Questions to ask before a promotion
By Joan Lloyd
Dear Joan:
I have been second in charge in my department for several
years as a Coordinator. I have been told by my current boss
that he is going to be “retiring” from his position and
that he would expect that I will be asked to step into his position
by management.
I found out that my boss had discussed with management staying
on in a case management role after his “retirement.”
There have been some discussions in other departments that a
Director is going to be hired to manage several departments in the
hospital, including my department. This information has not
been officially divulged to my department however.
I have been asked to meet with the VP over my
department. I have not been told what this meeting will
entail but I know that I would not be considered for this supposed
Director position. I am anticipating that I will be asked to
either become the manager in my department (with different
responsibilities than my past manager held) and report to the
director, or remain as a Coordinator, with additional
responsibilities and report to the Director.
I would like to know some very specific questions that I
should ask, so that I get a more complete understanding of what is
going to be asked of me in the future. Also, I would like
some advice regarding an increase in pay to compensate for the
additional responsibilities.
Answer:
Congratulations on being a valued employee who is in the
running for a promotion. No matter what the reorganization brings,
it sounds as if there are more responsibilities coming your
way.
I know you want a “complete understanding” about
what you will be asked to do, but the VP may not know the answers
yet. His meeting with you may be to help flesh that out. He may be
wondering what you are interested in, so he can factor that into
the final reorganization. He may also want to manage your
expectations, in the event your role may be different than you
thought.
Here are some questions that may be helpful, whether you are
promoted to manager, or stay in the coordinator role:
·
What results are you trying to achieve with the new alignment of
responsibilities in the department?
·
What would you like me to focus on in the first six
months/year?
·
What do you think the department is currently doing well?
·
Are there any areas you have a concern about?
·
Here are the areas I have a question/concern about…..
·
Are there any people/performance issues you’d like me to
address? (Or, brief him on what you think.)
·
Are there any projects that you want me to undertake? (Or propose
some.)
·
Are there any new committees/meetings I will be a part of?
·
What outcomes will be expected from the new Director?
·
Who do you recommend I partner with more closely?
·
Who can I use as a support person for administrative
assistance?
·
Do my benefits and compensation change?
Be prepared for some ambiguity as these positions evolve. If
this reorganization is like most I’ve seen, no one will know
exactly who will be doing what, until they have been in their roles
for a while. In fact, sometimes there is no pay increase until
things shake out.
