I may potentially be put on a PIP at work under false pretense.

[ViShawn]

So I've made a previous thread about my relatively new job as a Site Reliability Engineer for a software company (as of three months now) and some of our interactions with my boss. I have noticed that he is not in the office as much and many of the things he has addressed with me have been assumptions that he drew conclusions on. The first few things he stated that I did:

-Submitting my time card without putting my lunch hours. Made a claim that he told me to do this and that I did not do this. Essentially insinuating I was stealing company time. I did not do this nor did I take lunch.
-Made the assumption that I was coming into work late on purpose. The expectation was not set for me to come in at 9, rather than 9:30 which I later addressed and we cleared out.
-Looking at non-work things too much at work. I promptly said "OK" and did not continue this. He stated

On these he stated that I should "consider this your first and last warning". He later said that maybe I didn't know which I didn't. This was within a time frame of three weeks into the role.


Fast forward to mid-April I have a 1:1 with him today and he premises the conversation that this is a "chance for you to improve" before he has to put me on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). This is almost always code for a boss to build a case against you to terminate you. I am in an At Will state but they have to cover their ass.

So essentially he brought up a few things regarding procedures and how to escalate things. He felt I wasn't ready to be On Call yet. I've been essentially been handling alerts and addressing issues. Some key areas he stated that needs "improvement"


-Ask more questions if I am unsure of something. Don't be afraid to ask.
-Don't ask the same question twice. Document things.
-Understand components of the infrastructure.
-Know the difference between testing and production instances. What is/isn't customer impacting.
-Be more engaged in group discussions.
-Handle/acknowledge all alerts that come in.
-Leave non-work browsing to a minimum. Save for lunch.
-If you have nothing to do, ask.


He gave me about 15 key action items to address and stated that he will check up on me every week for a month. I have had a total of 3-4 1:1 conversations with him over the past few months. Given our email correspondence there was no inclination as to me underperforming. He even stated last month after addressing one issue I handled that "other than that, I have no complaints".

It strikes me as odd. Some of these assumptions he makes about me are baseless. The one about me being more engaged. I listen and consume information in my own manner and if I am working on something I'm focused on that. I will not interrupt people just to talk. I ask questions for all things that come my way and have addressed them, even been proactive in doing certain things.

So this certainly comes as a surprise from minimum contact with my boss to 15 key action items he wants a few months later.

Instinctually I will brush up my resume just in case but I feel like I can resolve this internally. I will talk to HR on this because some of these assumptions are false and if this is what is between me and a PIP, they need to be addressed. I also have all of our emails and will provide those.

What else should I do? Has anyone else been in this situation? Also yes I am the only black person on my team and this is a high level position.

 

[Mr Rager]

Sounds like you had a target on your back off jump for being the only black person. We're always scrutinized more heavily, you should have realized that from the beginning. At this point sounds to me like you have to "play the game". Ask questions during the group discussions, state the obvious and piggyback on other people's comments just like everyone else does during these types of meetings. Not exactly sure what you mean by 'high level position' but if you're in a leadership/management role, you have to be out front even if you're a low-key type of guy. That's just the way it is .
What you also need to do is take a step back and analyze your actions objectively. Double check yourself to make sure you haven't created your own problems. Ignorance is no excuse when it comes to company policies, and claiming ignorance is not a good look for you.
I would only advise going to HR if you have a solid, documented case against your employer. Being on a PIP is obviously not good, but if you play the game right you can probably get back on track in this role...if you still want to, that is.

 

[ViShawn]

Sounds like you had a target on your back off jump for being the only black person. We're always scrutinized more heavily, you should have realized that from the beginning. At this point sounds to me like you have to "play the game". Ask questions during the group discussions, state the obvious and piggyback on other people's comments just like everyone else does during these types of meetings. Not exactly sure what you mean by 'high level position' but if you're in a leadership/management role, you have to be out front even if you're a low-key type of guy. That's just the way it is .
What you also need to do is take a step back and analyze your actions objectively. Double check yourself to make sure you haven't created your own problems. Ignorance is no excuse when it comes to company policies, and claiming ignorance is not a good look for you.
I would only advise going to HR if you have a solid, documented case against your employer. Being on a PIP is obviously not good, but if you play the game right you can probably get back on track in this role...if you still want to, that is.

I meant high level position as in a Senior Level Engineer position that is six figures. This isn't management.

Of course I certainly realized that a level of scrutiny occurs but I did not have this happen for the past 5+ years. I have always been a high performer. I have had a delay in my career due to bad management and thankfully that was corrected.

