On 6 Sep 98, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Probable best course: Raise a stink that you are not given enough
> information. Write memos to direct line supervisor stating that you
> believe you should work on item XYZ because of A, B, and C; PLEASE inform
> me if you do not consider this the optimal course. Make it clear.
>
> If boss mumbles, write him a memo detailing his mumbles, and asking if
> this represents a formal change in course, etc. You are seeking clarity.
Or it may be that the employee between you and the honcho is simply
incompetent, which can lead to the same dire results for the contractor:
"It's HIS fault boss! I tried to tell him, but you know these contractors,
always think they know everything..."
I'm in one of those situations currently, or at least it's headed that way if
I don't take firm steps immediately. But a large amount of tact is
essential, cuz hey, this is a big department, and I may want to work for
them again someday. Don't want to burn any bridges.
In this particular case there's a fairly junior IS guy who has been tasked to
liaise with me on the day-to-day technical details of developing the site.
He in turn reports to the IS and Communications section heads, the people
who ultimately sign off on the work (and my cheques.)
Two problems: (a) he knows less about Web development than he thinks
he does, and (b) he's very badly organized, often taking several days to
reply to pressing e-mail or phone queries from me. Generally, when I hear
from him at all it's to receive vague, contradictory and/or absurd feedback
as to how a given part of the project should be done. So I'm in a bit of a
spot.
I have a three-step strategy for dealing with such situations (based on
frustrating past experience):
(1) upon your first faint suspicions that the guy may be rowing without
both oars entirely in the water, start establishing a detailed paper trail of
every question and discussion: put it all in e-mail so that if things ever
turn ugly you can pull out the big evidence guns. "Well, here is my e-mail
of July 23, 3:12pm, in which I summarize the phone conversation Mr.
Hafwitte and I had that morning; you'll note that blah blah..."
(2) concurrently, ensure that all your correspondence with the guy
contains tactful but unambiguous reminders of what you need and expect
from him: "An immediate reply to the above queries will be very helpful, as
I cannot proceed with Phase III until the server-capacity issues have
been settled..."
(3) If Mr. Hafwitte is *still* blithely coasting along in warm waters of
lethargy and incompetence, then go over his head. But *nicely*. Give
the guy some room to maneuver when the boss strides into his cubicle and
bellows, "Hafwitte, what's going on here?? Explain this letter I got from
the contractor!"
My tack in the past has been something like, "Dear Mr. Honcho, I know we
have all been very busy trying to meet our pressing objectives on this
exciting project, and Mr. Hafwitte and I have made excellent progress to
date. However, there are a few minor issues that concern me, and I wish
to bring them to your attention to ensure that we can deliver this project
on time and on budget. These are issues that I suspect will require your
more senior authority to decide, blah blah..."
Basically, you're trying to react to potential problems *before* the
excretory material impacts the oscillatory climate-control device; you
want a clear record of your attempts to clarify lines of responsibility,
identify crises-in-the-making, and advise those in charge of such things.
I'll let you know in a couple of months how it turned out for me this time :)
-----------
Brent Eades, Almonte, Ontario
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Town of Almonte site: http://www.almonte.com/
Business site: http://www.federalweb.com
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