h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Anyone got some suggestions on how I deal with the following?

I work in utilities, for a small company. However, we have numerous clients both large and small and recently took on a new member of staff to replace a well-liked and respected chap who was sloping off to Cyprus to live (lucky thing). Now, I've been with the company the longest out of the employees, and have a fair bit of experience under my belt as well as some technical knowledge. My trusted protege is just out of college and displays a high degree of aptitude for the work we do, not least of which is the ability to deal with problem clients.

Our newest member is a chap, ten years older than I, who has come from an office background in a big city. I'm not sure if he is unwilling to listen to me or not, but he does seem to have a problem with asking me for help - he's often referred to me by the MD, and usually leaves my desk looking as dissatisfied as he did when he came to me. Now, I'm pretty sure it's not me or my teaching methods, as I taught both the younger girl in the office and the person who left, and neither of them had a problem with how I work and how I structure the data. So I'm left wondering, does he have a problem with me personally?

Recently I noticed: He ignores my requests to fill in the correspondence notes which allow other advisors to see who has been working on the client's account; he ignores my requests to put all data in in standard format, preferring his own way; he constantly queries the processes I put in place (for a while I was the only advisor in the place and did basically keep the office running single-handed); he passes through phone calls without taking names or references, or asking what the call is about. He also refuses to update the database with information if it is not one of 'his' clients, which led to an unfortunate situation where a post-it, with vital information on it, was lost.

I need to know - how do I deal with this guy? Do I pull rank on him, saying "Look, I've been here longer than you and you need to listen to me?" Or do I continue the softly softly approach and keep chipping away with very polite emails addressed to all the advisors? He's okay with the clients but he refuses to listen to me, even when the information I'm giving him is vital to his clients.

Augh, what a rant. Can anyone suggest a resolution? i really don't want to have to bring it up at review.

You can try and put up with him and hope he improves (maybe it will just take him longer). In the meantime, try not to show obvious favouritism to the young guy, in case it's a jealousy thing.

Can you find a trusted colleague (maybe an older male from another area) that he might confide in?

Alternatively, or if the above doesn't work, can you find a different role for him? - it sounds like he's unhappy with something. It might be the job, or a personality clash, or something external, but if he doesn't tell you, there's not a lot you can do.

Oh, and you should bring it up at review - at least verbally. That's what they're for.

Icy

If it's a problem you shouldn't really wait until a formal review (is that annual?)

Hard as it is, you should have a quiet informal (ie unrecorded at this stage) chat with him now. Basically setting out the items you've listed above, and letting him tell you his point of view. Much easier said than done, I know, but earns you lots of gold starts for staff management.

i agree with Beatrice. Being straight forward, open, and - above all- friendly with the guy, setting out all the aforementioned complaints clearly and matter-of-factly, in an informal chat will solve things 9 out of 10. Either he'll sort out his attitude, or storm off in a huff. Which would be his problem. And it sounds like he's got a few of those anyway to be honest.

Try your best to do it informally, then if it isnt resolved, do it officially. Theres probably plenty of far less abrasive people out there who'd do the job better by the sounds of it....



id.

One possible line to take would be to say that all the systems that you have in place are always up for review, and that you'd very much welcome his input into how things are organised, valuing the perspective of someone coming into the organisation with fresh eyes. However, before that can happen it's important that he learns how things work at the moment and follows the current procedures, as the best procedures in the world won't work if they're not followed by everyone.

Or something like that.

the softly softly approach is obviously not working he is still not doing what you require him to do i wouldn't pull rank yet.Just have a quiet word with him ask if there is any problems and you have notest that the correspondence notes are not been filled in which need to be filled in and would he please take a name when answering the phone and could he please insure that all data is put into the computer in standard format and updated be polite but firm

if there is still no improvement then bring it up at his review (now pull rank)and insist that the above be done then if you have take it to a official level you have given him 2 opportunities to correct this and there was a abvious non compliance to your request on 2 occations and that paper work has gone out to customers without the important infomation on it

I suppose this is speculation given that I am not in the situation.
But the symptoms you listed in post 1 could be interpreted as someone with 'stand-alone' mentality trying to make their place in the office, make their mark as it were.

And, by the sounds of it, going about it the wrong way. The not going to trusted sources of information, the going up rather than sideways or down for information, not conforming to previous ways of doing things but introducing their own all smack of trying to make their mark.

I could be way off the mark though. And the only real way to deal with this is for them to realise that being nice to the other people will actually make a better impression and their job easier. Quite how that is brought about though....

I'd be willing to bet the MD is getting tee'd off with having to refer them back to you.

Thanks everyone who replied - I was having problems figuring out whether I was just expecting too much, or (even worse) being insensitive to his settling in period.