I certainly have analyzed my actions. I think with any new position someone is bound to make mistakes. My thing is to not make the same mistake twice.

I will say that my last role I was 100% remote for a year so it is a bit of a cultural difference but I have been working in Web Hosting for years and I have navigated things fine. Thanks so much breh.

 

[The5thLetter]

Ask more questions if I am unsure of something. Don't be afraid to ask.
-Don't ask the same question twice. Document things.
-Understand components of the infrastructure.
-Know the difference between testing and production instances. What is/isn't customer impacting.
-Be more engaged in group discussions.
-Handle/acknowledge all alerts that come in.
-Leave non-work browsing to a minimum. Save for lunch.
-If you have nothing to do, ask.

Altho you say these are baseless, a few of these seem to be concrete issues. Have you recalled a time you've asked a question 2x? If so that might seem like you're not engaged or retaining information.
Also, have you not been as prompt with answering tickets or alerts as they come in? If you have been, is there a log to show that this is false?
Non-work browsing is a no-no, especially at a new job. If you've been caught doing that then that's not a good look. That leads to the next point of showing initiative and being proactive by asking for things to do when there's a lull.

It sounds like there's a culture shift that you're not used to. If you worked remotely then all of these "soft skills" things might come as a surprise to you, esp if you do your work well. Trust me I know how to play the game cuz it sounds like you have a boss like one of my old bosses. She wanted me to be all in her face w/ status updates all the time, seeming engaged in meetings by asking questions or making comments, being proactive, etc. Pretty much do your work well but be seen and be a busy body. Maybe email your boss with updates on projects, resolutions, issues you're currently working thru and solutions you've identified, etc so they don't have a reason to ask you for anything and you're being transparent. It also will help you keep a paper trail just in case there is any question or issues in the future.

 

[ViShawn]

Altho you say these are baseless, a few of these seem to be concrete issues. Have you recalled a time you've asked a question 2x? If so that might seem like you're not engaged or retaining information.
Also, have you not been as prompt with answering tickets or alerts as they come in? If you have been, is there a log to show that this is false?
Non-work browsing is a no-no, especially at a new job. If you've been caught doing that then that's not a good look. That leads to the next point of showing initiative and being proactive by asking for things to do when there's a lull.

It sounds like there's a culture shift that you're not used to. If you worked remotely then all of these "soft skills" things might come as a surprise to you, esp if you do your work well. Trust me I know how to play the game cuz it sounds like you have a boss like one of my old bosses. She wanted me to be all in her face w/ status updates all the time, seeming engaged in meetings by asking questions or making comments, being proactive, etc. Pretty much do your work well but be seen and be a busy body. Maybe email your boss with updates on projects, resolutions, issues you're currently working thru and solutions you've identified, etc so they don't have a reason to ask you for anything and you're being transparent. It also will help you keep a paper trail just in case there is any question or issues in the future.

I think he saw one or two incidents and assumed the most negative outcome. I even have proof of times where he was abrasive in his emails towards me for no reason.

I can't think of any examples where I asked things more than once. He states that he encourages me to ask questions, but I would think asking more than once would be ok. I haven't thought of any time I have since I keep notes of certain procedures and we have documentation on it, some of it which I modified.

I have promptly handled alerts and frankly my teammates have been more than helpful and I have thanked them on more than one occasion. I would think if I was not retaining things, he would attempt to see where the gap was but he draws conclusions in another direction.

About me being engaged I have spoke up in meetings and conversations but for him to nitpick something like that appears to be him not liking my style.

If he provides examples of me doing something I'm not supposed to then great. I try and not make the same mistake twice. We fully document things also in my system and the 2-3 times I made an error over the past few months they were addressed.

I just want enough ammunition to prove the onus is on him to set expectations. Having 3-4 limited conversations over three months is not fulfilling that. I'm not trying to come off as defensive but rather think thinks through.

I have two interviews with other companies next week which may be more my fit and best for my personality style. I've excelled in other roles and I don't see why I cannot in others.

 

[The5thLetter]

I think he saw one or two incidents and assumed the most negative outcome. I even have proof of times where he was abrasive in his emails towards me for no reason.

I can't think of any examples where I asked things more than once. He states that he encourages me to ask questions, but I would think asking more than once would be ok. I haven't thought of any time I have since I keep notes of certain procedures and we have documentation on it, some of it which I modified.

I have promptly handled alerts and frankly my teammates have been more than helpful and I have thanked them on more than one occasion. I would think if I was not retaining things, he would attempt to see where the gap was but he draws conclusions in another direction.

