Position Change Without Being Asked

Question

Background:

I have been in my current role for just over a year and a half (18 months) and earlier this week, my manager said I will no longer be an R&D Engineer, but move on to IT from now on. I have no IT background, don't know that much about IT as I am a qualified (Robotics) Engineer. And the manager will bring the topic of me no longer being in the R&D dept, but now in the IT dept - which really bothers me for a number of reasons:

1. The company knows I am a qualified Engineer.
2. Constant reminder by my manager to everyone in person that I am now in the IT department and no longer R&D.
3. 99% of the tasks handed out to me were completed.
4. No one asked, mentioned, or stated if I would be interested or wanted to work in the IT department.

(I feel as if in 6 months time they will say, too bad we gave you a shot in IT as well and you didn't come up to our standards, and here we are terminating you. - I hope I am wrong though)

So my questions are:

• Q1: Is this normal/professional etiquette?
• Q2: How does one approach a superior and say "I don't want to be in IT, as I want to excel my career in R&D?" diplomatically without getting the "If you don't like it, there is the door." reply.
• Q3: Which superior would it be best to approach? Have a group meeting with the head of the company and him (my manager), or talk to my manager first, then the head of the company?
• Q4: Why wouldn't anyone ask if I would be ok with the change, and just assumed so.
• Q5: Why is this bothering me so much? Is it a big deal, or does things like this happen in most companies?

Answer 1

Q1: Is this normal/professional etiquette?

Neither normal nor professional. It is a "here it is, whether you like it or not" scenario.

Q2: How does one approach a superior and say "I don't want to be in IT, as I want to excel my career in R&D?" diplomatically without getting the "If you don't like it, there is the door." reply.

You can't control what your superior will say, but there are general techniques:

• Talk in private, 1-on-1.
• Don't vent/rage/rant publicly about the problem.
• Keep it as contained to the fewest relevant people as possible, but escalate higher up when necessary.

Q3: Which superior would it be best to approach? Have a group meeting with the head of the company and him (my manager), or talk to my manager first, then the head of the company?

As per Q2, start small, yourself with manager first, then only escalate when necessary. You don't want to start off a complaint with a company wide CC reply-all.

Q4: Why wouldn't anyone ask if I would be ok with the change, and just assumed so.

Probably because they're unprofessional.

Q5: Why is this bothering me so much? Is it a big deal, or does things like this happen in most companies?

It bothers you because someone just took your job away and gave you another job. It would be weird if it didn't bother you. I'm in IT, and if one day I am suddenly an R&D engineer, I'll be like "WTF? I don't know how to do Robotics R&D!"

Answer 2

TL;DR: If I were you, I'd brush up my CV.

A1: No. Key employees, if the employer wishes to retain them, have to be kept happy by providing them with the role they wish to do and are qualified for. Etiquette demands that H.R. communicates major role changes beforehand, and their reasoning behind it.
A2: If they didn't ask you beforehand, they won't take your objections, no matter how diplomatically you bring them in. Go figure.
A3: Approach your direct superior and just ask him why. Don't object, only try to gather intelligence.
A4: I fear that they don't assume you would be okay with it, but rather the opposite.
A5: You have every right to be bothered.

Answer 3

I'll go on another tangent here as you mentioned your boss is moving to IT from R&D. He must like you and trust that you do a good job and as a junior, you are still trainable. All of this makes you a perfect right hand man in the new department.

I am an electrical engineer. Worked on a mass manufacturing line fresh out of college, testing assembled parts and devices. Started computerizing the testing process. This is how I got into computers. And a large, multinational conglomerate took interest in my IT capabilities and took a chance on me doing full time IT work. I enjoyed it so much that I did not ever look back. Considering you are at a very junior stage in your career, instead of looking at this as a setup for firing, take it as a new challenge and a new career path opportunity. If you think that you will fail, believe me, you will. But consider this from an engineer to another: robotics is mainly computerized mechanics for the lack of a better short description. So, you have the basic understanding of computers. Or you should, by now. Why not apply that understanding to manage more than a handful of systems. After all they are all 1's and 0's and operate with the same logic.

Answer 4

Without knowing what is happening to your company and how others in your role were treated, it's hard to give definitive answers. Here are some thoughts incorporating the perspective of the business. Most companies, certainly the good ones, would prefer that their employees are happ. But, there will be times were needs of the business are a higher priority.

Q1: Is this normal/professional etiquette?

While your manager's method of announcing the change may be unprofessional, the fact that your weren't asked can be normal and professional. Business needs and priorities change, staffing needs to be adjusted and sometimes you are the odd man out. While we would love our employees to have our happiness first and foremost in their priorities, that isn't going to happen. Business success has to come before individual happiness.

Q2: How does one approach a superior and say "I don't want to be in IT, as I want to excel my career in R&D?" diplomatically without getting the "If you don't like it, there is the door." reply.

The same way you would discuss any other sensitive subject. Ask for a private meeting. Honestly and professionally express your concerns and desires and be willing to accept the companies decision. Accepting may mean you are better off leaving, but that is business.

Q3: Which superior would it be best to approach? Have a group meeting with the head of the company and him (my manager), or talk to my manager first, then the head of the company?

Start with your manager. It's not a good idea to jump layers in an organization. EVen if you think you already know what your manager is going to say, have the conversation, then consider whether it makes sense to go higher.

Q4: Why wouldn't anyone ask if I would be ok with the change, and just assumed so.

They may not have asked because it wouldn't make a difference. If the decision is already made, how would you feel if they asked and then told you it didn't matter what you wanted? They may have already decided that they need fewer Robotics Engineers and the most valuable place for them to use you is in IT.

Q5: Why is this bothering me so much? Is it a big deal, or does things like this happen in most companies?

It hurts because you want them to care about you personally and it appears they don't. You don't need to be happy about that. Don't know if this happens in "most" companies, but in every company I have worked in with more than a few departments, there have been business re-organizations where the needs of the business drove the decision and not happiness of each impacted individual. BTW, this happens to managers too.