I hope that this message finds you well, and if not, please take a moment to allow this to marinate out of respect for your working staff. We have met as a collective and on behalf of the support staff, we have decided to take our talents elsewhere. The conditions that your leadership staff have reflected in interviews is not as "up to par" as presented.
We have found the "team" spirit that is displayed during the all staff meetings to be, by far, the most insulting highlight of our month. Supervisors only supervise from a position of control and not leadership. Unfortunately, the teams have no spirit and it's throwing off our souls. I have spoken to a fair amount of support staff and believe I speak for many of us when I say that there are ways to retain your most talented and innovative staff. That is, if you all are willing to do the work.
Should you be interested in keeping any of us onboard, please directly address the list of ever evolving concerns provided below. Please note, we have entered a time of transition and while it may seem that a large number of us are lazy and not motivated, I can assure you that this is not the case. The enthusiasm that was witnessed during the interview process is real. However, the lack of enthusiasm you've witnessed from dedicated staff after 6 months or less is also real.
Again, below I have listed a number of reasons why an immediate change is needed. Hopefully, we all can come to some sort of understanding that support staff would like to not only survive, but we have decided to thrive in the corporate world as well as our personal lives. Going forward, this effort to maintain balance will not be done at the cost of our mental stability.
List of Concerns and Suggestions:
1. Be honest during the interview process.
Suggestions:
- You all know what the pits and peaks are for a position so DISCLOSE that information to the candidate you are excited to bring onboard. To request transparency but not reciprocate it should be a global red flag to interviewees.
- Honesty should be expected from both parties. It seems as though the interviewees should be eager and excited to join organizations but a great employee is only as great as the leadership that they serve. If you are experiencing a high turnover rate in a position but the leadership has been consistent, the focus should be on leadership before bringing on a new team member.
- Make it standard practice to share why the current position is open.
2. Your lack of preparation is not anyone's emergency.
Suggestions:
- You should allow your immediate support team the privilege of deciding who will shadow you while you spearhead certain duties and tasks. By doing this, you are teaching staff that you trust them to work as a team if you are ever unable to fulfill your duties.
- Share notes or information from leadership meetings so projects are not foreign to your support staff. Everyone should have awareness of everything that is going on, even if it does not pertain to their role. This approach of "Corporate Global Awareness (CGA)", should be standard practice. Especially if you have dedicated staff answering phones and fielding calls and/or emails.
- Have standard operating procedures and update them as systems evolve and review when new employees come onboard. Every new employee should be creating their own Directory of Duties. This is helpful to any new employees because they can see what has been done, what has worked, what can be improved, and how to be more efficient going forward. If this has not been done, please allow all new employees 1 - 2 years to learn the job, the culture, and how be most effective in the position .
- Every team member should be responsible for documentation of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) they use to complete tasks at hand. The ones that are established as a rule of thumb should be listed in the department SOP manual. (Example: creating a query in the CRM should be a standard SOP but a more experienced team member may have a more efficient way of pulling data. In this case the Department SOP Manual should be updated to include the most efficient way to extract data.)
3. Always cross train.
Suggestions:
- Should anyone on the team may have an emergency the baton can be successfully passed with no direction because the team has been shadowing or assisting everyone else at some point. This is less stressful and fosters a real team spirit.
4. Keep track of all systems and procedures.
Suggestions:
- Each department should have a SOP Manual. Like department bylaws if you will. This is a collection of documentation of how things work with the department.
- Each department should have a FAQ section on the website that can be easily accessed
- The purpose of each department should be highlighted on the website. Especially a membership entity. How does each department help support or fight for the cause that members support?
- Employees should be clear on how their position is necessary for the growth and support of the vision and mission. Nobody should ever feel like they are hired to do another's work or a teams fall guy (the person who gets to do what other teammates don't want to do).
5. Address all other concerns immediately and as they arise.
Suggestions:
- You know how you all list "Other dudes as directed"? Well, this is that. Accept it. This list could go on for miles but I believe concerns listed above are a GREAT starting point for us all to come to some common ground.
Sincerely,
Malkia Papa
Global Resignation Representative
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