How do you evaluate your boss honestly?
A mailbag for the HR wonks who read this blog:
We’re going to do a survey of our employees about their supervisors but we haven’t done it before. Have you seen it done well? Where should we look for a list of questions that will give us the best opportunity for constructive feedback?
Funny thing about this e-mail: it is from my old boss. Why is she suddenly interested in employee feedback for supervisors now that I am gone? These are questions that MUST be answered first!
In all seriousness, I have not seen anything really great for evaluating supervisors honestly from an employees point of view (and in ways that are useful for the supervisors). And before anybody mentions it:
I loathe 360 degree feedback systems/variants.
I feel like I have just eliminated hundreds of possible advertising opportunities for this blog but every implementation of 360 degree feedback systems seems to be terrible and are usually scrapped in a year or two. There are exceptions, yes. Of course, a 360 vendor would say “they just haven’t implemented it correctly.” No, it isn’t worth it and I wouldn’t risk it for this particular organization.
Everything else has been either a scheme to submit comments (non-anonymously) to a supervisor’s supervisor or (worse) the supervisor themselves or a totally anonymous system that doesn’t promote worthwhile feedback. No matter how open to feedback a supervisor is, it will never be enough to get a truly honest feel for it. Anonymous systems don’t work either in my opinion.
So I turn to you HR people! What has worked for you in employee to supervisor feedback systems? Feel free to try to sell me on the two schemes above that I just totally discounted too.
On being paid less than your subordinate
From the mailbag:
Dear HR Guy -
I started work at a fortune 50 company just over 2 years ago, with a fresh MBA in hand, and 5 plus years work experience. My starting grade level was a 13, with a salary of $64k. After 18 months I was promoted within position to the next grade level (15), and my salary increased to $77k.
I’ve just taken a lateral move to my first managerial role, and my new pay is $84k. The position has the flexibility to be promoted to the next level (17), which would get me close to, or over, the $100k range.
I felt very happy with this until I learned that one of my direct reports who is a level 13 earns $85k per year. She was hired just 3 months ago, is my same age, has a similar background to when I was first hired, and is also a fresh MBA (from a lesser known school).
My manager has told me that her hands were tied when she offered the $84k salary due to pressure from HR (they felt an 8% raise was enough).
My manager is planning to retire or move within the next 9 to 12 months, and I have been told that I am the successor. My manager’s manager is thrilled to have me in our department, and has pretty much told me that I’m on the fast track. So, the question is….how much do I let this inequity bother me?
I have some great long term potential at this company, but isn’t this just a matter of principle?
Benjamins in Need
I have to admit, whenever I started reading I was firmly in the “the principle” camp but I sort of floundered when you talked about the future potential. Under most circumstances, the boss should make more. It didn’t sound like it was one of those exceptions where I could see it.
Still, there are certain situations where it is perfectly fine to have a subordinate make more than a manager. That includes:
- More education or experience in a field that pushes their pay at the top end of the range while a manager with little management experience is stuck at a lower level of an upper pay range.
- The employee is in a field where the pay rate is much higher. For example, a middle manager who also has responsibility over a programmer might be paid less depending on their skill level.
- It is a particularly tight labor market. Either for that position, the region or just an overarching problem.
I don’t think your situation is addressed there so I will give you a couple different options.
One: You can approach a compensation specialist and figure it out. At a company your size, these things are pretty standardized. Going at your manager again probably isn’t the best approach and if you do decide to go that way again, you will be armed with more information.
Two: Suck it up and put in your time and it won’t matter in a year.
I think the route you take depends really on your level of comfort with your current salary (independent of comparisons, how happy are you at that level). If you are happy at that level and you can put away your principles, then you should be happy to be on such a great path. If not, then pursue it but don’t bang your head against the wall and try to figure out what basis your salary was computed as.
Lying About a Short-Term Job?
Here is one from the mailbox:
Hey Lance,
Love your blog! But I’m here to get your advice and
opinion. I will be interviewing for a position that I am very
interested in but I resign from my last job a little over a month ago.
I have a new job but I don’t want to list the new job on my resume. I
want to know if I should lie about my last job covering the month and
half that have gone by. If I do lie, what are the chances the potential
employer calling my last job asking for my employment dates or do they
have software that tells them the length of my employment at my last
job. My main concerns is them offering the job then 2 weeks later
having to terminate me cause of my resume. Thanks in advance.
Also, what all do really comes out during the background check?
Where should I start with this? First of all, employers will call your previous jobs and, bare minimum, they will check your dates to make sure it is consistent. Now they may call you and get an explanation or they may throw your resume in the garbage. So, if you absolutely must lie, don’t add on an extra month and a half to the job before last.
So assuming that you can’t lie about your length of time at your second to last job, the question really remains for you to answer: is a gap in employment better than trying to explain why I am leaving this job after a month and a half? That is really a matter of opinion on the part of the company you’re interviewing with but in my estimation, I’d rather know that you’re doing something. Even if it is unrelated. Or menial. Or embarrassing.
A background check won’t do much to verify your employment history past what you state on your resume (so you must be accurate with dates, titles, pay ranges, etc…). It will check your criminal and educational background as well. And this is really only the good background check companies.
The real issue is why even consider risking it if you like this company? Starting off by lying is a bad way to start off any relationship even if you feel it necessary to get past the gatekeeper. You’ll always have to remember that lie. It is a real bummer you are in this situation but good luck.
I’m on LinkedIn — Now What???
Jason Alba of JibberJobber has written what I consider to be the consummate guide to navigating through the waters LinkedIn. I’m on LinkedIn — Now What??? (with three question marks!!!) captures not just the technical details of running the site and being effective but also how to get the most out of it from the user standpoint.
If I could make a comparison, it would be like a Corvette owners manual that taught you how to not only adjust the equalizer, but also how to turn the car into a hot rod, give it a sweet paint job and pick up a hot chick. That’s assuming that you can do that all with a Corvette (you can, right?).
If you are interested in exploring LinkedIn and maximizing your impact while there, this book is for you.
If you don’t understand the importance of networking or the efficiency of using LinkedIn to aid you in it, may I be the first to compel you to check out articles on mine or about 10,000 different websites on the subject. In a sea of 1’s and 0’s, knowing someone makes the difference sometimes.
Catching up…
Apologies to regular readers. I am in the midst of a move and about 100 other things right now but I figured I should update here with everything I’ve really been wanting to write about.
So if I all of the sudden hit nearly 5 posts a week, you’ll know why 
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About
Your HR Guy is a Human Resources Generalist practicing in the field. But don't let that fool you, this isn't a boring blog. I seek relevance and humor in a place we will spend much of our lives. Everything from workplace issues, job seeking and terrible bosses. Read more...
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