What cheeses me off

[Denali]

I've seen a number of people claim they are being bullied when actual poor work performance is being addressed. Sadly iCare have a policy to accept every claim and then sort it out

 

[downgraded]

Currently transiting terminals and it's people, often men and often from a particular area or culture, that make this disgusting hocking nasal sound when in public

Yet some of these cultures revile at the western habit of blowing one's nose, and others will just spend the entire day sniffing/snorting what they choose not to clear. I'm not keen on any being done to excess.

 

[Quickstatus]

Whereas slurping when eating is considered de riguer

 

[Denali]

Currently cheesed off by the rice I was just served

 

[Flashback]

WCMO .. heading to Senegal with friends and flights not selling as they show. Small win though, some fiddling on routing we are actually saving money flying back into London (via MAD), rather than a return back to MAD only.

Anyway, single purchase was £223 return. 2x bumps up to £247 per pax. OK, book 1x at 223 and then book the next. Nope, now saying the MAD-LGW flight isn't available. Weird. Do a search on IB for that flight only ... doesn't come up. Search for the same on BA, the IB flight shows up fine and for sale. What the ...

 

[anat0l]

Currently cheesed off by the rice I was just served

That is ketupat, or compressed rice cakes, which is a typical accompaniment with satay (or rather, becoming less typical now). It's typically eaten like you would rice with the satay, or just exclusively with the satay sauce (like chip and dip). When sold, they are usually provided in cubed or diamond shapes.

I believe traditionally they were cooked by wrapping in leaves (e.g. banana leaves) and shaped larger like small pyramids (similar to the Chinese "zong zi" wrapped glutinous rice).

I can't remember ever being served it with satay served on SQ. I think MH serves it (or used to).

 

[Quickstatus]

they were cooked by wrapping in leaves (e.g. banana leaves)

Wrapped in woven coconut or palm leaf strands, cooked and cut into cubes.
Served cold.

The woven containers does not expand and is a tight container so it compresses the rice because there is no space for the expanding rice. (Rice expands when it is cooked)

 

[MEL_Traveller]

WCMO ... staff that work for you.

You take great care in identifying the role and responsibilities of the position, put up a decently worded and self-explaining ad, filter resumes, talk to who you think are the right people, hire someone from that pool, talk to *everyone* that applied, regardless of they are successful or not and explain why the decision was made etc - hate ghosting applicants. I'm certain people would appreciate at least a phone call that explains why they were unsuccessful and if they like a feedback that could potentially help them land their next role.

The new staff starts - promises the world, sells themselves really well and then massively under delivers. The first few weeks are considered "finding their feet", "learning the tips and tricks of the trade" etc etc. Fair enough, we have all been new starters at some point in our lives and almost at every new job, so totally understandable and fully supported. Fully ACK that most people oversell themselves in interviews, but in this instance it seems like we might have been taken on a ride!

A few months in, the staffer (who is no longer a new starter) are still unreliable - to even do a simple thing such as check emails at regular intervals, answer customer phone calls without missing the calls, or if a call is missed, call the customer back in a prompt fashion, basic comms stuff - be nice to customers, say nicer things, but be firm when customers tend to ask about things that are against policy, etc etc. But, nah ... can't do simple things. They seem to be good at what they do, but anything else, they need massive hand-holding. But they are unable to ask for help! Even if help is offered, they are unable to accept it.

And, when constructive feedback is given, it is considered as an attack and then threatens to quit. Far out! It is challenging being an employer/manager.

And this is a remote role - so the whole arrangement is based on trust, skill, experience and basically getting the job done. The teams are geographically dispersed and the whole things relies on everyone doing their fair share and that's all. No additional weight pulling required.

All we ask is, just do the job you are hired for. Can't imagine how/why this feels like too much to ask! #RantOver

Interesting to hear how performance turned out compared to reference checks? Immediate previous manager and at least one other.

Although… not uncommon to get a good reference from a previous manager looking to offload a staff member

 

[Flashback]

Interesting to hear how performance turned out compared to reference checks? Immediate previous manager and at least one other.

Although… not uncommon to get a good reference from a previous manager looking to offload a staff member

Yeah, and when they threaten to quit... I'd egg them on. Go on, quit then! Problem solved.

 

[anat0l]

WCMO ... staff that work for you.

I've just started a new job after about six months off. Probably only really ramped up the applications in earnest within the previous six weeks, to be honest.

talk to *everyone* that applied, regardless of they are successful or not and explain why the decision was made etc - hate ghosting applicants. I'm certain people would appreciate at least a phone call that explains why they were unsuccessful and if they like a feedback that could potentially help them land their next role.

You are incredibly generous (whether that is a personal trait / gesture or one mandated by your company / section of your company).

Something that was annoying was when employers did not get back on an application at all. Many of them were lodged through bespoke online portals, so obviously they have proper systems (probably with alerts etc. and dashboards) to see pending applications and statuses. But no, the application status never changed from "submitted" or similar.

Reading a job ad and seeing something like, "Only successfully shortlisted applicants will be contacted", or "If you do not hear from us within six weeks, you may assume you have been unsuccessful", is pretty disheartening. If I'm not successful, so be it - even an automated / bulk mailed message to that effect would suffice.

