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Supervisor Request for Demotion
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Supervisor Request for Demotion
Discuss workforce management, performance management, retention, communication, motivation, contributing to business results and other topics.
I am a manager of a 24-hr call center. One of our Shift Supervisors has started to ask that we allow her to voluntarily demote herself to a Customer Rep position (the type of staff she currently super
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Forums » Topic Forums » General Forum » Supervisor Request for Demotion
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Supervisor Request for Demotion
posted at 12/21/2010 6:03 AM EST
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Posts: 1103
First: 3/16/2007 Last: 8/19/2011 |
"You are absolutely right about the "tail wagging the dog", this is what happens when leaders are too distracted to facilitate production and provide neccessary direction. "
In my experience this comes from underskilled leaders and managers more often than distraction. |
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Supervisor Request for Demotion
posted at 12/21/2010 7:03 AM EST
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Posts: 544
First: 9/27/2004 Last: 9/13/2011 |
True, underskilled managers have a way of not stepping up or ignoring problems, or else they don't recognize the signs.
I was thinking about leaders who are so busy they can't even formulate a coherent thought. My comments may seem off the topic, but if shifting the job of one manager creates such a hardship, people are spread too thin. |
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Supervisor Request for Demotion
posted at 1/4/2011 5:23 AM EST
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Posts: 6
First: 6/2/2010 Last: 7/6/2011 |
Let's uncomplicate this. You have a 12 yr employee who was promoted from CSR to supervisor who may quit if the shift change is not provided.
What part of "make the shift change to keep the employee" is the company not understanding? Otherwise the company will lose in two ways: loss of a supervisor, which will happen either way; and loss of a good employee. DUH! |
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Supervisor Request for Demotion
posted at 1/4/2011 7:57 AM EST
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Posts: 4
First: 12/15/2000 Last: 1/4/2011 |
In my experience, there are deeper issues that cause an employee to consider relinquishing an earned promotion and any associated wage increase. Take a deeper look at the "job fit" elements and communication styles and effectiveness in the management chain.
I would advise you to use your recruitment and selection process. Invite the supervisor to apply for a suitable opening, and then follow your staffing process. Through the selection process, the company can show reasons for selection or not. In the event she is selected, you can show this demotion was voluntary as was the forfeiture of any promotional financial gain. |
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Supervisor Request for Demotion
posted at 1/4/2011 8:48 AM EST
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Posts: 2
First: 6/17/2009 Last: 1/4/2011 |
While I am always a little skeptical of such requests there does seem to be a valid reason behind it. If she is a valuable employee I would try to accomodate. If she chose to just up and leave and take another job tomorrow you would then need to find a way to replace her quickly and efficiently. The end result is the same only she stays on as a resource. I would do it. |
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Supervisor Request for Demotion
posted at 1/5/2011 8:08 PM EST
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Posts: 12
First: 10/10/2000 Last: 6/1/2011 |
Think very clearly about this: The shift in
question 2p-10p can be expected to have a negative impact on a marriage/family. i.e. it is possible that you have a position that is designed to exclude a whole class of people. One test might be to establish a rotation. Especially so if the employees under your supervisors can rotate shifts. Another test might be salary... if staff gets a shift bonus and the managers do not you should pay attention. Another issue is if the supervisor serves as a technical escalation contact and training mentor. If so then the individual is fully qualified and if you have a posted opening it would be difficult to exclude this individual assuming a pay adjustment is acceptable. As others said there is not enough information to fully understand this. Curious, are there two or three shifts. In what shift are shift managers managed? Are they expected to also be present for meetings outside of their normal work hours when the AM shift is not. |
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Supervisor Request for Demotion
posted at 1/6/2011 1:45 AM EST
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Posts: 1
First: 1/6/2011 Last: 1/6/2011 |
It seems to me this is an opportunity to hold on to someone who has is showing loyalty to the organization and is willing to be flexible in order to make it a win-win for everyone. The company obviously must mean something to her if she is offering this public and potentially embarassing solution of a self-demotion instead of only taking her own issues into consideration and flat-out quitting and leaving you in a worse spot.
Additionally, this is a wonderful opportunity to take a chance on someone else who you know has the potential to be a great supervisor. You claim that there are people who will be ready 4-6 months down the line; first of all this really isn't that long and I find it hard to believe that there is no way to accelerate the development timeframe to make this change work. As several people have pointed out, if you are in that bad of a situation when a supervisor leaves, you really need to look at your resource planning because ideally you should be prepared to replace anyone at anytime. If your supervisor gets disgruntled enough she will leave anyway and you'll be in the same position, minus a good employee with loyalty to the team. |
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Supervisor Request for Demotion
posted at 1/6/2011 4:10 AM EST
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Posts: 1
First: 1/6/2011 Last: 1/6/2011 |
I have to agree in full with PerkinsHR, adding ... there doesn't seem to be any legal/discriminatory issue here, but there very definitely seems to be a company culture issue here.
Is this how managers in the company ordinarily interact with employees regarding what seem to be reasonable requests? Was HR helpful in suggesting mutually agreeable options? Does the company understand that the employee always has other options (i.e., other companies to work for)? Are they really willing to lose a 12-year employee over something like this? In a call center environment, could it really be true that there aren't other CSR positions available (or, given typically high turnover in these positions, an open CSR position in the near future)? While we don't have all the facts and context, of course, just by my "gut" it's hard for me as a longtime HR manager to read this as something other than an "because I said so" ego/power situation on the part of the manager. A little humility kindness might go a long way here. Bottom line: if the company culture is so anti-thetical to worklife/family issues, perhaps the employee has spent 12 years at the wrong place. |
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Supervisor Request for Demotion
posted at 1/6/2011 4:30 AM EST
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Posts: 544
First: 9/27/2004 Last: 9/13/2011 |
Excellent point about spending 12 years working for the wrong company.
There's a social learning aspect here, if others see that the company isn't willing to help a long-term employee, why should they stay? There's a reason employee loyalty has eroded through the years. |
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