Management is cutting my job after I automated 15 hours of weekly work, do I have to document it for them?

[u/Claptrap_5Z]

When I took this coordinator job, our team was losing fifteen to twenty hours every week just updating client logs and manually formatting spreadsheets.

I built a few simple macros and formula templates that cut all that data entry down to an hour. I thought saving twenty hours a week would free me up for higher-level projects.

instead, my manager called me into a meeting last Friday. She told me that because our administrative workload dropped, they are merging my role with a part-time position and letting me go. To get my severance check, they want me to write step-by-step documentation for every macro I set up.

I literally worked myself out of a salary. I should of just kept doing the data entry by hand like the last person.

Do I ACTUALLY have to document processes I created that were not in my original job description?

[u/_probablyryan]

Yeah, the strategy is to make it look like you are working more efficiently, not like you built a system that lets anyone work more efficiently.

[u/Amissa → u/_probablyryan]

I know maybe twice as much as the average Excel user and I don’t document my workbooks. I know how they work. I’m not here to teach ppl how to use Excel. If they can’t figure it out from the high level notes I’ve included at my boss’ insistence, then they’re not going to figure out how to troubleshoot the process if something unexpected occurs.

I’m not so full of myself that I know the company won’t just reinvent the wheel if they can’t figure out my work. I can document everything to a T (and then tweak it later and forget to update the document), but there’s a knowledge dump that I’m continuously augmenting. I can’t teach someone how to problem solve.

[u/njhenry → u/Amissa]

If a person can’t bother to learn Excel on their own it will be an uphill battle to teach them. At this point there are so many videos that will teach you Excel let alone you can ask an AI chatbot to walk you through a process. People need to want to learn.

[u/Lou_C_Fer → u/njhenry]

I had to take an excel class as part of my associates degree, and it was a great introduction. I'd recommend a class to anyone that wants to learn. Of course, I have forgotten most of it because I don't use it while on disability.

[u/Amissa → u/njhenry]

Ppl do need to want to learn. And if no matter how much they try and can’t level up in Excel skills, that’s fine. I keep trying to learn Spanish and I can’t converse with a three year old. My brain blue screens at oral reception.

[u/tgerz → u/njhenry]

At this point something like Claude Cowork can 100% take on any complicated spreadsheet task like this. No one needs documentation. It’s not something I’m bragging about or feel like is good for all of us, but I’ve just seen it. It’s really good at these types of tasks. It also reminds me of the compass being just a little out of alignment on a ship because of a nail being too close or something like that. Just enough to slowly take the ship off course and after a week they’re fucked. Automation is great until someone thinks it can run on its own without supervision.

[u/JT653 → u/Amissa]

Is your team not using AI? Claude can review your workbook and identify all the formulas and interdependencies and also create a complete SOP about it in minutes. If it breaks, Claude can figure out the failure very quickly and fix it. I only say this as your confidence in your Excel knowledge keeping your job safe is very high and you need to be concerned. The level of competence that Claude exhibits is very good. It still makes mistakes on occasion and the outputs need reviewing but so do humans.

[u/Amissa → u/JT653]

I mean, I know twice as much as the user that can type in data, use SUM, reference cells, filter columns and highlight cells. I still only know a single digit percentage of Excel’s full capabilities.

I haven’t used Claude and AI use is not prevalent in my company yet. There is rumor that higher ups want to trim the 50-person accounting department to 10 by using AI, but I’m not confident that’s feasible right now. (I’m not in that department.)

[u/thankyoufriendx3 → u/Amissa]

Problem solving is a huge skill.

[u/Far_Programmer_5724 → u/Amissa]

Idk If I know twice as much but I'm pretty decent. I made a reconciliation workbook that i need to turn off auto calc for. The controller called and asked me to change something because he was worried about ruining a formula and the thing he wanted to change was a column name lol.

It's crazy this post showed up now. I took PTO off this whole week and built a zoom app that I was gonna show to work. Has a deterministic version and ai version that I only made cause of the hype. Now I'm thinking of keeping it to myself but I'm sad cause no lie I wanted to show off. I guess I'll just share with code review

[u/soxinthebox → u/Amissa]

An long-lived undocumented Excel packed with formulas is a nightmare to untangle. Being able to problem solve doesn't get you far when trying to replace the ancient fragile workbook someone has made.

[u/Amissa → u/soxinthebox]

The workbook isn’t completely undocumented. There is a worksheet explaining how to process data through in twenty steps. Replacing my document won’t be my problem (although it isn’t ancient and full of fragile formulas). But I’m not labeling everything to handhold someone through the workbook.

[u/_BrokenButterfly → u/Amissa]

Excel is kind of a clusterfuck. I was trying to reorder a data set by date, and when I tried to reorder it it reordered just that column. Not awesome. I looked through as many options as I could think to look through for about 20 minutes, no luck. I did a Google search for instructions (this was back when Google halfway worked) and the answer was on a website on the second or third results page. I've long since forgotten how to do it, but whatever commands it took felt completely random.

[u/ElGrandeQues0 → u/_probablyryan]

Until there's a promotion, then suddenly make yourself look just competent enough to train the next guy

[u/Silent-Bit-6237 → u/_probablyryan]

Totally agree, it's frustrating how that works. It's like they want to take credit for the efficiency without acknowledging the effort that went into creating it.

[u/Own_Laugh_5080 → u/_probablyryan]

This is so god damn stupid I can’t believe one asshole is responsible for this bullshit. It’s not even done better than a person. With the exception of self checkout people do not want this kind of automation.

[u/nasir41 → u/_probablyryan]

Companies say they want people to automate repetitive work, but sometimes the safest way to do it is to make the automation invisible. At that point you're basically rewarded for hiding the productivity gain rather than creating it.

[u/Dzov → u/_probablyryan]

Even with directions, the odds that it’ll last more than a few months without running into issues is pretty slim. And none of them will be able to fix it.

[u/DonutTamer → u/_probablyryan]

I had to learn this the hard way. I was lucky enough to keep my job. They just decided to pile on more assignments for me until I was maxed out.