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#Post#: 37--------------------------------------------------
Big Picture, Please
DIR By: Giggle Loop
Date: March 7, 2012, 1:28 pm
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BG: I've been at my job about a year and a half and am very much
the new girl. Everyone else has been here forever. I'm also the
youngest.
We are switching vendors at work and are reviewing test files.
There are, of course, a lot of errors. We have to send feedback
to the vendor so they can get their act together. I focused on
the things they were supposed to do but didn't. One of the other
people in my position is complaining about really superficial
crap, like "XXXXX shouldn't be at the top of the file! We want
it at the bottom!" and "I don't want to see their coding!" (All
we see with the coding is that some text is a different color.)
It doesn't matter a damn bit where in the file it appears or
what color the font is. I tried to gently point it out and got
told that we need them to conform to our format and blah blah.
IT DOESN'T MATTER. It's more important that they get the other
stuff right, and if we give them all this little piddly crap to
fix, the transition will take forever. (I have a lot of
experience with this type of vendor transition and know where we
should focus; she does not.) How can I say, "Seriously, big
picture, please!" to someone who had loads of seniority and is
old enough to be my mom? Or do I just let it go because I
already tried? Do I point out to the person overseeing the
transition that it doesn't matter, or does that make me a
tattletale?
#Post#: 45--------------------------------------------------
Re: Big Picture, Please
DIR By: Swan Swan H
Date: March 7, 2012, 1:34 pm
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I tend to make a list of tasks that need to be accomplished and
then refer others to it during a project. It's easier that way
to keep everyone focused on what you actually need to achieve
and when.
Particularly handy when you have someone in your team who wants
to concentrate on making something pretty when you are at
software sourcing stage for example.
#Post#: 61--------------------------------------------------
Re: Big Picture, Please
DIR By: Jabberwock
Date: March 7, 2012, 1:40 pm
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How about something like "In my experience with vendor
transitions it's important to prioritize the changes. We need to
focus on the issues that are vital right now, and there will be
time down the road to fix the cosmetic issues."
I don't think there's anything wrong with reminding her to stick
to the big picture issues too. Perhaps mentioning that it's
important not to overwhelm the vendor would help too.
Remember that there's nothing wrong with being assertive. She
may not like it, but that doesn't mean that you should stop.
#Post#: 81--------------------------------------------------
Re: Big Picture, Please
DIR By: Giggle Loop
Date: March 7, 2012, 1:51 pm
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The thing is, we need to send all of our changes at once. Then
they will incorporate the feedback and do another round of
testing. We'll send changes, they'll send new files, etc, until
they are perfect (or really, close enough). It's just going to
make things worse if we try to make these changes down the line.
The thing is, they are unnecessary, and really, I'm not even
sure they are a good idea. It's not our job to check the coding
in the files, but it certainly doesn't hurt if we can see it,
just in case there is an error. And stuff like where certain
info appears... for pity' sake, you know? (And for the record, I
like the new placement.)
I will completely admit that I can have assertiveness issues at
work. My old job was a specil kind of nightmare where people got
punished for random things, so I hate to rock the boat.
#Post#: 171--------------------------------------------------
Re: Big Picture, Please
DIR By: Hijinks
Date: March 7, 2012, 2:46 pm
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How about a free survey that everyone can fill out online
(Survey Monkey or the like) where they can choose from
designated criteria instead of making up their own issues?
#Post#: 376--------------------------------------------------
Re: Big Picture, Please
DIR By: LdyJedi
Date: March 7, 2012, 6:35 pm
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Sometimes these things seem really superficial, but there may be
past experience on their parts which cause them to be so finicky
now. I've learned that the hard way with where I work now.
If it doesn't get fixed up front, before things are approved, it
doesn't get fixed - ever.
I'm sure your vendor isn't that way, but the others in the
office might have run up against the situation above. "Sure,
we'll change it - eventually" but eventually never comes.
#Post#: 383--------------------------------------------------
Re: Big Picture, Please
DIR By: Giggle Loop
Date: March 7, 2012, 6:50 pm
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The thing is, these things don't actually need to be fixed. I
have a LOT of experience with this type of thing; the people in
my office do not. The things they don't like don't affect us at
all; the main complaint is that it's different.
#Post#: 386--------------------------------------------------
Re: Big Picture, Please
DIR By: Hounds of Love
Date: March 7, 2012, 7:05 pm
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Argh, I wish I knew. I'll send something to my office and even
if I put giant disclaimers on the top: "THIS IS NOT THE REAL
FORMATTING, THIS IS NOT THE FINAL FONT, I'M JUST SENDING THIS
OUT FOR INPUT ON THE CONTENT", I get back comments like "Can
this be in Helvetica instead of Cambria? And there's an extra
space between paragraphs on page 8." ::)
#Post#: 395--------------------------------------------------
Re: Big Picture, Please
DIR By: LdyJedi
Date: March 7, 2012, 7:29 pm
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--- Quote from: Giggle Loop link ---
>
> The thing is, these things don't actually need to be fixed. I
have a LOT of experience with this type of thing; the people in
my office do not. The things they don't like don't affect us at
all; the main complaint is that it's different.
>
--- End Quote ---
That is a big difference from what I've dealt with.
And I know "put on your big girl panties and deal with it" can
be a career killer, no matter how much you want to say it ;)
I like Jabberwock's suggestion. Couch it in very professional
terms, but still let them know "this is not important!"
#Post#: 585--------------------------------------------------
Re: Big Picture, Please
DIR By: Giggle Loop
Date: March 8, 2012, 8:44 am
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I ended up having to say something to our administrator. I just
told her I what my experience was, and she told me to send an
e-mail to a few other people. Then later this morning, both of
the other women in my position started complaining again and
saying how they couldn't work with the new template, so I
politely explained that in my experience, X, Y, and Z are true.
I hope they don't get mad or offended or whatever, but there's
really no point in making unreasonable demands, especially
because they may end up costing the company some serious cash.
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