J
jpgenius
Guest
What is the name of your state? Florida
I apologize for the length, but wanted you to have the facts.
I work for a mid-sized retailer. I transferred here (lateral, my request) 12 weeks ago. The store I took over was in a huge mess and I have been slowly successful in getting back on track. My numbers are not the best in my market, but in the middle in some categories, top in others. I was demoted last week. I was told it was because I was being protected from a new Regional Director (demoted from Senior VP) who would expect someone’s head to roll over this store's poor performance over the past 18 months, and that I would be back to manager status in 3 to 6 months. No other managers in my market have had disciplinary action, though many of their numbers are worse. (Yes, I have copies of these reports.) Our company has a clear plan for coaching and discipline including written and verbal warnings. I received none. In fact, I still have not seen a copy of my demotion paperwork, although I am supposed to sign it.
The worst part is that many other managers called me the week before and warned me "something was going to happen". It seems my boss was in each of their stores lamenting that he had to take some action against me. Gossip was verboten in my old market, so I ignored it. But it really irks me that they all were privy to my personnel issues. Today I get a call at home from someone (no idea who) who said that these other managers were pushing me out because they were upset when I got the job over a friend of theirs who was next in line. (Guess who got my old position?)
I could kick myself for moving over 1000 miles into this bee’s nest. I have had a successful track record with this company. I could live with backstabbing, gossiping co-workers, and a weak, deceptive boss. But I cannot live with the 18k pay cut and the additional 5k in expenses I paid out of pocket to move. Plus as Assistant Manager, I am not eligible for my ESOP plan, which is worth another 5 to 12k a year. The ultimate insult is that I am training my replacement, and he will get credit for the 12 weeks I have invested into this turnaround. If I apply for another job, I will have to disclose that I have been demoted, after 3 years as a manager. So, I feel stuck.
We have an open door, but where am I to go? My boss is clearly part of the problem. His boss was a Senior VP who was demoted to Regional Director when his predecessor was terminated. He is angry over his situation, and I do not think he will be receptive to hearing about mine. His boss is a brand new Senior VP who covers more than 300 stores and does not know me from Adam. And that is my chain of command. We have a new Board of Directors who swears that the Good Ol' Boy Network our company is so well known for is out. (We have recently settled class action suits for race discrimination, sex discrimination, overtime and more.) But those memos don’t appear to have trickled down here to Florida. Moving back is not an option as I have my wife and children settled here. Is there anything I can do?
I apologize for the length, but wanted you to have the facts.
I work for a mid-sized retailer. I transferred here (lateral, my request) 12 weeks ago. The store I took over was in a huge mess and I have been slowly successful in getting back on track. My numbers are not the best in my market, but in the middle in some categories, top in others. I was demoted last week. I was told it was because I was being protected from a new Regional Director (demoted from Senior VP) who would expect someone’s head to roll over this store's poor performance over the past 18 months, and that I would be back to manager status in 3 to 6 months. No other managers in my market have had disciplinary action, though many of their numbers are worse. (Yes, I have copies of these reports.) Our company has a clear plan for coaching and discipline including written and verbal warnings. I received none. In fact, I still have not seen a copy of my demotion paperwork, although I am supposed to sign it.
The worst part is that many other managers called me the week before and warned me "something was going to happen". It seems my boss was in each of their stores lamenting that he had to take some action against me. Gossip was verboten in my old market, so I ignored it. But it really irks me that they all were privy to my personnel issues. Today I get a call at home from someone (no idea who) who said that these other managers were pushing me out because they were upset when I got the job over a friend of theirs who was next in line. (Guess who got my old position?)
I could kick myself for moving over 1000 miles into this bee’s nest. I have had a successful track record with this company. I could live with backstabbing, gossiping co-workers, and a weak, deceptive boss. But I cannot live with the 18k pay cut and the additional 5k in expenses I paid out of pocket to move. Plus as Assistant Manager, I am not eligible for my ESOP plan, which is worth another 5 to 12k a year. The ultimate insult is that I am training my replacement, and he will get credit for the 12 weeks I have invested into this turnaround. If I apply for another job, I will have to disclose that I have been demoted, after 3 years as a manager. So, I feel stuck.
We have an open door, but where am I to go? My boss is clearly part of the problem. His boss was a Senior VP who was demoted to Regional Director when his predecessor was terminated. He is angry over his situation, and I do not think he will be receptive to hearing about mine. His boss is a brand new Senior VP who covers more than 300 stores and does not know me from Adam. And that is my chain of command. We have a new Board of Directors who swears that the Good Ol' Boy Network our company is so well known for is out. (We have recently settled class action suits for race discrimination, sex discrimination, overtime and more.) But those memos don’t appear to have trickled down here to Florida. Moving back is not an option as I have my wife and children settled here. Is there anything I can do?