How do I get management of my small company to see how low morale is and do something about it?

September 28, 2009 3:35 PM

My company's management is driving us into the ground with their poor project ideas, and morale is really low. How do I get them to see what they're doing and hopefully make changes?

I work for a small (~30 people) tech firm based near a large city on the east coast. It's somewhat difficult to classify what we do, but basically if any company needs tech staff, we can provide it. We have good relations with a large telecom and most of our people are placed there. We also had a contract for a development project with the company, but that fell through recently during budget cuts on their end. Now that that contract is gone, we don't have any projects coming up. It's not all that surprising, then, that morale in the company is pretty low. We're also down around ten people from two years ago, and there hasn't been any indication that they want to start hiring again.

Part of the problem is our management. My boss gets these half-baked ideas, has us follow them for awhile, and then ends the project when it fails. The ideas he comes up with are fairly absurd and most of us roll our eyes at them, but we keep going with it because he pays us, and there's always the odd chance that one of them might actually work. They seem to be against venturing beyond this one telecom, which seems like a pretty ridiculous thing to do. A brief explanation of management: our company is "run" by our CEO, who is the daughter of the guy who really runs the show. The latter is who I refer to as my boss. She has stated several times that she would like to see the company go down a certain path, but it's pretty clear that she takes her marching orders from her father.

It's pretty amazing to me that management can't see how their business plan is destroying the company, and how we're all aware of that and how it drives down morale. And if they do see it, they're turning a blind eye to it for some reason. But I can't stand it anymore. When I started at the company, they welcomed me with open arms and made me feel like I was part of the family - and that's all gone now. I have ideas for projects that are considerably less ridiculous than what my boss conjures up, but I don't get responses to my emails.

So my question is: how do I bring all of these issues about the company to management's attention, and maybe make them do something? It's clearly rude and out of line to sit down with my boss and say, "Hey, your ideas are running us into the ground; why not try something new?" but I can't come up with anything else. Our CEO is marginally more approachable than her father, and I've thought about trying to sit down with her and try to get her to see things from our perspective, but I would think that to be really out of line. I don't really know the business side of things, so I'm not in a position of authority there. Has anyone else dealt with this sort of thing? Are there ways to appoach the subject?

Oh, and I don't want to leave the company. I'm part of a very capable team, and I like everyone in the company. I'm also somewhat cautious of starting a new job, with the economy still doing poorly. If I start new now and the new company goes belly up or they need to downsize, I'd be the first one out - and I don't have a lot of cash saved up.

posted by anonymous to work & money (13 comments total)

Management runs the company. If you don't like the way it's run, all you can do is quit or get fired. Then you can start your own company if you want. But it's not your company and you were hired to do what they want you to do.

Honestly, telling management that the way they're running the show stinks is a bridge burner and no good will come of it, even if you're right.
posted by anniecat at 3:50 PM on September 28 [3 favorites has favorites]

suggestion box?
anonymous letter?
posted by ArgentCorvid at 3:50 PM on September 28

Not trying to answer your whole question but: Are these half-baked projects taking time away from any real work? If they are, prioritize the real work above these projects if you have the authority to do that. If you don't have that authority, ask your boss which is more important, realwork or newproject. And document the time you spend on newproject so no one can claim you are not doing anything.

If they aren't taking you away from real work, then you should be happy they are giving you something to do instead of laying you off. That sounds harsh, but if you don't feel comfortable enough to give your real opinion about the merit of these projects it is probably because you know they would not value said opinion.
posted by soelo at 3:52 PM on September 28

I have ideas for projects that are considerably less ridiculous than what my boss conjures up, but I don't get responses to my emails.

Somehow I missed this line. So you have been volunteering ideas but have been ignored? If you feel you have been as vocal about them as you are willing to be, that is your answer. They don't want to hear it from you.
posted by soelo at 3:56 PM on September 28 [1 favorite has favorites]

Has the quality of the projects declined since you started the company? Is less money coming in?
It is possible that management think this is the perfect time to innovate and try new things. Strategically not many companies are able to do this in the current economy.

The overall feeling I got from your post is not that the projects are particulary bad - more that you are feeling less valued as an employee.

Option 1:
Prove management are going in the wrong direction, thus making them look stupid.

Potential Result: Get fired OR get your strategy / ideas stolen from you and then fired.


Option 2:
Log how much time / resources you are using on these projects. Bring this up each quarter in the form of a brief report to your line manager. The focus of the report should be cost saving / forecasting.

Potential Result: If done well this will highlight the issues without being confrontational.


Option 3: Complete the half-baked projects as quickly as possible and then work on your ideas.

Potential Result: loads!
posted by errspy at 4:09 PM on September 28

Dumb management is hard to avoid in the IT industry... but at least one wants them to bring in business. Sounds hopeless to me; find a better job. I know you don't want to, but would it really be better to be laid off suddenly in six months rather than search for a new job now while you still have a paycheck?
posted by zompist at 4:15 PM on September 28

Too many ideas suffer, and too many businesses continue with them, because there's no clear way to tell whether they succeeded, or to what degree. So at every meeting at which a new idea is presented, ask how much time you should allot to it and how success will be measured, and when.

Be kind, but also hold to that metric, so you can politely mention "It's (October) now, and we haven't seen any (increase in business) from (x), so is that over now?" or whatever the stated goal was.

Doing this in a nice, organized way a few times might encourage your managers to think in terms of measurable gain, which will help everyone. It makes you look a bit of an anal worrier or over-planner, but that isn't a bad thing.