I realise that when you are applying to work for an organisation, that organisation owes you realistically nothing (except in rare cases where you actually have highly competitive services to offer). After all, they are looking for any reason to make their job easier to cut down the list of applicants to a shortlist; make a complaint and one may not just be off the list, but could be blackballed around town, too. Combined with the fact that it's incredibly much more time efficient, I get why organisations don't feel obliged at all to give any sort of response to applications or EOIs. As an honest applicant who puts in an honest application, it still hurts a bit, though.

 

[anat0l]

Hear you @Ade
Daughter Flyfrequently has had this issue with the last 4 assistants she has hired
Then they look all sad and can't work out why they haven't passed their 6 month probation period!

How insufficient were they to not pass probation? That's 2 years of wasted person-hours... quite a lot of time to be unlucky or get it all wrong!

 

[RooFlyer]

When I was investment banking M&A in Sydney, one day the boss from London flew in and 'shot' everyone (fired everyone - they closed down the Australian office). Now, this isn't necessarily a bad thing - retrenchment packages are usually generous and in the 1990s it was easy to get another job for someone in my sector and experience.

So, no drama. But for the 'kids' in the office, it was a bit traumatic, being fired. Hit a couple of them hard, wondering what they had done wrong etc. One young bloke who worked for me was particularly good at his job (mainly grunt work, but better skills means he accomplished the work faster). So I decided to make some calls to see if I could get him another job. Couple of mates agreed to interview him and one made a appointment quickly and I sent along a good reference to them all.

Day after the interview, mate called me and asked why the guy didn't show. Answer, I found out, is that he went skiing with mates - got some cheap deal at Perisher.

Next round of e-mails was to formally withdraw my reference I had given (not giving the actual reason, just saying I could not longer stand by what I had written); mates were pretty shocked, and obviously all the interviews were withdrawn. I also got a few calls from head-hunters and other businesses asking me for a reference for the young bloke. I declined, saying I could only give a negative reference.

Don't know what happened to him but I expect he got a job somewhere.

And I got retrenched once more , then set up my own business.

 

[Quickstatus]

Answer, I found out, is that he went skiing with mates - got some cheap deal at Perisher.

Not unusual for staff that work in Perisher or Jindabyne to chuck a sickie on Powder days.

It was easy before the RFID ski passes as the passes were randomly manually checked
These days the Perisher employees who chuck a sickie have their RFID passes deactivated for the sickie period so they can't go through the gate at the lift. But the non Perisher employers don't have that option.

 

[Flyfrequently]

How insufficient were they to not pass probation? That's 2 years of wasted person-hours... quite a lot of time to be unlucky or get it all wrong!

Yes, very inefficient @anat0l
Simple spelling, grammar, mathematics ( forgetting zeros on tenders) the list goes on, frustrating and unprofessional.
She has now encouraged Mx to bring probation down to three months.

 

[Denali]

Interesting to hear how performance turned out compared to reference checks? Immediate previous manager and at least one other.

Although… not uncommon to get a good reference from a previous manager looking to offload a staff member

Ive read many exit agreements where nothing negative can be discussed with potential employers or recruitment agencies re references

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Ive read many exit agreements where nothing negative can be discussed with potential employers or recruitment agencies re references

Interesting! But then, if i couldn’t get a reference or questions weren’t being answered in my referee interview it would be a red flag.

The other interesting thing is why a probation period wasn’t in place for the OP?

Sounds like the recruitment process needs an uplift in a couple of areas.

 

[kookaburra75]

You are incredibly generous (whether that is a personal trait / gesture or one mandated by your company / section of your company).

Knowing @Ade that's how he operates his small company.

Something that was annoying was when employers did not get back on an application at all. Many of them were lodged through bespoke online portals, so obviously they have proper systems (probably with alerts etc. and dashboards) to see pending applications and statuses. But no, the application status never changed from "submitted" or similar.
As an honest applicant who puts in an honest application, it still hurts a bit, though.

I fully agree, and as an employer I have always provided feedback. If you're using a platform like Seek, it is really easy to do, and there's no excuse not to.

Ive read many exit agreements where nothing negative can be discussed with potential employers or recruitment agencies re references

Non-disparagement clauses are quite common at the executive level, to limit any bad-mouthing of a company you have worked for. But, for references, I never provide a written reference. Where I know the person and have seen them in action, I will go as a referee where someone can call and talk to me. I had one situation where a former employee put me down as a referee without asking me. When the recruiting company called me, I asked what he had put in his CV, and was able to 'correct' some of the claims of his duties and experience.

 

[Flashback]

Interesting! But then, if i couldn’t get a reference or questions weren’t being answered in my referee interview it would be a red flag.

The other interesting thing is why a probation period wasn’t in place for the OP?

Sounds like the recruitment process needs an uplift in a couple of areas.

In the UK all the previous company is allowed to do legally is just say yes, you worked there. No commentary allowed.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

In the UK all the previous company is allowed to do legally is just say yes, you worked there. No commentary allowed.

They have the option to provide limited details, but there’s nothing to prevent giving something more comprehensive: References: your rights

 

[mrsterryn]

Oh my gosh !!!
Flipping heck I have and would continue to pay more to have parcels delivered by Australia Post in preference to that absolutely useless Couriers Please
On my Kmart order (very large and somewhat heavy ) it has instructions "can be left unattended"
Nope they have taken it to a pick up point which we will now need to take a trolley over to pick up the parcel at some point when I get a SMS Pin , that can apparently take up to 24 hours
Oh flipping heck