Monday, March 31, 2014

Add collector to my job title

I have no problem helping other departments with accounts that we share but I do take issue with the fact that I'm being asked to get my customers to send something in writing saying they will actually pay a past due invoice before we can ask the collectors to do their jobs, and collect.

I've spent hours researching these unpaid invoices for them and already given them detailed information about why each invoice balance is valid, and they have done nothing. Now, these balances are reflected on a report making it appear that I have failed to do my part and respond to these issues.

To add insult to injury, it's my own boss telling me to do this. I don't believe she clearly understands anything about what we do on a daily basis. Nor does she have an inkling of how much push back we get from other departments that don't want to do their fair share.

Unfortunately, there's no reasoning with her and she doesn't understand where we are coming from. It's like beating your head against a brick wall!

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

We can't all be #1

When I was a kid, there were rewards for doing better than your peers. Prizes for being the best. Consequences if you didn't do so hot. These days, everyone has to be a winner because nobody wants to make a kid feel bad for not being the best.


Welcome to life! It's time for a reality check! You can't be the best at everything. 

Sometimes you can't be the best at anything. That's what life is about and this sense of entitlement and false sense of success has got to stop!

Even employers display this mentality in so many ways:

- Sending out blanket emails rather than addressing issues directly with the employee in question
- Refusing to provide advancement goals to employees that want to improve
- Sweeping things under the rug by giving all the "screw ups" to one employee to "fix"
- Promoting all employees at the same time, without true validation of achievement

I've tried everything I can to expand my knowledge and get to the next level of my position...and I DID IT; however, it means nothing when you find out that everyone else also got promoted at the same time. In addition, I'm flabbergasted by the fact that I got promoted by only "earning" an overall ranking of MEETS EXPECTATIONS on my annual review.

How can that be? Are we again rewarding everyone to keep from upsetting anyone that might be struggling? Clearly we aren't addressing issues so the mistakes can be corrected, nor are we coaching our employees so we can pick out those with leadership potential and promote where appropriate. It's much easier to promote everyone and move on. Especially when there's nobody paying attention enough to question it.

We can't all be #1. We can't all be the best. You have to have leaders and followers in your company or you will never get anything done. Coach your people. Watch what they are doing. Interact with them and listen to their ideas, their wishes, their goals, etc.

You should NEVER promote based on a ranking of meets expectations. If that's the best I can do, maybe I don't belong here at all! If all I can do is meet expectations, I have no business being a leader for anyone so DO NOT PROMOTE ME!