Frustrating!

[chunder27]

A bit like some others here, have spent the last few months looking for the right job , taking the odd short contract for income.

Started a new perm role this week, firm have downsized a lot in recent years. Ageing workforce of which I am one of only 6.

Issue is my predecessor holds a lot of job knowledge, and to get on properly I need to work with him in terms of build and test of what is made.

Trouble is he has another job, i was not made aware of thos and told he was available for consultation, yet i find out now he can only come on Saturday mornings.

There is limited support elsewhere and i feel a little let down. Not sure its fair to employ someone then expect them to sit around waiting for a guy who doesnt work threre anymore to show them the intracacies of the job. Surely something could have done, or tgey sought someone with better smills to offer tge job to, as I am treading water here, and will for some time i fear

[Johnnytheboy]

If they are paying you and are aware the reason you can't do more work is outside your control, it sounds pretty good to me!

But I'm lazy and unmotivated!

[CrgT16]

If support is needed and was promised they can’t espect you to be 100% straightaway. It’s not nice but at least you have an excuse if underperforming. Hope it’s not a too steep learning curve OP.

[chunder27]

Of course being paid is fine, and the expectations are low.

Surely though they might be better off with a candidate with more suitable skills, rather than expecting an ex employee to spend weeks filling gaps with me when they ought to have at least tried to fill them.

Just wondering if I might have made a poor choice, wouldnt be the first time!

Just so tough to find something that ticks all the boxes.

[ToothbrushMan]

and its similar to working somewhere that does not employ the right numbers of staff so what happens is that you have no control over how much work comes in the door only what goes out the door and if what comes in is exceeding what can be got out you are the guy that suffers. I've had this and mentally when you are essentially trying to provide a service level customers expect knowing the company are saving a salary or two because they treat the employees they do have as coping with the workload it skews the real situation.

maybe try and seek something else if you can and keep treading water until you can move on. sounds like you might have been kind of swindled into accepting the job on the strength of this other guy being able to go through a handover period (thanks to your post its something I will certainly look out for in future!).......

let us know how it pans out. dont make yourself ill over this though. I've bought the T-shirt on that score.

also you say the guy only shows up on saturday mornings so does that require you to make trips into work especially on saturdays or does your normal hours include a saturday anyway? it would be grossly out of order if they want you in at the weekend if that wasnt part of the deal at the outset unless you get extra money.

[chunder27]

Oh no i am being paid extra. But not sure how long it has to go on for, depends on the first meeting really.

Just seems,a bit off. I knew he had left, should perhaps have asked more direct questions

[edc]

You can't change the situation but you can manage the stakeholders and align expectations. At least you have some handover. Try going somewhere where there is no handover and you have to sort out somebody else's mess.

[GliderRider]

Having taken over a job from someone who left before I got there, and had to make sense of it from a handful of emails that others were copied in on, and then when I left, had a month of preparing a handover dossier plus two weeks of showing my successor the ropes, I know who got the easier ride.

Use your week days to look at everything your predecessor produced. If available, go through all his emails (you will probably need to get his written permission for this) and compile a long list of questions for him so your Saturdays are as productive as possible. Make sure you write down or record the answers. There is only so long he is going to want to give up his weekends, so aim to have the task complete in two or three Saturdays.

[chunder27]

Lol.

There is no net connection in the workshop, there are no notes, just base instructions that are largely ignored I would think with no real idea how to rectify issues.

I am hoping the guy, (I meet him tomorrow) has some notes I can use.

This is a practical job, hands on, so its all knowledge. MOst of it is simple, it is the learned on the job stuff I will never know. And there is no knowledge base left at the firm to help, only this guy!

Rather odd situation to say the least.