Today we continue our look at taming TOTs—Terrible Office Tyrants—and we’ll take a look at an invaluable source for prewritten job descriptions. (Should all HR job descriptions list taming TOTs as an "essential function"?)
Dealing with tyrant bosses is "a little like parenting minus the diapers and spitting up," says Lynn Taylor, whose tips were featured in yesterday’s Advisor. Taylor is the author of newly published Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish boss Behavior. Here are more of her tips:
The Whining Boss
Because you’re a good listener, your boss takes to visiting your office to whine. You can’t get anything done. Here’s what Lynn Taylor suggests.
Send signals that you’re busy. Let the boss know that you are on deadline for a project that he or she requested.
Excuse yourself. You need to get that important phone call or e-mail from a "key" client.
Watch the clock. Most whiners get crankier as the day wears on. Try to avoid late-day surprises. If you’ve got a late meeting, bring cookies for an energy boost.
However, Taylor cautions, always keep your ears open just in case the boss’s rant isn’t trivial.
The Endlessly Questioning Boss
What about the TOT who sucks up time with endless questions? Here are Taylor’s tips:
Over-Inform. Make it a habit to routinely send updates to your TOT. Anticipate questions. Organize regular meetings.
Keep focusing back on the business at hand. If the boss asks, "What do you think it would be like if we painted the office red?" You might respond, "That would be interesting. Speaking of interesting, what did you think of the client proposal I sent over this morning?"
Set that keyboard aside! Your job descriptions are already written. See why thousands of managers have a permanent place in their offices for BLR’s classic Job Descriptions Encyclopedia.
The Fickle Boss
You and your boss worked out all the details of a major written report weeks ago, and you’re nearly done with just hours to go as the deadline approaches. Then the boss says, "Gee, this might be nicer as a video presentation." How to deal?
Follow a procedure. TOTs need a plan of action. Set up a process by which decisions are made.
Cull the herd. The best way to get your fickle boss to make a decision is to reduce the number of choices before they come to him or her.
So that’s taming TOTs, Taylor style. And if you’ve got a TOT, maybe taming is an "essential function." (You remember essential functions? Those tasks and responsibilities that need to be spelled out in your job descriptions to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?)
Aren’t sure the essential functions in all your company job descriptions are up to date? If they’re not—or if you’ve never even written them—you’re not alone. Thousands of companies fall short in this area.
It’s easy to understand why. Job descriptions are not quick to do, and they are not easy—what with updating and management and legal review, especially for the ADA’s requirement of a split off of essential vs. other functions in the description. Wouldn’t it be great if they were available, already written?
Actually, they are. We have more than 500, ready to go, covering every common position in any organization, from receptionist right up to president. They are in an extremely popular BLR program called Job Descriptions Encyclopedia.
First created in the 1980s, the “JDE” has been constantly refined and updated over time, with descriptions revised or added each time the law, technology—or the way we do business—changes.
Prewritten job descriptions in the Job Descriptions Encyclopedia now come with pay grades already attached. Try the program at no cost. Learn more about the Job Descriptions Encyclopedia.
Revised for the ADA, Pay Grades Updated
There was a major revision, for example, following the passage of the ADA. In fact, BLR editors took every one of those 500 descriptions apart and reassembled them to be ADA-compliant.
Another, more recent enhancement was the updating of pay grades for each job, based on BLR’s extensive annual surveys of exempt and nonexempt compensation, and on other data. According to our customers, this is an enormous timesaver, enabling them to make compensation decisions even as they define the position. You can see a sample job description from the program by clicking here. (Yes, it is the one for HR manager. Pay grade: 38.)
The BLR Job Descriptions Encyclopedia also includes an extensive tutorial on setting up a complete job descriptions program, and how to encourage participation from all parts of the organization. That includes top management, the employees, and any union or other collective bargaining entity.
Quarterly Updates, No Additional Cost
Very important these days, quarterly updates are included in the program as a standard feature—key at a time of constantly changing laws and emerging technologies. We’ll send you new or revised descriptions every 90 days. And the cost is extremely reasonable, averaging less than 66 cents per job description … already written, legally reviewed, and ready to adapt or use as is.
You can evaluate BLR’s Job Descriptions Encyclopedia at no cost in your office for up to 30 days. For more information or to order, go here— Job Descriptions Encyclopedia.
Download product sample
Download list of job descriptions included
Other Recent Articles on Job Descriptions
How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior
The Critical Line Between Essential and Marginal Functions
Most Common ‘Essential Function’ Mistakes
‘Other Duties as Assigned’ Won’t Cut It in 2009