The first time I tried to get approval for an incremental FTE (Full Time Equivalent) in my department, I was taught a tough lesson by my boss, a Senior VP. I based my pitch on the volume of work and the inability of my department to keep up with it. My request was turned down, and I was beside myself. In a bit of a panic, I told my boss that the workload had increased to the point where I was working nights and weekends to pick up the slack. He looked at me and said, “Well, then you’ve been doing yourself a disservice.” I was overcome with frustration. He further explained that if I was killing myself to keep up, and WAS keeping up, then why would anyone think I needed additional manpower? I had to make more noise about not being able to get things done – instead of quietly finding a way to do them with the resources I had. End of story.
In today’s environment, the biggest problem with getting a new position approved is that it adds corporate expense, or overhead. So the best approach is one or both of the following:
1. Find a way to fund the position that doesn’t take money out of one hand to put it into another.
2. Show that addition of the position will avoid corporate expense net/net – either by eliminating another corporate expense or by generating additional revenue attributable to your department.
Do not use the approach that, “If we don’t do X we can’t get Y accomplished”. That, on its own, will probably not be successful. But do present a situation (the gap), and clearly and dispassionately define the impact of not addressing the gap.
Keep in mind that your company might rather hire consultants/contractors to do work (normally temporary – project by project) than to add a position to the payroll (a forever thing). Which pocket the expense comes out of is a big deal from a budgeting/accounting perspective.
Also think in terms of proposing alternatives. Your company may choose to (1) Create a new permanent position, (2) Hire a consultant/contractor to be internally managed within the team, (3) Outsource the work that needs to be done, or (4) Redistribute some responsibilities to another department.
Be realistic, objective, and creative and get your ducks in a row for your pitch. Good luck.
Where do corporate executives learn that managers do themselves a disservice by working all those hours to keep up with the work? Is that in the corporate water supply? Should your boss at least compliment you for your hard work to keep up with the work? And are they so detached from your work as to not notice you need additional resources? Is he not doing his job by being out of the loop?
ReplyDeleteThe only way he provided input to your plight was that you expressed your frustration -- so he was in the reactive mode instead of anticipating your needs. The games we have to play in a corporate setting, making noise to get additional resources instead of focusing on things that really matter.
Laurel, excellent point regarding pointing out the need and providing alternatives. Within alternatives, management may come up with their own alternative, or reject any alternative as the gap is insignificant toward the attainment of the overall corporate goal.
ReplyDeleteKevin, when I first started working on a help desk for a Fortune 20 company years ago, I would work 9 to 10 hours a day to "get the work done." One day I realized that managers never stayed over, so I stopped staying over. I got less work done, but stopped killing myself. Management "talked" about "getting the work done," but what was the exact meaning of that expression? I was not willing to kill myself for the sake of the company if management did not care, and management was fine if I worked 48 hours a week or whether not. Simultaneously, management was well aware that I was willing to devote extra time on occasions where it became necessary to do so. Laurel’s over-commitment was, in that corporate culture, a disservice to her.
One more brief point: I used to think “Why does management do that?” While working on my MBA I realized that management does things that folks lower on the totem pole don’t understand because that is how they were trained to think and behave. Someone starting on the bottom and working their way up has a totally different view of how business operates than someone who goes to school and then has to make business theory fit the real world.