How to Handle a Toxic VP of Operations When Leadership Ignores the Problem?

Hello All,

We have been facing many major problems from one of our senior employees, who is designated as VP of Operations for the last five years. His rude behavior and strategic concepts of operations cause significant attrition and deactivation among all employees.

As an HR Manager working within the same organization, I have pointed out this issue many times and informed the CEO and Director, but they are not paying any attention. He always creates problems and then blames others, only taking credit when something good happens. As a result, we now have only 10 out of 12 good people left, with the rest being juniors or new hires.

Please advise me on how to work within such an organization. I cannot leave soon, instead, I want to change this scenario.

I am waiting for your valuable feedback.

Thanks,
Milind

Dear Milind,

I suggest you convince your management to have concepts such as "jerk of the month" (similar to employee of the month). If your VP is so bad that employees select him, management will take notice. Ensure and make it clear that whoever is selected shall be displayed on the notice board for a month.

Also, as an innocent discussion, you can suggest to management to conduct an employee satisfaction survey. If employees have a problem with this VP, they will mention it. Then you will have evidence to address the issue strongly.

Dear Milind,

Hope you have ensured that the resigned employee has filled out the Exit Interview form - this should be the first piece of evidence.

Conduct an employee satisfaction survey - this will serve as the second evidence.

Encourage employees to send emails to HR on a monthly basis, highlighting the issues they are facing. Ensure that these issues are brought to the attention of management without disclosing the employee's name - this will be the third evidence.

Maintain a list of employees who have resigned due to the rude behavior of your VP. Calculate the attrition rate and identify employees who are unwilling to continue with the company (you can do this by searching on portals like Naukri or Monster and checking the last updated date of their profile). Present these cases to top management and allow the employees to voice their concerns - this will serve as the fourth evidence.

Lastly, as an HR professional, work on convincing the management about the attitude problem of the VP, emphasizing how it could negatively impact the business as employees are disengaging and choosing not to continue with the organization.

- Babu

Is this a "Family-run" organization headed by a family member as CEO Director? Is this VP related/known to the family? Then it is extremely difficult to bring about the behavioral change of this VP; but possible with your intelligent strategy.

The rude behavior comes out of a mental complex inside the person, mostly an inferiority complex. Such persons generally have some weaknesses. You have to closely watch and understand this and confront/make others confront him privately whenever the situation arises on his weakness. He may get provoked and harass in other ways, but soon he develops a fear to face that kind of situation/person who confronts him.

Years back, I had a colleague, a Senior Manager-Operation, who more or less fitted into the behavior of your VP. We both reported to the same CEO. He was very close to the CEO as both of them worked together in an earlier company. His main weakness was that he was "technically" poor. But the CEO always supported him.

I documented every incidence in the plant operation/his actions which resulted in tangible or intangible loss to the company or employee turnover. I put the facts in weekly/monthly meetings in front of the CEO.

I also suggested to his subordinates, whenever they came to me for their problems, (i) to keep cool but point out the impact of his bad decisions then and there. (ii) talk to the friends of the 'Senior manager' to make this person realize that he was having a rude/bad behavior. Things did improve. It was slow.

I suggest that you make him realize that his behavior is bad through his close friends. Document all events and make a monthly report without any tinge of complaint against the VP and pass it on to CEO.

K. Sambasivam

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Hi,

Perhaps you haven't understood the difference between the CEO, Director, and VP in your organization. I am aware that politics exist in your organization. Study them well, and you will find many similarities; otherwise, by now, your CEO or Director would have corrected the VP's attitude.

Regards,
Khadir

Thank you for your reply. However, all of the suggestions mentioned above have been discussed directly and indirectly with the Managing Director (MD). The MD pays full attention to listening but does not fully support any action plan or strategies.

If you have any further questions or need clarification, please feel free to ask.

Best regards

You have mentioned that you are an HR Manager. Who are you reporting to? What is he/she doing about it? Your superior in the organization (who should be at the same level as VP-Operations) must take up this matter with the Management.

In case you are the head of the HR department, you cannot shirk off your responsibility by saying the MD is not doing anything about this situation. It is a bad reflection on you and your department. So, you must pull up your socks and do something about it instead of just complaining.

Have direct interaction with the VP-ops and let him understand your views on the matter and also gauge his thoughts. There could be an issue of the quality of recruits that you are providing him or the lack of a proper training mechanism in your organization to make the recruits productive. Wish you all the best.

Regards,
V M Gaitonde