Shining a light into the dark
November 8, 2011 7:07 AM Subscribe
How do you cope and work effectively in an office culture where poor communication is rife? I'm so frustrated.
I work in a large public sector body where communication between departments is not the greatest. Even communication within departments is not that great. What's more, there is a high degree of staff turnover and in some cases (such as mine) there is little-to-no handover between people so essentially when someone leaves there is a high chance that they will take their knowledge with them. (No, these guys have never heard of handover notes.)
I am a very linear person. I do not thrive on uncertainty. I like to know things. This kind of culture I find very frustrating. As far as it's within my power, I attempt to communicate clearly, keep all emails, include everyone involved with the project, etc... but there's only so much you can do and every so often, shit goes down because I haven't done something and the only reason why is that I didn't know it had to be done or that I was the person who needed to do it. (of course it's not just me who occasionally messes up this way. It's endemic to the organisation.) This happened again today and it is from the frustration born from that that I am writing this question. I am a good worker. I don't like fucking up. But it seems like that kind of thing is inevitable when I simply don't know what I need to know.
My boss is aware of this problem but he is unable to help as he often suffers from the same knowledge gaps. At most he can tell me "You need to speak to X in the Y department" which is sometimes but not always helpful. (I've often received emails saying some variant of "Uh... I don't know anything about this, why are you asking me?") Although he is my boss he is often pretty uninvolved with my day-to-day activities, which involve a lot of getting in touch with different departments to get different projects off the ground.
So yeah. I feel like I had a specific question when I started out but it has degenerated into a rant because I am so frustrated.
How do you stay calm, productive, and clear about your priorities in an atmosphere which is often confusing and the communication is so very, very terrible? I know that I, as a relatively junior employee in a random department, can do little to fix the global culture of muddling along that seems to afflict my organisation. But there must be some way I can clarify my own work and muddle along less?
I work in a large public sector body where communication between departments is not the greatest. Even communication within departments is not that great. What's more, there is a high degree of staff turnover and in some cases (such as mine) there is little-to-no handover between people so essentially when someone leaves there is a high chance that they will take their knowledge with them. (No, these guys have never heard of handover notes.)
I am a very linear person. I do not thrive on uncertainty. I like to know things. This kind of culture I find very frustrating. As far as it's within my power, I attempt to communicate clearly, keep all emails, include everyone involved with the project, etc... but there's only so much you can do and every so often, shit goes down because I haven't done something and the only reason why is that I didn't know it had to be done or that I was the person who needed to do it. (of course it's not just me who occasionally messes up this way. It's endemic to the organisation.) This happened again today and it is from the frustration born from that that I am writing this question. I am a good worker. I don't like fucking up. But it seems like that kind of thing is inevitable when I simply don't know what I need to know.
My boss is aware of this problem but he is unable to help as he often suffers from the same knowledge gaps. At most he can tell me "You need to speak to X in the Y department" which is sometimes but not always helpful. (I've often received emails saying some variant of "Uh... I don't know anything about this, why are you asking me?") Although he is my boss he is often pretty uninvolved with my day-to-day activities, which involve a lot of getting in touch with different departments to get different projects off the ground.
So yeah. I feel like I had a specific question when I started out but it has degenerated into a rant because I am so frustrated.
How do you stay calm, productive, and clear about your priorities in an atmosphere which is often confusing and the communication is so very, very terrible? I know that I, as a relatively junior employee in a random department, can do little to fix the global culture of muddling along that seems to afflict my organisation. But there must be some way I can clarify my own work and muddle along less?
Best answer: Considering the clash between your personality and the office culture, I think you're going to be joining the ranks of the turned-over one way or another. In the meanwhile, find something you can burrow into that you will be good at. And by "good at" I mean indispendisbly good at. For every fuckup that falls on your head despite your best efforts, have something you can fall back on that everyone relies on. Is there some process you can own, refine and become the guy at the office people rely to make sure it works right? Let that be your saving grace.
posted by griphus at 7:23 AM on November 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by griphus at 7:23 AM on November 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: It sounds like you do a lot of your communicating via email. This is often not the best way to deal with other people. Call them on the phone, or better yet, meet with them face to face. The responders who indicate that your junior position makes it so that you have no power to change the organization's culture are correct. Hell, even if you were a senior person your ability to change an organization's culture is limited.
posted by dfriedman at 7:31 AM on November 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by dfriedman at 7:31 AM on November 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I had to double check that you weren't at my old job, because this all sounds familiar.
