Like most people, I have a boss. Today, we met to discuss my work objectives and such. The review was fairly positive, except that I was told that my resistance to completing tasks and submitting reports when required has lead to a loss of confidence in my abilities to manage. Due to my lack of regard for these required reports, I was questioned on my time management and prioritization abilities.

It was at this point I politely stopped the conversation and asked for specifics, because as far as I was aware, I was submitting required reports with the utmost care. I was told that I had not sent any of the weekly tracking logs that were implemented October 1. 4 months worth of weekly reports.

Knowing that this was not the case, I politely asked that my boss double check his email. I was again told that he had never received one. Weird. I send all my emails with receipt requests. I've been getting receipts.

why wait four months before letting me know I'm not doing something that should be done weekly...? He couldn't answer.

I asked for a quick recess to obtain the emails, but it was denied. The review continued, again with my boss making references to my disregard for his wishes to receive the files. Again, I requested a recess. I was denied, but told that I could take care of it after the meeting. I sat and took my licks for another 30 mins.

Immediately following the meeting, I went to my office across the hall and quickly began printing the emails, complete with time stamps and read receipts. As I'm printing, I hear him walk outside and start his truck. Then I see him starting to leave. I run outside and catch him as he's pulling away and ask if he wants to see the emails. "I'll look at it on monday...no big deal."

It's a big deal to me, and now I'm stuck with this until Monday.

I understand that most people feel their reviews are unfair. But my review today was bizarre.

I had a similar experience years ago with a performance review. It caused me to go into business for myself. It seems very clear that the issue is about Control and how the boss feels about you. The emails are irrelevant and seem to be a smokescreen.

It may just be chest thumping on the part of your boss. I would look at your options and speak with some trusted colleagues who know the boss.

Remember it is your job to make the boss look good.

Either it is a canned response, has you confused with someone else, or he's a supervisor that hasn't read his emails in three months and ignores reports? Regardless, it's pretty evident that he's not doing a good job supervising.

I hate to say this but it almost sounds like they are trying to get rid of you.

At the very least trying to screw you on any expected raise or bonus due to your bosses screwup.

In 4 months he didn’t bother to say “hey I’m not getting my reports, what’s up?”

Something doesn’t smell right here.

Reviews are predetermined and you can't do much to affect them.

I have see it many, many times and it was all I could do to keep my composure and get through the meeting, knowing we were all getting railroaded, except for the one woman who already had another job lined up, had nothing to lose and told her boss, "If you don't give me X, I'm gone."

The stories are legion. So happy to work for myself now. Never going to work for the man again.

Meet him at the desk as soon as he walks in Monday

Present him with the read receipts

Ask him to re-evaluate the review that has been written and request each of the those emails be included in your file with HR

Schedule another meeting in a week for discussion with HR director present

I think it’ll turn out differently

Did for me

I suspect that you’re in the process of being launched. Expect in the near term, there will be a brief meeting with both you, your manager & HR followed by a 60-90 performance improvement plan. I hope I’m wrong.

Sounds like you might being used as a scapegoat to coverup for someone else screwup. if you requested a chance to get documentation to disprove the allegations and were flatly refused the chance to do so then their position has has been presented....I would suggest to get a PERSONAL copy of your records--don't tell anyone....first thing monday morning make contact with boss but do not say anything about your personal copies of documentation... if they wish to go foward then let them do so but it sounds like their position has already been determined.... save the records as they could prove helpful in a wrongful termination action--to prove your side...... but if they are out to get you it will only get worse...good luck............drill sgt.

I would scan them all, send an email to him, his boss, and HR. Sounds like he dropped the ball somewhere and is blaming you.

If the OP’s not in a union, isn’t in a protected class and is in a right to work state, he can argue and point out the fallacy of the boss’s statements all he wants, but at the end of the day the business can terminate him for any reason they want. If he knows his boss well enough to discuss the issue with him over a beer, it might be more beneficial than showing him how poorly he (the boss) did his job. Maybe the boss is overwhelmed and needs help managing his own workload or maybe he just has it in for the OP? Good luck.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
I hate to say this but it almost sounds like they are trying to get rid of you.

At the very least trying to screw you on any expected raise or bonus due to your bosses screwup.

