Outsourced during a deathmarch

Dear Bob …

My department is being outsourced. Two people are here until April 15th. I’m not one of them. The other two, the supervisor and I, are gone December 31st.

We are in the middle of a huge application upgrade that management hopes to have completed by the end of the year. (Actually, they wanted it out last month, but the developers keep releasing buggy versions and our mainframe team haven’t provided us good data for testing.)

The program runs as a single-user app in the field and as a multi-user app in-house. I’m in charge of that. Preparing the upgrade will be a  pain, but I can do it. However, the actually upgrade is a nightmare. I’ve done two small ones so far this year, and this will be larger and more complicated.

For each of the last two upgrades, I had to be in the office for my usual six-to-eight-hour shift. Then I would go home and spend eight hours a night and 8-10 hours per day on the weekends doing the upgrades. Last time I literally worked 90-100 hours per week for two weeks straight.

I was willing to do it then because historically, we have received comp time for that sort of effort. My supervisor–the one being laid off at the same time I am–is very lax about things like my leaving early now and then BECAUSE I am willing to make that sort of a  commitment. Also, there had been talk of bonuses and promotions.

Bonuses are given in the spring, and I won’t be here.

In addition to simply being unwilling now, I’m not even sure I have the time. I’ve made commitments for volunteer work associated with the holiday season. I’m already spending 4-6 hours per night on that. I have a job hunt, I have holiday preparations like everyone else, and to top it all off, my landlord is evicting me for unrelated issues and I have to find a new place to live.

If I were the boss, and my soon-to-be-laid-off employee told me what this job entails, I’d offer some compensation. Of course, that’s probably why I’m not in management.

I’m salaried, and I understand that sometimes I have to work more than forty hours in a week. But something is very off about this situation and I have no idea what to do other than buckle down and spend a few long, sleepless weeks.

Help me, Obi-Bob Kenobi. You’re my only hope.

– Paduan

Dear Paduan …

Here’s my thinking: You have an obligation to be professional about how you handle your current assignment. That obligation is to yourself, not to anyone else. You’ll feel better about yourself if you handle things professionally. And you’ve built quite a few personal relationships which you want to preserve through this transition. You’ll bump into some of these individuals again throughout your career. You want them to remember you in a good light.

Both of these results matter to you.

You also have an obligation to yourself to look out for your own interests first. Nobody else in this equation will do so, which means if you don’t, your interests will go unrepresented.

You and your supervisor, or perhaps just you, have to get in front of the project manager, project sponsor, “management” (whoever that is), or some combination and present them with some alternatives that will get the job done for the company.

First, let them know how many hours of effort will be required between now and successful delivery of your responsibilities, based on your experience with the earlier upgrades. Second, review with them the alternatives for the company to get this one finished:

• The company can move the deadline and you’ll do your part to ensure a smooth transition to the outsourcing team, which can finish the upgrade. “Do your part” means an honest week’s work for an honest week’s pay, nothing more – something you don’t have to state, but do have to decide for yourself. Later on you might have to hold the line, refusing to meet or work beyond reasonable work hours, Monday through Friday.

• The company can move the deadline and your termination date. You’ll do your part to complete it on the new schedule with the same unstated definition of “do your part.”

• The company can keep the deadline and pay you additional money for your additional hours. Time-and-a-half is customary. That gives you enough financial cushion that you can delay starting your job search: If you work an 80-hour week, you’ll earn enough to cover one and a half unemployed weeks.

It is possible that no matter how you present this, the decision-maker will expect you to get the job done anyway, and get it done for what they’re paying you right now and nothing more. If that happens, in as professional tone as you can muster, say, “You’ve made your expectations clear. Thank you for your time.”

Then go back to your desk, document the conversation, and give your employer an honest week’s work for an honest week’s pay, every remaining week until December 31st … and nothing more than that. If this is a project with weekly status meetings, provide honest updates each week and honest assessments of what is required to make the final deadline.

When your departure date arrives, the upgrade isn’t complete, and someone asks, point out that you informed them of what would be required for you to finish the upgrade, and they chose to not take any of the actions required. Show them where you’ve left all of the files and documentation required for your replacement to finish the work, pack your box, and leave. Let whoever asks know that you are willing to work as a subcontractor for the outsourcer until the upgrade is complete, if that’s of any interest.

You’ll know that at least one of the people involved in this situation handled it professionally. That it was you but not company management is not your problem.

– Bob

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