is it acceptable for an employer to raise targets, and then discipline those that fail.?

Question

hi. my employer has consistantly raised my targets up to a point where i can no longer keep up.

most of my peers have managed to make their targets, but i just couldnt. i was then given an official warning. the next month, because i was rushing my work, my reject rate went up, i was then given a written warning for that. one of my peers had similar results but wasnt disciplined at all.

is this acceptable? (just to fill you in, i resigned over this matter and other matters too.)

Answer 1

If "most of your peers" have managed to make their targets, maybe you were not right for this job!

If you can not "make the grade" while others are, you should look at yourself! What are you doing different from those who are making the grade?

Taking extended breaks? Not approaching customers in a timely fashion? Do others pay more attention to their job than you do?

If your "reject rate" went up ... that tells me you are in manufacturing ... What are the causes of the rejects? Are raw materials the problem? Could you be assembling the product wrong?

Management must be able to set the "minimum standard" for employees, if you can't make the grade you have two choices, learn to do your job better, or move on!

If you are looking for an easy answer ... I don't have one! If you are in manufacturing, your output can be affected by departments "upstream" of yours ... were they giving you acceptable product to start with? Could the defects affecting your defect rate have been caused by processes before yours?

If you were in an assembly line production configuration, your output (and reject rate) may have been affected by processes far removed from your station or control! Your coworkers might have been "fed" from a different line, and therefore, not affected.

Maybe your peer (who had similar results) documented the "bad" product they received, and was able to prove that their process had no affect on the failure.

Too many questions, not enough answers!

In my current job (rental agent for a nationally known car rental agency) I am totally dependant on my service attendant for my "product" (cars for rental), if he/she does their job correctly, my job is not too bad. If they slack off (don't produce an acceptable product, or don't produce the cars I need to fill the needs of the known demand) my job gets a lot more difficult! "Rejects" (busted reservations), "substandard performance" (customer takes the vehicle, but is not happy with the car (for type or cleanliness), all shows up as a "customer complaint" on MY record! How do I keep my job? I document EVERY customer complaint, noting the root cause (Car dirty, registration or inspection out of date, car damaged before rental, car not ready on time or far different from car reserved, etc). Do I still have to "eat a little crow"now and then for mistakes I make? You bet I do! But atleast I only have to answer for those mistakes I make (including not documenting mistakes from other employees). I'll take responsibility for my own mistakes, but I won't "fall on my sword" for other people's mistakes!

Since I do this, I only have to answer for those mistakes I make personally! I make mistakes, and pay for them, but I'll be danged if I'll pay for another man's slacking!

Answer 2

It important to set achievable goals. But goals should be set with the understanding that authority, responsibility, and accountability is given to an individual. If you are going to be held accountable, then you should have the authority to make the decisions that will fulfill the goals. If your manager is telling you when, what, where, and how and not giving you the authority to make modifications to make it work, then you should not be held accountable for the end results.

I work in the electrical industry. We make money by selling electricity. You can't generate more electricity that what your customers demand. If management had a goal to sell more electricity in July, and we have an unseasonably mild July, then the sales would drop off. The weather is beyond the control and the goal will not be met.

Sometimes poor management technique on goal setting is used as a tool to reduce the work force. The attempt is to keep the proper mix of sycophants and over achievers so you can have your ego massaged and still have someone take up the slack of the suck ups.