What you need to do is find the person in each department who can help you or, better, find the person in each department that knows what's going on and knows where the bodies are buried. Sometimes this is the person in charge of the department. Sometimes it's the guy in the corner everyone ignores. Forget org charts. Who can actually get things done for you? They need to be your new best friends.
To CYA, you also need to document everything you were told and by whom. Sometimes this will involve taking ridiculous steps like walking to their desk to make them answer an email, working out an answer to your email, then making them email it back. Pretend you're going to have to prove everything in a court of law.
And start looking for another job, because you will not change the culture at this place by your lonesome.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 7:32 AM on November 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
What you need to do is find the person in each department who can help you or, better, find the person in each department that knows what's going on and knows where the bodies are buried. Sometimes this is the person in charge of the department. Sometimes it's the guy in the corner everyone ignores. Forget org charts. Who can actually get things done for you? They need to be your new best friends.
To CYA, you also need to document everything you were told and by whom. Sometimes this will involve taking ridiculous steps like walking to their desk to make them answer an email, working out an answer to your email, then making them email it back. Pretend you're going to have to prove everything in a court of law.
And start looking for another job, because you will not change the culture at this place by your lonesome.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 7:32 AM on November 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
I mean, that's the deal with the public sector, isn't it? You really don't have any power to effect any change because of your position and even if you were higher-up, I'm not sure how you could really effect a culture change in something that's so baked into the DNA of government. Honestly, I just think that's the nature of the place you work.
posted by inturnaround at 7:33 AM on November 8, 2011
posted by inturnaround at 7:33 AM on November 8, 2011
Best answer: Often, institutions with dysfunctional "official" communication cultures run primarily on relationships, i.e. you don't get things done because other people are doing their jobs appropriately, you get things done by being friendly with others and knowing who to call when the official channels aren't working properly (which may be pretty much all the time). So one strategy is to make yourself as much of a social hub as possible, so your network of people willing to help get you relevant information increases. It is especially helpful to have contacts outside your department.
Another strategy is to create your own structure by checking in regularly with the other people who work on projects with you. As a junior person, in order to avoid coming across as as pushy, you may want to blame this on your boss, who if he is aware of the problem may be very happy to help. So you would on, say, a weekly basis, send out an email to the folks on your team saying, "I have a meeting with Boss about X project tomorrow, please send me your updates including any action items for us by the end of the day," and then follow up with a phone call or another email to the people who don't reply.
posted by unsub at 7:37 AM on November 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
Another strategy is to create your own structure by checking in regularly with the other people who work on projects with you. As a junior person, in order to avoid coming across as as pushy, you may want to blame this on your boss, who if he is aware of the problem may be very happy to help. So you would on, say, a weekly basis, send out an email to the folks on your team saying, "I have a meeting with Boss about X project tomorrow, please send me your updates including any action items for us by the end of the day," and then follow up with a phone call or another email to the people who don't reply.
posted by unsub at 7:37 AM on November 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
Ghostride the Whip has it exactly right. You can't change the culture; you have to figure out how to work within it. God knows that's frustrating ... but maybe you can try to see it as a challenge and part of your job, as opposed to a burden cast in your path. If you learn how to function better in this environment, you'll really have learned an important skill.
posted by yarly at 7:39 AM on November 8, 2011
posted by yarly at 7:39 AM on November 8, 2011
Best answer: If at all possible, try to get facetime with people. Not a "meeting." Just swing by their desk - "hi! Are you Bob? I'm Ziggy, thought I'd say hi since we might be crossing paths on this TPS thing!" Make it a habit; get to know people. This is the only thing that works, in my experience. Once they know you personally, people are less comfortable blowing off your email; they are also more ready to give small bits of input if that's all they have ready. Good luck, I feel your pain.
