Proper Chain Of Command

[dadeedwain]

Below is a link about a janitor in Canada who was suspended for not going through the proper channels with a complaint he had. The only reason I'm posting it is I had a similar situation last week.

For the past three years there have been problems during the winter months with the state and county snow plow drivers leaving large piles of ice and snow on the walks making it difficult to remove by the attendants.

In the past I've complained to the other three supervisors I've had and that's as far as it went. So in order to get a handle on the problem before the first snowfall instead of telling my current supervisor because I know the results would be the same as in the past I emailed the operations manager instead.

A few days later I got an answer from the operations manager thanking me for my email and that he would try to make it out there with coffee and we'd talk about it.

I then get a phone call from my supervisor telling me he was forwarded the email I sent and I was not suppose to be emailing the operations manager and that I didn't go through the "chain of command" and it made him look bad.

He wasn't mad or didn't yell at me or anything but just wanted me to go through him first. My problem with that is over the weekend there was some damage done in a restroom, which I discovered when I got there Monday morning.

Someone had kicked the crap out of two 9" t-paper holders so I called the boss after the police came out to tell him about it and for him to remind the State maintenance guy to bring a couple new t-paper holders out so I could replace them. The maintenance guy came out a few days later and I ask him if he had the new t-paper holders and he didn't have a clue as to what I was talking about because my boss never told him.

So there is my chain of command, which is how it works 99.999% of the time. I'd like to keep doing things my way because I can usually get results faster but after reading the story I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place.

http://cmmonline.com/news.asp?N_ID=73283

[NauvooSaint]

I read the article. As you can tell the newspapers picked-up on this case of injustice. I don't know what the laws are in Canada in such a case or if this was during the custodian's probation period in the positiion. If there was no written company policy there may be a potential of a lawsuit. It's very unjust for someone to be held accountable and "fired" for something they were never informed of. If anything....a warning with instruction on proper procedure in the future. It makes me wonder if there may have been some illegal smuggling going on and the custodian unknowingly blew the lid off.

Your situation:

You might begin documenting conversations you have with your supervisor when similiar information is exchanged & supervisor results. I would first write down what had occurred in the past up to this point. If appropriate & possible in your case, if you can send such information by company email.

I send a report via school email to the lead custodian whenever something unusual occurs, a repair/work order is needed or situations happen on my shift. I believe I have nearly every one saved since I started my position. (also copied them to a file) Once I've relayed something this way, I've done my job of following the chain of command & it's now the responsibility of the next individual to do their job. It's not my job to have to remind that individual either, but you may choose to do so. You might privately discuss with the operations manager what has occurred in the past & that you desire to follow the proper channels....if they would be open to allowing you to either send a CC (carbon copy) or a BCC (blind carbon copy) to them if you have an important issue. In the first case, you are still following the chain of command w/added support of the awareness of the OM. In the second case, you are doing the same thing, but your supervisor doesn't know his boss is aware & maybe watching his response to the situation.

This has worked well for me in that there have been times when a complaint has come up a few months down the road about a needed repair or important issue not resolved. I can prove I did my part in notifying the lead or supervisor & they must explain why it was not taken care of. There is no he said/she said, etc.

Congratulations on your future promotion if your supervisor continues to drop the ball.

Regards,

Bradley.

[dogbutt]

I think the phrase "Damned if you do and damned if you don't" fits here very well. But not just here but in our field in general. The best way that I personally handle these thing is to keep in mind that I am still leaving at 3:00pm. If they would pile up snow or tell me of a BIG set up that should have been done. I just go at it and work up to 3:00pm weather its a job situation that is or was preventable or just plain tough for one person, I'll just go at it with a smile (weather real or fake) until it's time to leave. I know that a walk with plowed snow on it (specially after you cleaned it) is irritating but hey just put in your time and go home. It's better then being unemployed, right?