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Bas Ackwards management
Old 07-15-2016, 10:54 AM   #1
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Bas Ackwards management

Retired from a municipal gov job. Management was always trying to squelch my opinions when I was a regular , civil serv. employee.

Now I have been back twice as a temp. as needed at will employee. I can , and do speak up in meetings and e-mails without management backlash . I can be let go at any time, and management doesn't get bent out of shape about my , uh lets call it " Free Speech " these days .

Cant figure it out. Treat your regular staff like crap, and treat at will temp. employees with respect

Edit: For lack of a better term, is it because they don't " Own " a temp. employee ?
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It's much like "consultants"...
Old 07-15-2016, 11:11 AM   #2
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It's much like "consultants"...

Working in mid-level leadership in manufacturing plants for a long time now, I have been a part of numerous "consultant" actions where each of these winds up the same:

Consultant(s) comes in and meets with executive levels

Consultant(s) go out and canvass all leadership levels and get information on what needs to be done to improve things (these things already shared with aforementioned executive levels by direct employees)

Consultant(s) go back and "package" the information and present to executive levels

Changes are made, (some) things improve (no, even our ideas aren't 100% good 100% of the time )

Consultant(s) report the great things and improvements they've made, executives slap themselves on the back for being "smart enough" to hie them.

That about sums it up!
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Old 07-15-2016, 11:11 AM   #3
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That was one of the benefits of being FI.... I was free to call it like I saw it... you still need to be somewhat diplomatic but it is empowering to call a spade a shovel. Interestingly, management appreciated it and so did the regular staff in that it was what they wanted to saw but were reluctant to.
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Old 07-15-2016, 11:16 AM   #4
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The reason a company hires a consultant is because employees will generally tell the boss what he wants to hear while a consultant will be more objective.

Also, consultants are used to "deliver the bad news".

(I have been a management/engineering consultant since 1985. Prior to that, I was in company management)
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Old 07-15-2016, 11:56 AM   #5
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Distinctions exist between consultants who are grunts, and brought in to alleviate the workload. Contrast this with a management consultant, brought in to find out the real story, and set up a clean the shop event.

Eventually, a consultant may find they must shoulder the blame for management practices, or provide a quick way to improve the bottom line (by your rapid exit).
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Old 07-16-2016, 08:46 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aja8888 View Post
The reason a company hires a consultant is because employees will generally tell the boss what he wants to hear while a consultant will be more objective.

Also, consultants are used to "deliver the bad news".

(I have been a management/engineering consultant since 1985. Prior to that, I was in company management)
I've never had the problem of not "telling it like I see it", albeit in a tactful manner. No offense to management consultants. If Executives need an outside source to regurgitate to them what their team is already saying though, I question their leadership, insight and courage. I have often thought of putting everything down that has been conveyed prior to the arrival of the consultant team, and once they have shown their "findings" and left, package it all in a nice powerpoint presentation much as the "consultants" do, review the two, and ask if next time I can collect the 6 to 7 figure fee they just blew to give them the same information.

Maybe a move to make a month or so before FIRE.
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Old 07-16-2016, 09:02 AM   #7
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Why engagement does what they do is often a huge unknown. I was just talking to my child who was complaining that at the same time they cut staff for a certain job, they bought new equipment that was harder and time more time consuming to use (no, it was not the learning curve). They did not pay 2¢ worth of attention to what the people who do the job had recommended. Go figure.
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Old 07-16-2016, 09:19 AM   #8
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Management often hire consultants so they can say it was a "Third Party industry expert" recommendation. Just saying it's their own idea doesn't give it weight so you hire in consultants to reach the same conclusion, but then get the "oh well then now we must do it" answer.

In my last few years once FI, speaking up more openly, I was often congratulated for it. things like You were very brave to say that, your peers and leaders appreciate you speaking up, you bring such unique perspective, blah blah blah lol.
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Old 07-16-2016, 05:39 PM   #9
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I was definitely brought in to do Grunt work and reduce a backlog. I sometimes get calls from managers 6 levels up about certain high profile cases. This seldom occurred back when I was a regular employee. It's really pissing off some mid level managers , not being able to filter this stuff
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