I also agree that you don't want to complain about or "show up" management. You're their labor, and they have the right to make bad decisions. It's their business.
posted by rokusan at 4:20 PM on September 28

My one functional suggestion is to just implement one of your ideas without getting permission first. Show your fantastic results. That will get their attention. Sending emails to the boss and waiting for them to jump on your ideas never got anyone anywhere, I don't think. You've got to take some initiative. DO something, SHOW that it's better, and you should get a different reaction. This is risky. You have to take an "ask for forgiveness not permission" approach. And it might just be something small. But you ought to be able to find something, even modest, where you can demonstrate your superior ideas. Until you do that, why should they listen to you? Basically: bring it. Sneak something under the radar. You can do it.

Couple of things to consider:

It's not always about who's smarter. Sometimes you work for smart people you don't see eye-to-eye with, and it's still a frustrating mess. You say you don't want to leave the company, but why do you want to work for people who don't see things in remotely the same way as you? Trust me, you'll be happier with more like-minded people, and you'll find that they will be more willing to give you authority.

If you truly believe these people are destroying the business model and driving the company into the ground, you should be trying to find a new job, before you are laid off. I don't understand your reluctance to change jobs into some company that might fail. It sounds like you KNOW your current company is going to be destroyed, and your job will be gone. Either you're exaggerating their idiocy, or you're making an illogical choice to continue working for idiots without a safety net.
posted by scarabic at 5:13 PM on September 28 [4 favorites has favorites]

Well, one suggestion is: Don't pitch your ideas in email if you don't have to. Do it face to face.

The other is: look for another job.
posted by Good Brain at 5:37 PM on September 28

YOu need to meet with your boss and get her to take your good idea as her own and run with it. It sounds like they don't want to give up credit or something so let them have credit, still think they are running the show and let them be.

Or suck it up.

Or quit.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 6:06 PM on September 28

In my experience, bad morale is of no concern to management. If top management is beholden in a family way to the person/people who hold the real power, other managers aren't going to be able to do anything for your proposed mutiny. If management at large can't do anything, saying anything in an identifiable way will only put your neck on the chopping block.

I know it sucks to like a company and to watch it turn to shit, I quit one about 5 years ago, but pretty much the only thing you can do is quit and try to take as many people with you as you can, rebuilding your teams and the coworker paradise you like so much at this place. Even then it's no guarantee that the company will change for those who remain, since much human history has taught us that people will ride their own egos straight into the shitter. Consider it a personal growth lesson in the inhumanity of business. Your emotions here, while admirable, are worthless. Sad but true.

That said, try the secret-project method outlined above for a couple of iterations. If they won't cotton to an idea that is already (or mostly) built, then you'll know how they feel about your good ideas even when they are just sitting there, working, and waiting to be used.
posted by rhizome at 6:25 PM on September 28

Look, management seems like this high-falutin' badge that the people wear, but a 30-person company? By almost any definition that's small. You've been there for a couple of years, and you said it was familiar at one point.

Go the the CEO and talk to her. Say "Can I talk to you for a few minutes? I have some concerns about how the business is doing." Chances are pretty good she's a human being and can have a conversation as an adult. Don't say "I think you're all idiots", say that you're interested in how the business is doing and that you're concerned because you see all these projects come and go without any wins.

The worst thing that can happen is that you will lose your job, and that would suck. But you'll get another one, eventually, especially if you're good at what you do and frankly they probably don't want to go through all the bullshit of replacing someone that's good at their job and has been around for a couple of years. Assuming you are.

Maybe they can't see that they're destroying the company because they're up to their necks in the bullshit of managing a 30-person company. It's hard to know how above the water they are but maybe these are wild attempts to stay there. Or the company's well off and interested in experimenting with crazy ideas because it keeps their staff going, and maybe one of them will pay off. Frankly, from what little you've said, I think the latter is the more likely. They're experimenting, looking for a big win.

In that environment especially (but in almost any) Scarabic's "DO something" advice is bang-on. You do something, on your own time, and prove that it's better than what they're currently doing. Bring it to them and say "Here's what I've got, it's really cool and I'd love to do it with the company" and maybe they'll dedicate the resources to the next crazy idea to yours. Or maybe they'll blow you off, but if it's a good idea you'll still have your implementation of it and maybe you can walk.

And you should dust your resume off and check out the local job boards. You should be doing this regularly. There is always a chance they'll kick your ass out, or they'll shutter the doors tomorrow, or the telecom will blow them off next week.
posted by cCranium at 6:31 PM on September 28

It is true, it’s their ship to sink. That said, is the CEO doing meetings with everyone attendance? If not, is this something you could offer up? Get everyone together on a weekly basis to discuss the situation and throw ideas around? Perhaps over pizza and/or hoagies? What we’re doing right, what could we be doing better on? (note I didn’t say “what we’re doing wrong”)

As long as the tenor of the group conversation is genuinely positive and constructive, you will go far. I’d be willing to bet that the CEO is seriously feeling the magnitude of her situation.

When the lines of communication are open you will find opportunities to discuss matters in spontaneous face-to-face, one-on-one’s with her. Those have the potential to be golden moments which produce a lot of golden nuggets for both of you - you get insights into what’s going on in her head, she gets insights from you on how to potentially improve the situation. You might become more comfortable with her at the helm. From the sounds of it, you’ve got nothing to loose.
posted by jamesalbert at 6:49 PM on September 28