Constructive Upwards Feedback Help Required
mrswhit13
Member
Hi all - looking for some advice. It is that PDR time of year and I really want to give some constructive feedback to my manager that I feel that my workload over the last year has been excessive and has hindered my ability to do my job effectively. What I don't want to do however is talk myself out of a job!!
I want to offer solutions to go with my feedback but I'm not entirely sure what the solutions could be - there is the option to outsource report writing, but I often find that by the time I have prepared what is needed for the external paraplanner, then it seems that the actual writing of the report would have been the easy bit that I could have done!
I love being busy and think that I am super good at prioritising, but I won't rush something if it means compromising standards. I have found myself putting in a lot of unpaid extra hours and logging on during annual leave over the last year and really want to put a stop to this without impacting my career. I would be interested to hear if anyone else has found themselves in a similar situation and how you handled it??
Comments
Hi. That's a tricky position but not uncommon. Do you track your time? if so, you could provide stats showing the average length of time it takes you to complete a case and therefore how many cases should be allocated based on your available working hours. This is not all your contractual hours as you'll be doing other stuff like CPD, team meetings etc. That way you can show what's a reasonable workload and that it's less than what you've actually done.
Paraplanner. F1, Apple, Nutella, ice cream. No trite motivational quotes. Turning a bit northern.
Hi Rich - yes I do keep track, but haven't broken it down on a case by case basis, so will look at doing that. My concern is that in terms of CPD and things, this is actually slipping as probably 98% of my time is taken up on the reports with no contingency time for anything else - hence the extra hours that I have been putting in. I just don't want to go in and sound like I'm having a moan, when I do love my job!
I will go look at breaking it down a bit more and hopefully like you say, the stats could do the talking for me.
If you do track your time, make sure you hit the start button when you start and the finish button when you finish. Trying to work out after the event what time you have spent on various tasks never works!
Some companies do expect too much from you, I've been in similar instances and I'm also not the kind of person who wants to deliver a second rate report to clients.
The labour market is running very hot at the moment, a Paraplanner shouldn't have any difficulty finding a new role. You might find a company with a more manageable workload.
It may be their mgmt style to keep pushing until you say no more, so will be expecting you to say 'no more' at some point. I think it will be key to say you are happy to go the extra mile as times of peak demand but when this becomes the norm, there is nowhere to go when things peak. And you need your CPD to be a good mentor to a strong team. I think that's the business case for what you're asking.
This surprises me: 'but I often find that by the time I have prepared what is needed for the external paraplanner, then it seems that the actual writing of the report would have been the easy bit that I could have done!'
I'm not saying I'm right, as every firm and team is different but something to consider... is it possible you are doing work the admin and adviser could or should be doing? It took a lot of persistence to drill the processes into admin and advisers (and still some staff to go) but now I am rarely involved in what we outsource from the trained up admin and advisers. I recognise I was lucky to have buy in from the top, I haven't always been able to achieve this!
Yes I do get that, but we are a small practice and I am the only Paraplanner so I probably do take on more than the 'average' paraplanner. The adviser sends me all the information on a sound file as we just found that I got more information out of her this way and it meant that I could ensure that all of the information entered was accurate and detailed enough rather than her rushing it and doing half a job! - although it obviously does have an impact time wise. We are slowly expanding so there are plans for more staff and then the intention will be to streamline a bit.
I have actually had the meeting now and it went better than expected and the time tracking played a big part - perhaps I should have just spoken up earlier, so lesson learnt there! I have now got some dedicated CPD time each week and am getting more input going forwards so feeling positive. Thanks for everyone's help and comments though - they were much appreciated.
That sounds like a positive step forward @mrswhit13
Paraplanner. F1, Apple, Nutella, ice cream. No trite motivational quotes. Turning a bit northern.