In 4 months he didn’t bother to say “hey I’m not getting my reports, what’s up?”

Something doesn’t smell right here.

X2
The fact he was not open for you to respond.
I would not sign the review. Contest it to HR with your response.

Either way I believe behind the review are hidden motives.

There are factors here that we don’t know.
Is the boss giving the review middle management, the GM, or VP?

The answer to that greatly changes the thought on this whole situation.

If the boss giving the review is middle management, then the boss is probably using you as a scapegoat for something. Maybe he didn’t send the weekly reports up and blamed it on you never sending them to him. He sounds like middle management, as you are supposed to do something weekly, and he didn’t follow up?

I laid out expectations for a supervisor, and he didn’t do them. We discussed this daily, for months. I finally gave a bullet point list and said “the fundamentals on this list need to be done daily, everyday, and never stop. This is job threatening. Do you understand?”
We discussed the points on that list everyday and why they still weren’t getting done.

Now if it’s a GM or the VP putting down a review like that, odds are they wish to cycle you out. If that’s the case, you can only keep documentation so you can collect unemployment while looking for a new job.

Sorry to hear. This sucks bro.

I stopped caring when a a couple years ago I was told that even though i exceeded expectations, i could only be rated as met expectations. I was told that ratings had to be doled out on a percentage basis, x% can exceed, x% can meet and x% go on the cap plan if falls below. So enough people exceeded more than I did, so I had to be rated lower to meet "the curve" as required. Screw that, I do only what I need to do to meet expectations, exceeding is only an exercise in futility.

Read receipts mean nothing. The receiver of the request can opt out and read the email, or always send the receipt and not read the email. Yet another silly addition to email clients like "recall."

In my opinion, the supervisor was looking for something negative to add to the review as there are those who feel the need to tear down rather than build up.

Maybe I'm reading too much into what you wrote, but I would update my resume and start looking for new employment. Easier to find a job when you are employed. Good luck.

I endured obtuse shit reviews like this for 15 years with the school system. They didn't want to hand out promotions, so a mediocre to shit review quelled that post haste.


Now my reviews are based on meeting deadlines, low waste, lack of mistakes and the ability to train and manage people.

It's time to jettison from your employment.

You’ve gotten good advice above so I won’t add anything but to say from your post that you have a dishonest boss and I would definitely be looking to bail out of that place.

quote:

Originally posted by dan03833:
I stopped caring when a a couple years ago I was told that even though i exceeded expectations, i could only be rated as met expectations. I was told that ratings had to be doled out on a percentage basis, x% can exceed, x% can meet and x% go on the cap plan if falls below. So enough people exceeded more than I did, so I had to be rated lower to meet "the curve" as required. Screw that, I do only what I need to do to meet expectations, exceeding is only an exercise in futility.

Yep. It’s hard to give a damn when the system won’t rate people based on the quality of their work. Now a lot of it is how well you play the game.

I had a supervisor that had more than 600 unread email messages. He was constantly asking for things that had been completed and sent to him months ago. He just hadn't read his email.

Been there, done that.

I was a manager for IBM, years ago. Everyone in the company got performance plans and annual reviews.

I had been promoted to advisory engineer a few months before my performance review. Went through the whole BS with my nitwit (but politically correct) manager. We had a 1-4 rating scale with 1 being the highest.

My department had saved the facility 30 million dollars so far that year. I got rated a "3" on cost management. We had had an employee opinion survey a few months earlier which included a portion on employee opinion of management. I rated a "1" on that opinion survey. IOW my employees rated me a "1". Got rated a "3" there as well. In short my overall rating in all categories was a "3".

I objected, pointing out the facts. Did no good. His answer was that I had not been that grade level long enough to be better than a 3. In short performance had nothing to do with his evaluation.

My suspicion at the time was that my education had a large affect on his performance review. I.e. I had 2 four year degrees in management (people and production management), a minor in economics, and an MBA in business administration. All earned while working an average of 60 hours a week.

Maybe part of the problem was that the management were essentially clique, spent a week on the "shore" boozing every summer. I figured that they could not understand that my job plus my schooling did not allow that time. And I grew up in an alcoholic extended family and wanted no part of that scene.