"Nobody actually tells you when you are training your replacement."
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I had to tell management this, after they tried to reassure me about my position, after I was told to teach an offshore worker how to do what I do, tomorrow morning. It might just be offloading the easier of my dev work (we are having trouble hiring junior devs here). Maybe I end up managing and offshore team? It's a European country, and they are employees, not 3rd party or contract.
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I had to tell management this, after they tried to reassure me about my position, after I was told to teach an offshore worker how to do what I do, tomorrow morning. It might just be offloading the easier of my dev work (we are having trouble hiring junior devs here). Maybe I end up managing and offshore team? It's a European country, and they are employees, not 3rd party or contract.
wizardzz wrote:
"Nobody actually tells you when you are training your replacement."
i think they told Tommy Lee Jones[^] :)
"It was when I found out I could make mistakes that I knew I was on to something." -Ornette Coleman "Philosophy is a study that lets us be unhappy more intelligently." -Anon.
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I had to tell management this, after they tried to reassure me about my position, after I was told to teach an offshore worker how to do what I do, tomorrow morning. It might just be offloading the easier of my dev work (we are having trouble hiring junior devs here). Maybe I end up managing and offshore team? It's a European country, and they are employees, not 3rd party or contract.
If they are trying to fool you, they will do their best not to make you suspicious. That means that they will avoid asking too many questions. Assuming the usual quality of documentation, this allows you to forget to mention the most interesting or critical parts. That assures that they will not forget you for years to come after you are gone. And, if you still are able to get some information now and then, it also provides free entertainment. :) To whom it may concern: If you read this, I want you to know that I feel entertained very well. Give up writing software and make a reality soap out of it. :)
Sent from my BatComputer via HAL 9000 and M5
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very nicely, eventually! between the unused vacation pay, severance, etc., i was able to take three months off before finding a new job. :-D
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I had to tell management this, after they tried to reassure me about my position, after I was told to teach an offshore worker how to do what I do, tomorrow morning. It might just be offloading the easier of my dev work (we are having trouble hiring junior devs here). Maybe I end up managing and offshore team? It's a European country, and they are employees, not 3rd party or contract.
Ask. If you ask your boss what new responsibilities you will have and he/she avoids eye contact, gets nervous, is "not sure", etc. ...your new responsibility will be finding a new job. I have found that very few managers will look someone in the eye and outright lie to them. Not because they can't, but because most just don't care enough to put forth the effort. Even if you suspect you are on the way out, play it cool. Don't do anything to diminish the guilt they will feel (and more importantly, your severance package). If you are really concerned, quietly start looking for new opportunities, reach out to contacts at other companies, etc.
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very nicely, eventually! between the unused vacation pay, severance, etc., i was able to take three months off before finding a new job. :-D
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Ask. If you ask your boss what new responsibilities you will have and he/she avoids eye contact, gets nervous, is "not sure", etc. ...your new responsibility will be finding a new job. I have found that very few managers will look someone in the eye and outright lie to them. Not because they can't, but because most just don't care enough to put forth the effort. Even if you suspect you are on the way out, play it cool. Don't do anything to diminish the guilt they will feel (and more importantly, your severance package). If you are really concerned, quietly start looking for new opportunities, reach out to contacts at other companies, etc.
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Hmmm. As you indicated, is has not been cheaper to outsource to (Western) Europe in the past. However, with the situation over there now, I am not sure. Especially for Eastern Europe. Maybe you can turn your immediate manager's ignorance to your advantage. Perhaps upper management really intended for you to take over management of these guys. Who knows? You could just assume that and see what happens. Just kind loosen the "training" relationship into a management role as appropriate. The best managers I know were not hired to be managers, they just got out front and led.
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Hmmm. As you indicated, is has not been cheaper to outsource to (Western) Europe in the past. However, with the situation over there now, I am not sure. Especially for Eastern Europe. Maybe you can turn your immediate manager's ignorance to your advantage. Perhaps upper management really intended for you to take over management of these guys. Who knows? You could just assume that and see what happens. Just kind loosen the "training" relationship into a management role as appropriate. The best managers I know were not hired to be managers, they just got out front and led.
Roy from Detroit wrote:
Especially for Eastern Europe.
Bingo. We have a team over there that does all front end dev work. All database, sales, support people are in the States, I'm one of 3 developers in the States that works alongside the DB folks. It could go either way, my only concern is that only the highest up (CEO) is pushing it, none of my managers.
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I had to tell management this, after they tried to reassure me about my position, after I was told to teach an offshore worker how to do what I do, tomorrow morning. It might just be offloading the easier of my dev work (we are having trouble hiring junior devs here). Maybe I end up managing and offshore team? It's a European country, and they are employees, not 3rd party or contract.
Everyone should always be training their replacement.