About me being engaged I have spoke up in meetings and conversations but for him to nitpick something like that appears to be him not liking my style.

If he provides examples of me doing something I'm not supposed to then great. I try and not make the same mistake twice. We fully document things also in my system and the 2-3 times I made an error over the past few months they were addressed.

I just want enough ammunition to prove the onus is on him to set expectations. Having 3-4 limited conversations over three months is not fulfilling that. I'm not trying to come off as defensive but rather think thinks through.

I have two interviews with other companies next week which may be more my fit and best for my personality style. I've excelled in other roles and I don't see why I cannot in others.

When you had this meeting did you ask for clarification or instances of when you underperformed? If he's documenting you didn't do something there should be proof on his end of that.
after these meetings I would send an email recapping what was said so that if he lies and says he told you something you didn't do or did incorrectly then you have documentation that the expectations weren't made clear as he never stated them
But ultimately it seems like more of a personal issue than a performance issue. That and/or he doesn't know how to manage staff. Good luck at this job until you get a new one

 

[se1f_made]

Never been under a PIP but anyone that I've heard has had one eventually got fired. If it were me, I'd consciously try to abide by the guidelines listed but spending every spare minute away from work reaching out to recruiters, updating my resume and uploading it to all of the job sites. I'd go as far as determining the lowest pay cut that I'd be willing to accept and get out asap

 

[ViShawn]

Never been under a PIP but anyone that I've heard has had one eventually got fired. If it were me, I'd consciously try to abide by the guidelines listed but spending every spare minute away from work reaching out to recruiters, updating my resume and uploading it to all of the job sites. I'd go as far as determining the lowest pay cut that I'd be willing to accept and get out asap

Yep. Actually talking to companies with positions that pay more right now.

It's really a culture fit for me. The points he made were nebulous and it seemed they were more personality than performance. I hardly see the guy and when he asks me to do somethingI deliver it promptly.

Honestly the whole experience with the company from interviewing to the offer to now working here I never felt good about it. I got the offer within 6 weeks of my last layoff due to an acquisition. I just didn't want to be without money and honestly it's on me that I took something that was not a good cultural fit for me but I ignored the signs.

 

[ViShawn]

When you had this meeting did you ask for clarification or instances of when you underperformed? If he's documenting you didn't do something there should be proof on his end of that.
after these meetings I would send an email recapping what was said so that if he lies and says he told you something you didn't do or did incorrectly then you have documentation that the expectations weren't made clear as he never stated them
But ultimately it seems like more of a personal issue than a performance issue. That and/or he doesn't know how to manage staff. Good luck at this job until you get a new one

I was taken aback to be honest. I still have to absorb it and actually think about what he's saying.

I didn't want to be emotional in this instance. So I'm giving myself another day to think about this.

 

[Apollo Creed]

Working on getting the hell out of there while your moral is somewhat still high. IF these folks kill your confidence you probably won't be as sharp in interviews.

 

[JahFocus CS]

fukk that shyt. Work on getting out of there

 

[ViShawn]

A female friend invited me to a play and I get a tap on my shoulder and it's my boss.

I mentioned the work stuff to my friend when I was there. Hope he didn't overhear me

 

[getmoney310cpt]

anytime a manger nit picks you like this...its beacuse he wants a reason to fire you...he got it made up in his mind he dont like you...get out

 

[Hard Times Nakamura]

Long story short you didn't do anything wrong and this actually happened to me at a previous role. People were baffled and knew I was a hard worker and very confused when I got the boot.

Play the game for as long as you can, don't take anything to heart or personal. Send me a PM and I'll provide an e-mail you can send your resume to.

 

[Hard Times Nakamura]

Yep. Actually talking to companies with positions that pay more right now.

It's really a culture fit for me. The points he made were nebulous and it seemed they were more personality than performance. I hardly see the guy and when he asks me to do somethingI deliver it promptly.

Honestly the whole experience with the company from interviewing to the offer to now working here I never felt good about it. I got the offer within 6 weeks of my last layoff due to an acquisition. I just didn't want to be without money and honestly it's on me that I took something that was not a good cultural fit for me but I ignored the signs.

We as a people are constantly put in precarious situations like this. Basically you had no choice but to take this role. Unemployment is no joke.

Hang in there and try to get laid off or "let go" whatever it is - At least you'll get unemployment benefits and hopefully severance of some kind in exchange for you signing something promising not to bad mouth the company.