The customer this site supported was extremely challenging to work with. Requirements and processes changed frequently and often without sufficient time for the operation to pivot or adapt. The scope of work shifted dramatically on a regular basis, and new systems were implemented that were less effective than the ones they replaced, requiring additional support that was not provided. When these decisions led to operational challenges, the site was often held fully responsible for the resulting failures. Direction was inconsistent, and expectations changed so frequently that it was not always clear what the correct course of action was.
During my time there, I witnessed multiple management terminations that occurred without warning, including instances where employees were dismissed shortly before becoming eligible for certain benefits. In several cases, these terminations appeared to be influenced by the customer, despite contractual language prohibiting customer involvement in internal hiring or termination decisions. Senior leadership did not consistently hold the customer accountable to contractual boundaries or effectively push back on unclear or damaging business directives. Additionally, the site was required to transition away from proven operating systems to inferior alternatives, which contributed to recurring errors, delayed shipments, and, at times, system failures. All of which, were blamed on the site.
As a member of management, I was consistently overloaded with expanding role requirements. I regularly worked 13+ hour days without receiving adequate training, support, or even the performance and alignment meetings I repeatedly requested.
Over time, positions were eliminated, and I was required to absorb those responsibilities without any reduction in my existing workload. Expectations continued to increase while available resources decreased. I was also consistently inundated with customer requests to the point where there were simply not enough hours in the day to meet all assigned responsibilities. When those demands were not met, the prevailing message was that you were failing, rather than that the workload had become unsustainable.
In addition, I was reprimanded on multiple occasions for requesting information that was necessary to fulfill customer requests or conduct meaningful root-cause analysis on operational issues. This created an environment where accountability was expected, but the tools and transparency required to perform effectively were not consistently provided.
Leadership’s response was typically to add more tasks, Rather than critically analyze the operation for efficiency and optimization. There was little focus on improving the process itself. The prevailing mindset was not, “What can we do to streamline or optimize this bloated process?” but instead, “What else can we add to it to meet customer demands?”
At no point was there a meaningful discussion about what resources were required for success. The focus remained on output expectations, without corresponding investment in support, structure, or operational improvement.
