“My Line manager sent me to the Office Manager to tell me he was not happy with my work, but he did not tell him what it was he was unhappy about. What shall I do?”

You have to find out what the Line Manager is complaining about, so that you can rectify it. Ideally you want a meeting with him, with a chance to discuss your performance with him. But before that you must prepare your case.

The first thing you must do is sit down and examine your work. Do you have a job description you could go through and consider your performance against? Or even a list of duties? Use whatever you have to consider your performance in each area of your work.

Critically and honestly evaluate your performance. Make notes of what you have done well, and why, and where you think you may need to improve.

If you find there might be areas where performance can be improved then develop a plan for improvement. If you feel you need training then note that too. This is your action plan.

You will find it helpful to read these pages on our sister website

Performance management and appraisals

Once you have reviewed your performance and have a plan, in outline at least, you need to get a meeting organised with your Line Manger. If he has a secretary or assistant, arrange a time with her, telling her that you would like to discuss his comments on your performance, and how it can be improved.

If you absolutely can’t get a meeting with the Line Manager you could try asking the Office Manager to act as intermediary for you, and at least confirm what the problem is, and to convey a message from you that you are keen to improve, but need a discussion.

At the meeting, stay calm and rational. Apologise for the fact that there is a cause for complaint, assure them that you want to rectify it and get confirmation of the problem. If you have already correctly identified it then you can propose the solution you also identified- whether it is training, more time ……etc.

If the issue is not something you have foreseen, you may have to do some quick thinking as to why the issue has arisen. This is where your preparation should pay off, because you should have thought through all aspects of your job.

Once that is cleared up, now might be a good time to restate that you want to please, are willing to do what is necessary, but would appreciate some regular feedback on your performance. Perhaps your Line manager will instigate regular performance reviews and avoid this problem occurring again.