Thread: Just got told I am to train my replacement today

Originally Posted by ashm70

I got told that the company I am working for right now has hired a Director of IT. I have been fulfilling this role for the past year already. I have re-architected the infrastructure which would allow for growth as well as save money in both short and long term. I have helped architect the new web presence in addition to our loyalty program. I have managed the migration to a new telco provider nation wide. I have rolled out 35 new SQL based POS servers.

I am bitter, and frustrated now. I no longer have any respect for this company or its owner or board of directors. I told them over a YEAR ago that their back up solution was NOT certified and was not backing up data... And yet they still waffle back and forth...

Now I am told they are getting someone else to run the show?

Pardon my french fut **** them and the horse they rode in on...

Nothing like being out of a job coming up to Christmas...

Sorry for the rant, but I had to unload somewhere and I did not want to shoot my mouth off here at work. At least I can try and maintain my dignity here....

****suckers, the whole lot of 'em

That is a major bummer man. I spent the last month at my previous job training a guy from China that was taking over my job. The only difference was, I was happy to do it and I charged the company a fistfull for the service. I could not wait to get out of there. it back fired on them in the long run. GM pulled out of the whole idea of re-locating purchasing to China so they got screwed anyway. Hang in there, hopefully better things are coming for you.

Sorry for the profanity, I am in a bad state right now... I am sooo tempted to just walk today. If I were single and not a father, I would have told them to screw themselves in the meeting and just walked out.

Originally Posted by ashm70

Sorry for the profanity, I am in a bad state right now... I am sooo tempted to just walk today. If I were single and not a father, I would have told them to screw themselves in the meeting and just walked out.

I know where you are in terms of feelings. But whatever you do... wait a few days. Your mind will clear a lot after a few days. Dont do anything until you wait a few days and think it over.

Let me guess, they got themselves onto a list of the 100 Best Employers somewhere?

One of the areas I work on is so-called "employee engagement". Most of the consultng firms and empoyers who talk a pretty good game about such matters wouldn't know it if it bit them on the scrotum and drew blood. Seriously. Most contemorary models of what induces employees to give their all miss out on some key areas like that which you describe. Just exactly what would be your incentive now to do a decent job? Why would you not mis-train your replacement just to get even? What would make you feel bad about coughing a bit on the phone and calling in sick with, um, H1N1 (yeah...THAT's the ticket!)?

A wonderful paper by Stanford University management expert Jeffrey Pfeffer called "Why the war for talent is harmful to your organization's health" outlines the many ways in which bringing in so-called "top talent" from outside the organization (and totally ignoring the talent within) can gut employee motivation. Management has to give you an answer to the question "Why bother?". And if they can't, they're in deeper trouble than they realize.

You have every right to be bitter. They hired you because you're good. They asked you to train someone because you know what you're doing. And now they want you to read some lines ftrom "Deliverance" (something about bending over and squealing like a pig).

But then finding people in the IT world who have the technical savvy AND people skills to manage has generally always been a very tough row to hoe. Quite often, asking IT managers to make sensitive considerate decisions is asking them to step beyond the perimeter of their expertise. If there is any consolation, it's tactics like that which will have the management team in that company standing in line behind you at a Service Canada outlet in short order. F*** them and the MBA they rode in with. The horse meant no harm, so leave them out of the picture.

Originally Posted by GuitarsCanada

I know where you are in terms of feelings. But whatever you do... wait a few days. Your mind will clear a lot after a few days. Dont do anything until you wait a few days and think it over.

+1 -- maybe there's a CIO offer waiting in the wings for you?

Originally Posted by mhammer

Let me guess, they got themselves onto a list of the 100 Best Employers somewhere?

One of the areas I work on is so-called "employee engagement". Most of the consultng firms and empoyers who talk a pretty good game about such matters wouldn't know it if it bit them on the scrotum and drew blood. Seriously. Most contemorary models of what induces employees to give their all miss out on some key areas like that which you describe. Just exactly what would be your incentive now to do a decent job? Why would you not mis-train your replacement just to get even? What would make you feel bad about coughing a bit on the phone and calling in sick with, um, H1N1 (yeah...THAT's the ticket!)?

A wonderful paper by Stanford University management expert Jeffrey Pfeffer called "Why the war for talent is harmful to your organization's health" outlines the many ways in which bringing in so-called "top talent" from outside the organization (and totally ignoring the talent within) can gut employee motivation. Management has to give you an answer to the question "Why bother?". And if they can't, they're in deeper trouble than they realize.

You have every right to be bitter. They hired you because you're good. They asked you to train someone because you know what you're doing. And now they want you to read some lines ftrom "Deliverance" (something about bending over and squealing like a pig).

But then finding people in the IT world who have the technical savvy AND people skills to manage has generally always been a very tough row to hoe. Quite often, asking IT managers to make sensitive considerate decisions is asking them to step beyond the perimeter of their expertise. If there is any consolation, it's tactics like that which will have the management team in that company standing in line behind you at a Service Canada outlet in short order. F*** them and the MBA they rode in with. The horse meant no harm, so leave them out of the picture.

Mark, I've been showing this video to anyone at my office who'll listen:

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html

Seen it? What do you think? I think money, specifically bonuses, makes people in my industry (semiconductors) stupid. Everyone is afraid to think because every single idea you generate is tied to money in your pocket. No risks. No innovation. Just a meandering plod towards obsolescence.

Originally Posted by iaresee

+1 -- maybe there's a CIO offer waiting in the wings for you?

Not likely... I don't think I am old enough by the owner's standards...

Originally Posted by iaresee

Mark, I've been showing this video to anyone at my office who'll listen:

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html

Seen it? What do you think? I think money, specifically bonuses, makes people in my industry (semiconductors) stupid. Everyone is afraid to think because every single idea you generate is tied to money in your pocket. No risks. No innovation. Just a meandering plod towards obsolescence.

I can't look at the video from here, but I'll take a gander once I get home. In the meantime, I encourage one and all to read this very prophetic article by Malcolm Gladwell: http://www.gladwell.com/pdf/talent.pdf It outlines the HR approach adopted by Enron and Worldcom, as advocated by the management consulting firm of McKinsey and Co, in the few years before their downfall. Putzes. Unfortunately, what Gladwell describes is more contagious than H1N1.