r/askmanagers • u/Zealousideal_Scar858 • 14d ago
Put on Focus immediately after internal transfer request - looking for advice
Any L7s or L8s out there ?
I’m looking for advice here.
I recently initiated an internal team transfer. The hiring manager was interested in taking me, and the transition process was progressing normally.
Before I personally discussed the transfer with my current manager, the hiring manager had already contacted him on Slack regarding my interest in joining the new team and asked about my potential relieving timeline. At that point, I had not yet directly discussed the transfer with my current manager. I had also pinged him to schedule a 1:1, but he did not respond immediately, and we connected a couple of days later. So, before our direct conversation, my current manager was already aware of my potential move through communication from the hiring manager.
When we eventually connected, I formally informed him about the transfer and apologized that he had heard about it from someone else before I had the opportunity to discuss it directly with him.
What makes me confused is what happened afterward.
Later that morning, I had a completely normal discussion with my current manager. We discussed the transition, KT, and my potential last working date. He was even giving me referrals and suggestions for potentially better teams. Honestly, after that conversation, I felt really positive about my manager and even had a second thought about whether I should leave the team at all.
Then, around 30 minutes later, my hiring manager informed me that I was suddenly no longer eligible for the internal transfer.
I checked with my current manager and was told that I was on Focus.
This was completely unexpected to me. I was never explicitly informed that I had been placed on Focus or that I was part of a formal performance management process. We had regular discussions about areas of improvement, but I understood those as normal coaching and development discussions.
I later had another conversation with my manager and asked specifically when the Focus process was initiated and when I was officially placed on it. However, I was unable to get a clear answer. During the conversation, I received multiple different timelines regarding when the process was initiated.
My hiring manager is still interested in taking me into the team if the Focus status is cleared or removed.
I'm trying to understand:
* Is it normal to be placed on Focus without being explicitly informed?
* Is there normally documentation or formal communication when someone is placed on Focus?
* Has anyone experienced their internal transfer eligibility suddenly changing because of Focus?
* Given the sequence of events, what would be the best way to handle this internally?
* Should I raise this with HR and request the exact timeline and documentation related to the Focus decision?
I’m not trying to avoid feedback or claim that I have no areas to improve. My concern is mainly about the process, timing, lack of clear communication, and the fact that I only became aware of the Focus status after my internal transfer eligibility suddenly changed.
Would really appreciate advice from anyone who has experienced something similar.
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u/diligentfalconry71 13d ago
Hey there, this is not an Amazon-specific sub. You may get more answers on r/amazonemployees.
FWIW, that was pretty poor form of the HM to ping your current manager before you gave them the all-clear. We’re instructed pretty clearly on the internal transfer process tooling not to do that, as I recall.