs involved stealing them.

 

[The Byre]

Metrics and KPIs do have a place, some jobs they are the defining element of what must be achieved and process by which work is done. Neither bad nor good, used properly they should help productivity.

The only KPI I want to see is profit and profit growth, leading (one hopes) to an increase in equity - the value of the company.

My wife was attending a meeting with a division manager for the German subsidiary of a US company and the CEO of the parent company. The division manager was giving it 'full wellie' using every bit of obscure jargon (in German) he could drag out - the purpose being to disguise the fact that he was not achieving the profit growth he had promised.

My wife was about to summarise what the local manager had said, but the CEO stopped her.

"Don't bother - I know excuse noises when I hear them!"

 

[Mr D]

The only KPI I want to see is profit and profit growth, leading (one hopes) to an increase in equity - the value of the company.

My wife was attending a meeting with a division manager for the German subsidiary of a US company and the CEO of the parent company. The division manager was giving it 'full wellie' using every bit of obscure jargon (in German) he could drag out - the purpose being to disguise the fact that he was not achieving the profit growth he had promised.

My wife was about to summarise what the local manager had said, but the CEO stopped her.

"Don't bother - I know excuse noises when I hear them!"

As a director / owner of course you want to see profit. However for the lowly worker how do you know they are good or not at their job? How do you know they are efficient? How do you know they are able to increase your profits?
Using profit and profit growth on teams and individuals is not necessarily going to be telling you much. This OP's manager could be increasing the profits in the short term while driving all the best team members to leave.
So you could be thinking things are going well right up until the team stops making any profit at all.

 

[The Byre]

As a director / owner of course you want to see profit. However for the lowly worker how do you know they are good or not at their job? How do you know they are efficient?

Easy - by structuring the company so that each and every section and even each employee is a profit island. Businesses as vastly different as brothels, auto franchises and giant media companies work like this.

In a media company, the salespeople get paid according to how much profit the titles they are working for make. The publisher will be responsible for many titles and he/she also gets paid according to profitability across a range of titles. The lowly editor is paid according to the profit from that title. Even staff writers get a small share of the profitability of a title.

The same applies to non-print. TV, radio, film, you name the media and there are models to make each and every team member share in the profits. If your job is to work on one specific TV show and that show is just not attracting viewers and therefore advertising, you get to earn less. Simples!

It's the "You no work - you no eat!" business model!

As for short-term/long-term profits - that's a different subject altogether.

 

[Mr D]

Easy - by structuring the company so that each and every section and even each employee is a profit island. Businesses as vastly different as brothels, auto franchises and giant media companies work like this.

In a media company, the salespeople get paid according to how much profit the titles they are working for make. The publisher will be responsible for many titles and he/she also gets paid according to profitability across a range of titles. The lowly editor is paid according to the profit from that title. Even staff writers get a small share of the profitability of a title.

The same applies to non-print. TV, radio, film, you name the media and there are models to make each and every team member share in the profits. If your job is to work on one specific TV show and that show is just not attracting viewers and therefore advertising, you get to earn less. Simples!

It's the "You no work - you no eat!" business model!

As for short-term/long-term profits - that's a different subject altogether.

So how are you working out what profits an individual makes?

 

[The Byre]

So how are you working out what profits an individual makes?

Easy - let's take the example of a trade magazine monthly or a trade mag website. Typically, it will get a layout person for a few days, but be written and commissioned by one person only. A salesman will be responsible for either just that title or a handfull of titles (depending on the size of the mag). That title and a few others will be managed by one publisher.

If the editor is able to write the entire mag, he or she gets all the writing fees and all the profit share. Typically though, he/she will commission about 75% of the mag. If it's a big mag, they will be given a staff writer.

The publisher is responsible for several mags, maybe as many as 20 or so, usually in the same field, so audio, hi-fi, video, classical music, home video making and all that guff gets one publisher and he is paid according to the profitability of all 20 titles, as are his sales team.

All those 20 titles will be a part of the overall print or online activities of the group publisher, who again is on profit share across the whole division.

In an auto franchise, the sales staff are on profit share, the workshop manager/foreman is on profit share for the workshop, the branch manager is on profit share for that entire branch and the individual mechanics are paid according to the profitability of each repair, as represented by the hours allotted to each part replaced or the process involved, so a very profitable part like a DPF may have a couple of hours allotted to it, although it only takes 15 mins to replace.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Meanwhile; back at the thread...

OP very little of what you have put appears to be contractual - besides you have mentioned that many staff have under 2 years under their belt, so very few rights.

In reality I'd question whether this job really suits you. As @AstEver says; play their game, or play yours.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Another way to look at the op's post is that the company had very lax managers who allowed things to slide hence the lack of orders from the other teams and maybe not so great orders from the top team

The directors bring in new managers with a proven history of getting things done, and these new managers want to make changes to the who group of teams, but find concentrating of the top team to change things before they copy the approach to the other teams, to prove their new methods on a controlled group

They have changed the terms of employment as they can at times with a take the change or leave attitude by not signing but continuing working basically you are agreeing to the new terms

Why do you expect to have consultation with the managers, this does not sound like a co-operative but hard nosed managers bringing in change that is obviously needed,, you pay managers to manage and give them information that is not available to all, the company could be on its last legs and needs instant change or goes under

Some people are adverse to change, want to be talked through everything and waste a huge amount of time rather than getting on with the change

Just a alternative point of view

 

[Mr D]

Easy - let's take the example of a trade magazine monthly or a trade mag website. Typically, it will get a layout person for a few days, but be written and commissioned by one person only. A salesman will be responsible for either just that title or a handfull of titles (depending on the size of the mag). That title and a few others will be managed by one publisher.

If the editor is able to write the entire mag, he or she gets all the writing fees and all the profit share. Typically though, he/she will commission about 75% of the mag. If it's a big mag, they will be given a staff writer.

The publisher is responsible for several mags, maybe as many as 20 or so, usually in the same field, so audio, hi-fi, video, classical music, home video making and all that guff gets one publisher and he is paid according to the profitability of all 20 titles, as are his sales team.

All those 20 titles will be a part of the overall print or online activities of the group publisher, who again is on profit share across the whole division.

In an auto franchise, the sales staff are on profit share, the workshop manager/foreman is on profit share for the workshop, the branch manager is on profit share for that entire branch and the individual mechanics are paid according to the profitability of each repair, as represented by the hours allotted to each part replaced or the process involved, so a very profitable part like a DPF may have a couple of hours allotted to it, although it only takes 15 mins to replace.

So basically using KPIs...

 

[antropy]

some of us have heard on the grapevine that he has promised old colleagues jobs here so we think he is just making space for them bit by bit.

Seems the wheels were already in motion from the beginning. Alex