How to lose staff and alienate employees
So I quit my hellish job at an accounting firm. And I'm trying to leave. But they have the most twisted policy that makes leaving a thoroughly unpleasant experience, it's like they're trying their best to make you leave with a bad taste in your mouth.
So I have to give a month's notice. But the boss has to acknowledge my resignation, otherwise it's not accepted and I haven't resigned. And my boss is one of the few that sits on these things. 2 weeks into my 4 week notice I have to beg for an exit interview so that I can remind her to acknowledge my resignation so HR can let me start my leaving process. And it would actually be worth it had the exit interview meant something, but it was a perfunctory 10 minute (I'm being generous in my estimate) affair which I haunted boss' doorstep for a good half hour for that concluded that since I was leaving to take a break (translation: actually had to pull factors in my leaving) there was nothing the boss could say to make me stay. *snort*
So after that "exit interview", whereupon I took the opportunity to remind her to inform HR the necessary, I sent boss a follow up email reminder, again. Despite the immediate reminder, it took a call to HR to inform them that I'd spoken to boss and their email to get boss' green light.
Then, I realise that in the 2 weeks I'd waited around twiddling my thumbs the firm had changed its policy on clearing leave during the notice period. So because I'd been in limbo this period, I couldn't clear leave and had the option of forfeiting it, or extending my notice period to take leave such that I was at work for the requisite month. Annoying, and unnecessary, and threw a kink in my plans as obviously I wasn't throwing away my hard-earned leave so I have to go on vacation with my job still at the back of my mind. I comforted myself with the fact that they'd be paying me for Christmas and New Year when they didn't have to previously.
Then, they scheduled my exit interview with HR for today. And then, rescheduled it to when I'm overseas. Right. And when I protested, they agreed to reschedule it. With no response. And 3 days of work left.
Not to mention, in between all of this, protocol dictates that you try to keep staff of 4 years rather than send them on their merry way. But no, apparently they've been so looking forward to my resignation (since they've had a policy not to outright let someone go, but to put subtle, and not-so-subtle pressures to make the employee feel so unwelcome that they leave of their own accord) that I've been sent on my way with nary a murmur. The only people who suggested I change my mind, asked me merely to stay my hand for 3 weeks, enough to finish my obligation to them, after which, frankly, they didn't give a damn.
And today, finally, they gave me an update on the payout for my unutilised annual leave. Which is really the last straw. So compounding the fact that LIFO is an accounting policy that has been disallowed by IFRS for the longest time, the firm has been using that antiquated policy to pay out our unutilised time-off-in-lieu. Which concept being unique to our industry, staff have always grumbled about but accepted with bad grace. After all, as one boss put it, the time-off policy is a privilege, not a right.
But what IS a right is annual leave. And the firm has seen fit to apply the same policy to our legislated and contractual right to annual leave. So because the firm worked me so hard that I was unable to utilise my annual leave in the appropriate financial year, I'm being penalised and will be paid for my current-year earned leave at my prior salary rate. This is the most roundabout logic I've heard. It does no good to rail at HR, because frankly they'd love to pay me at my current rate and save themselves the pain of tracking my leave utilisation from the day I joined (which they have to, with this outrageous system).
So all I can say is that the firm is making my departure a most unpleasant experience, and I will now forever remember this supposedly-illustrious firm with a bad taste in my mouth. And to all those who will inevitably say "But all accounting firms are like this!", I can only say, just because it's always been done this way, doesn't make it right. Is that not a basic tenet of our engagements, to look at everything with a fresh perspective?
I have to say that all this demonstrates the weaknesses of the firm as an entity, and does not reflect on the people working in the firm. The people are people, there are nice people, there are mean people, and I leave with some regret in leaving the camaraderie that I've enjoyed over the years. But right now, the bad taste overwhelms the regret.
So I have to give a month's notice. But the boss has to acknowledge my resignation, otherwise it's not accepted and I haven't resigned. And my boss is one of the few that sits on these things. 2 weeks into my 4 week notice I have to beg for an exit interview so that I can remind her to acknowledge my resignation so HR can let me start my leaving process. And it would actually be worth it had the exit interview meant something, but it was a perfunctory 10 minute (I'm being generous in my estimate) affair which I haunted boss' doorstep for a good half hour for that concluded that since I was leaving to take a break (translation: actually had to pull factors in my leaving) there was nothing the boss could say to make me stay. *snort*
So after that "exit interview", whereupon I took the opportunity to remind her to inform HR the necessary, I sent boss a follow up email reminder, again. Despite the immediate reminder, it took a call to HR to inform them that I'd spoken to boss and their email to get boss' green light.
Then, I realise that in the 2 weeks I'd waited around twiddling my thumbs the firm had changed its policy on clearing leave during the notice period. So because I'd been in limbo this period, I couldn't clear leave and had the option of forfeiting it, or extending my notice period to take leave such that I was at work for the requisite month. Annoying, and unnecessary, and threw a kink in my plans as obviously I wasn't throwing away my hard-earned leave so I have to go on vacation with my job still at the back of my mind. I comforted myself with the fact that they'd be paying me for Christmas and New Year when they didn't have to previously.
Then, they scheduled my exit interview with HR for today. And then, rescheduled it to when I'm overseas. Right. And when I protested, they agreed to reschedule it. With no response. And 3 days of work left.
Not to mention, in between all of this, protocol dictates that you try to keep staff of 4 years rather than send them on their merry way. But no, apparently they've been so looking forward to my resignation (since they've had a policy not to outright let someone go, but to put subtle, and not-so-subtle pressures to make the employee feel so unwelcome that they leave of their own accord) that I've been sent on my way with nary a murmur. The only people who suggested I change my mind, asked me merely to stay my hand for 3 weeks, enough to finish my obligation to them, after which, frankly, they didn't give a damn.
And today, finally, they gave me an update on the payout for my unutilised annual leave. Which is really the last straw. So compounding the fact that LIFO is an accounting policy that has been disallowed by IFRS for the longest time, the firm has been using that antiquated policy to pay out our unutilised time-off-in-lieu. Which concept being unique to our industry, staff have always grumbled about but accepted with bad grace. After all, as one boss put it, the time-off policy is a privilege, not a right.
But what IS a right is annual leave. And the firm has seen fit to apply the same policy to our legislated and contractual right to annual leave. So because the firm worked me so hard that I was unable to utilise my annual leave in the appropriate financial year, I'm being penalised and will be paid for my current-year earned leave at my prior salary rate. This is the most roundabout logic I've heard. It does no good to rail at HR, because frankly they'd love to pay me at my current rate and save themselves the pain of tracking my leave utilisation from the day I joined (which they have to, with this outrageous system).
So all I can say is that the firm is making my departure a most unpleasant experience, and I will now forever remember this supposedly-illustrious firm with a bad taste in my mouth. And to all those who will inevitably say "But all accounting firms are like this!", I can only say, just because it's always been done this way, doesn't make it right. Is that not a basic tenet of our engagements, to look at everything with a fresh perspective?
I have to say that all this demonstrates the weaknesses of the firm as an entity, and does not reflect on the people working in the firm. The people are people, there are nice people, there are mean people, and I leave with some regret in leaving the camaraderie that I've enjoyed over the years. But right now, the bad taste overwhelms the regret.