Team wants to quit, how to handle?
 

I have a friend who is on a team of 4 people and the other three are wanting to quit because of the supervisor. My friend does not have any issues with the supervisor but they are pretty autonomous but wants to know how they as a group should handle the situation. This is a large company by the way with tens of thousands of employees.

Should they approach the supervisor, the supervisor's boss, HR, wait it out as the supervisor has also applied for a different position, apply for a lateral move?

What other options might there be?

if you're asking our opinion, there needs to be a 'list' of what's going on, more than what you posted. I'm in with you, I'm interested in what solutions are offered, but The PPBT needs to understand what dynamics are in place; inside and outside of the team.

Stay away from HR. Yikes. Nothing good would come from that. HR are the company's legal guardians, not there for you.

The workers all need to spend time with themselves to really decide what they want. In my experience, situation like this, its pretty unlikely you'll get a different supervisor if you demand it. Supervisor is supported by his boss, etc. If there's a crappy supervisor then the rot might go up quite a way.

Probably best approach is to meet and discuss situation with the problem supervisor. Talk about how to move forward either with different team, different org, etc etc. Find a way to work with and support the supervisor, see if they can find a way to keep the team intact and happy. Focus on facts.

And if it doesn't go the way you want then leave, lots of fish in the sea and only a stupid org would let a functional team evaporate - you can do better.

Sort of depends why the 3 don't like the supervisor. If it is a toxic situation then a complaint may be in order. If he's just a knob or a personality thing then not much to say or do.

Assuming there is a employee manual or company SOP or similar, they should look there for standard procedures that the company has outlined for situations such as this. That way they are going by policy rather than just addressing this as they please. Then if it gets worse they can always say they followed company policy.

One thing's for certain, your friend shouldn't entertain the 3 complaining to him/her about the situation. That can loop him/her into the mess.

They are not there for you: Lather, rinse, repeat.

Perfect. If he or she is good with the Sup, relax.

The issue is the supervisor is not a good supervisor. The sup tends to run everyone down and blame the team for things they aren't really responsible for and doesn't really do anything themself. This team has a high turnover because of it.

One team member is kept out of any information loop and has been for the last few months. Sup says get with the program or get out, but the sup keeps setting that particular team member up to fail.

Lots of sudden work on the weekends since the sup has no life.

The sup butts heads a lot with all the team members. I can get some more specifics for you. Let me make a call.

As for me, I quit my job back in December because of workplace dynamics and a poor working culture. I am in IT so I can take my time to find a good place and my wife has a pretty good job to support us at this time so I can empathize with the team as far as culture is concerned.

facts and data with documentation over-rules rumors and opinion.

But seriously. Either find a way to get this environment improved through the org, or walk. There's no games to play that are worth it. Life's too short.

Lots of jobs in the world, find a place and team that you want to be and cultivate it. Don't be a victim, go find some winners and stick with them.

Supervisor is a butthead. This is subjective. Data is not going to illustrate this.

If the company learned of the problem and gave a rip, then a specialist could be brought in to ask a lot of questions and plan a solution.

If your friend's work mates want a simple a quick solution and are so fed up they are ready to quit, then get HR involved but not in the way Paul and others are recommending against. Instead, get HR involved by using this phrase: "hostile work environment." This points a finger of liability right at the supervisor.

From them:

The Sup verbally attacks the team and other departments. Entire departments refuse to work with the sup because of their behaviors. Sup is very catty, they have their job because they know systems better than anyone else but doesn't know people very well. The team is made up of people who have over 20 years experience but since transferring to the team are ready to quit. Due to a merger and acquisition the entire department has suffered from massive turn over.

Oh, my friend has told the sup on occasion that he is being a butt head but nothing changes.

Battling against a sup is a no win situation. Management can't admit they made a bad choice so now you have a sup who is angry at you for going over their head.

If it is really that bad, transfer or go work somewhere else. Frankly if the upper management "can't see" what is going on then they just don't give a rip and anyone under that sup is an expendable pawn.

I have worked for a sup like that. They will blame and/or fire everyone until there is only one other person left and then the sup will quit. The one that "survived" takes the fall for destroying the team.

If this is a tech company, skip levels / 1 over 1 or whatever you call it should uncover these issues.

I'm telling you...."hostile work environment." Sup is treating different people differently. There are prejudices. Playing favorites. Uneven treatment. Is there a person of color or a woman on the team? This would cause explosions in the heads of HR and upper management. When the investigation begins, the team sings like canaries.

It really depends on how well the buddy or team knows the supervisors boss, but that's the route that I'd go. Whoever has the best relationship with the bosses boss or all of them should go talk to the bosses boss, unless the sup and his boss are tight and none of the other folks have any relationship with the bosses boss.

It's possible that a group meeting with the bosses boss won't do any good. But it's also possible that if they all go in and say, "this guy is crap, we all want to quit because he's a huge dick," the bosses boss may listen and fix the problem.

This is a very powerful statement that not only points a finger of liability at the supervisor, but (and this is what gets their attention) squarely at the company.

_

is there politics involved, eg, is that supervisor superbest friends with anybody up the chain?

very important factor

I once relocated to take a position at a mega-bank several decades ago into a small group of IT specialists (systems & communications) and had a manager that was ... but I digress :(. I knew I was either hitting the door or sonething HAD to change. Went in on a Fri to have a frank discussion with the level above. Told him what the deal was, the whole team was ready to bolt, but don't take my word for it... you've got a problem.

A few days later and he was no longer the group's manager (position was simply left vacant for over a year) ... but then again, he never really was our manager ... except on the org chart.

Good luck!

Situations like this make me happy I never climbed onto the corporate ladder. I have zero experience with layers of management. If I had a problem or question, I went right to the owner of the company, and got a clear result.

No doubt, I did not make as much money as a lot of big corporations pay, but I sure had a ton less stress, and a happy workplace. It is nice to wake up, and want to get to work on a project.

Until the owner died and his son ran the company into the ground...

Your situation is not terribly normal these days. In days gone past, someone would get a job at a company and retire from the company probably with a pension and a watch. These days, staying at one company for years and years is much, much less common, at least, that appears to be the case from what I've seen. I've been where I am now for 10 years, and that's 2.5x as long as I've been anywhere else. Granted, I didn't enter/start my career until 23 years ago.