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:39 AM on November 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:39 AM on November 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: That getting to know people thing is a lot harder if you are not in the same building. If you have any internal testing tools, or if folks in your group use Google talk or tweet, jump on that bandwagon.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 8:22 AM on November 8, 2011
posted by Lesser Shrew at 8:22 AM on November 8, 2011
T E X T I N G tools.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 8:23 AM on November 8, 2011
posted by Lesser Shrew at 8:23 AM on November 8, 2011
Best answer: I have worked in this type of organization and I am also a person who really hates screwing up. My strategy for dealing with it was making friends with EVERYONE so I generally knew what was going on with each group at any given time. Another strategy was asking lots of questions, documenting responsibilities, and over-communicating. That definitely did not fix the issue where things didn't get done, but it was clear documentation that it was not my fault.
Ultimately, however, I had to leave that job. It was not the type of environment I felt like I could thrive in and it was soul-sucking for me in a lot of ways (in no small part because my manager was one of the key bad communicators).
posted by Kimberly at 8:30 AM on November 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
Ultimately, however, I had to leave that job. It was not the type of environment I felt like I could thrive in and it was soul-sucking for me in a lot of ways (in no small part because my manager was one of the key bad communicators).
posted by Kimberly at 8:30 AM on November 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
My strategy for dealing with it was making friends with EVERYONE so I generally knew what was going on with each group at any given time.
Oh, yes, this is a big deal in a place where getting information through official channels is a pointless waste of time. Be friendly with everyone, do favors and when it comes time for you to get information you need, people won't need much cajoling to give it to you without going through official channels. Among others, executive assistants to Important People are great to have on your side because they have access to basically everything.
posted by griphus at 8:34 AM on November 8, 2011
Oh, yes, this is a big deal in a place where getting information through official channels is a pointless waste of time. Be friendly with everyone, do favors and when it comes time for you to get information you need, people won't need much cajoling to give it to you without going through official channels. Among others, executive assistants to Important People are great to have on your side because they have access to basically everything.
posted by griphus at 8:34 AM on November 8, 2011
Response by poster: Thank you very much for your help, everyone. I guess I will have to make more effort to go around to the different buildings where all the other departments are housed to say hello. Hopeful that that will help. Great advice but also, I feel much less alone now, so thank you very much for the support!
posted by Ziggy500 at 8:37 AM on November 8, 2011
posted by Ziggy500 at 8:37 AM on November 8, 2011
> I mean, that's the deal with the public sector, isn't it?
Why would this issue be limited to the public sector?
posted by dgeiser13 at 8:41 AM on November 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Why would this issue be limited to the public sector?
posted by dgeiser13 at 8:41 AM on November 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'll give you a practical answer though I won't guarantee it will work.
Look at your own job. If you were to leave tomorrow would the next person know all your tasks? Start by documenting those and keep that binder in a prominent place on your desk.
Next, based on your best guess, identify the person whose tasks might become yours if they were to leave. Ask your boss if you can job-shadow or cross-train with that person. Point out how you or s/he might be taking vacation in the next month and you want to be prepared. Show that person your binder. Ask them all kinds of questions about their tasks and make a binder for their job. Try to get them on board for the next task...
At your next staff meeting mention how you've compiled these binders, get the other person to back you up on how great it is and how easy life now is. Ask your boss if you can use X hours per week to sit with each person on the team to document their tasks.
Don't forget to set up followup reviews every 6-12 months.
posted by CathyG at 10:07 AM on November 8, 2011
Look at your own job. If you were to leave tomorrow would the next person know all your tasks? Start by documenting those and keep that binder in a prominent place on your desk.
Next, based on your best guess, identify the person whose tasks might become yours if they were to leave. Ask your boss if you can job-shadow or cross-train with that person. Point out how you or s/he might be taking vacation in the next month and you want to be prepared. Show that person your binder. Ask them all kinds of questions about their tasks and make a binder for their job. Try to get them on board for the next task...
At your next staff meeting mention how you've compiled these binders, get the other person to back you up on how great it is and how easy life now is. Ask your boss if you can use X hours per week to sit with each person on the team to document their tasks.
Don't forget to set up followup reviews every 6-12 months.
posted by CathyG at 10:07 AM on November 8, 2011
Leave. This will only drive you insane. It's all downhill from here.
posted by mleigh at 11:17 AM on November 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by mleigh at 11:17 AM on November 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
that leaves you with two choices. one of them is to suck it up, accept the shortcomings of this place and shine by being a positive example for how things should be run and the other is to dust off the resume.
posted by krautland at 7:23 AM on November 8, 2011 [1 favorite]