Behind every upset and dissatisfied employee is a Superior who has no idea what he did wrong again. Someone wisely said: “Good Employees don’t leave bad companies, they leave bad supervisors”
What would be your 1st reaction if this happened to/with you..??(considering U have a family to feed and a loan to pay)
Once upon a time(between May’15 – June’15) there was a Super QA who applied for an IJP opportunity released by his employer organization. The IJP was for a similar role requirement however a different location which fortunately was close to his hometown. The Super QA applied for the IJP through email keeping his immediate supervisor and the respective HR in loop. There was no response against the same for weeks. The Super QA highlighted the same to the respective senior HR for seeking an update. All of a sudden one fine evening(Saturday 4/7/15 @ 06:49 pm) while the Super QA was busy watching a movie @ home he receives an sms from a new unknown number. Out of the blue, the sms was sent by another employee with regards to the IJP applied by the Super QA. In the sms it was mentioned that he must call the respective person asap(as soon as possible) for further information. The Super QA dialed the respective number without any hesitation out of curiosity. The receiver introduced himself as a transition manager(tm) of the respective project, the Super QA had applied for through the IJP. Within a minute or two, soon the conversation turned into an interview. The Super QA was interviewed in the best possible way. Being convinced by the Super QA’s answers and knowledge about the current role, the tm confirmed his selection and asked for his immediate supervisor’s email address to inform him about the same. The tm wanted to confirm an earliest possible date of release off the current project so that the Super QA can relocate to join the new project. On 6/7/15 emails were exchanged between the tm and the Super QA’s supervisor keeping the HR in loop about the relocation movement. In the meanwhile the Super QA informed his landlord about his intention to vacate the rented property within a month to avoid clash of interest. Having said that the owner started looking for a new tenant and luckily found one within next 3 days. While the Super QA was glad about moving to a new location near to his family, there was a lot of packing and other arrangements to be done along with ensuring a comprehensive handover of his current roles and responsibilities to the newly identified replacement for the role. In the meanwhile the tm calls up the Super QA asking him to consult his respective HR to start processing the formalities of a company paid relocation. The Super QA requested the tm to put the same on email keeping the respective HR in loop. The needful was done. Within an hour’s time the Super QA met the HR and discussed the same with her. In return, the HR denied to accept the fact that it should be a company paid relocation(going by what she could recall the Super QA had applied for the IJP for family reasons) and gave him her personal example as to how she chose to relocate to the current location and did not get any such favor. This was her attitude and reasoning even before she bothered checking her email as requested by the Super QA. The Super QA once again insisted her to check her email for clarity and confirmation. The HR agreed to follow the same with a sigh. On checking her email, the HR’s tone changed from harsh to polite within a fraction of seconds confirming that she’ll be glad to facilitate the relocation formalities as per the company policies. The Super QA was relieved for a moment and went back to his work station. It was on the 16/7/15 when the unexpected happened for real. The Super QA received an sms from the tm on his phone asking him to hold onto his relocation plans until further notice. Within the next hour the Super QA received another sms informing him that there’s no QA requirement in the respective project, rather asking the QA if he still would like to relocate and join as a front line associate. The Super QA replied to the sms with a “No, thanks”. The Super QA called his supervisor immediately and informed him about the situation stating that he’s not relocating anymore and is going to continue with his role in the current project. The Super QA’s supervisor replied that someone has already been hired to replace the Super QA keeping in mind the relocation formalities been confirmed over official emails. He also suggested the Super QA to join as a front line associate. This was one of the most embarrassing and disrespectful moment for the Super QA. The Super QA had made all possible arrangements for a smooth relocation, including vacating the house. Surprisingly, the so called someone hired to replace the Super QA was none but one of his peers’ who was already in a QA role and a part of the QA team for almost 1.5 years. Next morning, with a heavy heart the Super QA wrote a sarcastic yet decent resignation letter to his incompetent supervisor.
““Hi **,
Please accept this letter as notice of my resignation from the position of Quality Analyst at Vata Consultancy Services.
Although this has been a difficult decision to make, I have been forced to believe that this will help me reach my long-term career goals working with a professional company. I am sure you will understand my reasons for moving on.
Although my employment contract states a required notice period of 3 months, I would like to reduce this to 2 weeks as you’ve successfully identified a replacement for my position. I will continue to work for the company for the next 2 weeks, completing my employment on 31/7/15. I hope to use this time to complete the projects I am currently working on and arrange a comprehensive handover for my replacement. If there are any areas in particular you would like me to focus on during my notice period, please let me know.
This is due to family reasons and the overall poor job satisfaction experience at VCS. I hope we can come to an amicable agreement to grant this request. I will do everything possible to provide a smooth handover on my current projects.
I have had the worst and most unprofessional experience being a part of the team however am thankful for the opportunities and responsibilities I have been given during my time here. I owe a great deal to Velstra and would like to wish them all the best in their future endeavors.””
The same was accepted and approved instantly. The Super QA made a smart move to safeguard his interest against the pain of serving a notice period of 3 months, after having decided to part ways. Eventually, on the last working day(31/7/15) the Super QA ensured that he shared all the collated critical data possible with the Senior Leadership including the respective HRs’.
Just FYI: Finding a new suitable accommodation on rent isn’t an easy task these days with the recent changes in laws and formalities to be completed to enter into a contract as a tenant.
Had the QA agreed and accepted the offer to join as a frontline associate it would be a waste of talent(as a QA he could serve umpteen number of customers by sharing his process knowledge and exceptional customer skills to deliver a satisfactory customer experience) and time(as an associate the QA would end up serving very few customers compared to a QA’s role as he would be doing the exact same job against which he already proved his mettle leading him to be eligible, identified and appointed in a QA role through an IJP to help others better their skills and performance).
Beyond a point, an employee’s primary need has less to do with money, and more to do with how he/she is treated and how valued he/she feels @ work. Much of this depends directly on the immediate supervisor and otherwise. Of all the workplace stressors, incompetent supervisors are possibly the worst , directly impacting the emotional health and productivity of employees.
As a former Super QA, I believe in delivering quality service @ work without excuses.
A true story about an organization(India’s so called no.1 IT company) where honesty is not considered to be the best policy(only in the Code of Conduct book) and an honest employee is considered to be a liability. An untold story of a dedicated and determined Super QA who chose to stand by what he was convinced and believed in, was in the rightful interest of the client customers. However, been pushed to an extent where he chose to walk away no longer giving a damn.
Choose wisely, Stay Safe(against the inconvenience and poor experience of working with an unprofessional organization) coz The World Has Gone Dark.