I think I will have a quiet word with him outside work hours as I'm not the only one who is concerned about his note-taking and phone answering, fortunately there's no personality clash since we get along well, it's just his working practices that are incompatible with the established staff. I suppose that's what happens when you come from a "paperless" office into one where paperwork is the lifeblood of the company!

Ictoan - I will bear in mind that he is just settling into the job and it must be daunting, since he arrived when his predecessor was still here, and they are very big shoes to fill. I don't really blame him for wanting to make his mark, just as you said, he seems to be going about it the wrong way.

Great suggestions people, thanks for helping clear my head on this one and hopefully making me more a more tolerant (and possibly tolerable?) worker

One tip - if you do have a "quiet word", record it. You can get an MP3 player with a voice record function for about £20, not much bigger than a biro. You probably won't ever need to refer to the recording... but you might. You never know, and better safe than sorry, eh?

SoRB

One other recommendation: since he isn't following procedures, ask - has he been properly inducted? Better still, assume he hasn't, and schedule a time for "training", and get him to sign a form when it's complete verifying that he's been trained.

That way, if he hasn't been inducted properly, he'll thank you for finally clearing up exactly what it was he was supposed to be doing all this time. And if he has, it'll neatly make the point that THESE are the procedures he's supposed to be following and now he's signed up to them there's no excuse for not doing. It could be the first stage of a paper trail to getting him sacked...

SoRB

i guess it depends on which part of this glorious and happy, trusting and friendly nice planet you hail from, but in Scotland, (and i believe the rest of the UK) i think (and please correct me if i'm wrong folks) it's illegal to record peoples' conversations without telling them you're doing so...

...could spoil the 'friendly informal chat' atmosphere a bit.....

I'd go for the informal chat, and the induction thing (good idea to get it signed - make sure there is a short summary of office procedures that he has been instructed in)

I have had the same problem in the past. And I hate to say it, but the most recent case has been a man who just can't take what he sees as "orders" from a woman who isn't actually a higher grade than he is.

In the end, the way he is working is not conducive to good teamwork. If there are procedures, which are there for a good reason, they should be followed.

One thing I do in my office (now I have 10 people working, apparently, "with" me) Is to insist that the phone is answered correctly: ie. with the answerers name.

And if they don't pass messages to me correctly (with: date, time, company name, contact name as the very basics, preferably with a coherent message) i do not return the call. It's a painful process though.

Let us know how you get on, and good luck!

Hehe.. thanks invincibledriver - it is indeed illegal in Scotland to record a conversation without the interviewee's prior knowledge - phew, that diploma in journalism finally comes in handy somewhere

"it is indeed illegal in Scotland to record a conversation without the interviewee's prior knowledge "

Really? Wow!

I'd still do it, though. Because apart from anything else, you'll then be able to "remember" exactly what was said. Of course, you won't be able to *prove* it, but if you write a word-for-word transcript of what was said (from "memory", of course) you'll be in a better position than otherwise. Policemen's contemporaneous notes are admissable as evidence, I think...

SoRB

well as far as I can remember *dredges old tired brain* it can be taken as invasion of privacy and/or rendered inadmissible by the courts... course, I'm not planning on taking it to court

I think I will get a third party to sit in on the informal interview though for form's sake.

not so informal then, though, is it.

How about an "interview without coffee"

One VERY important thing nobody has mentioned so far is to write down EVERYTHING as it happens - write a detailed report of everything that has happened so far (including as much detail as you can remember; dates & times, things not recorded, conversations you have had about this with him and others' opinions). Then add any further instances of his failure to work as part of the team IMMEDIATELY. This will
a. Help you to keep a sense of proportion about the matter and
b. Provide you with ammunition IF the worst comes to the worst.

I would put off an informal interview until you have done the above and all your ammunition is in apple pie order. Then, as you say, get a third party to sit in on the interview, maybe to 'take the minutes' which you can get typed up and agreed by all three parties. Just make sure that he can not suggest that you chose someone who is biased toward your view point i.e. a personnel person or a union person?

I do hope it is not what we refer to as a 'boy thing' Good Luck

oh and I'd suggest making an SOP for the office
this helps in training new staff and serves to ensure that procedures are clearly spelled out for everyone else

it's a pain to make, but it's well worth it (<--- voice of experience)

Thanks everyone,

It is a small company so we don't have a union rep and personnel would be one of the directors - I'm certainly not wanting to get them involved at this stage.

We have a procedures manual written up and reference documents on the intranet which I publicise frequently, but no-one else seems to notice excpt the MD

And an informal one at our bit is one without cream cakes!!

If he's come from a big city it's possible that he hasn't had to work 'under' not only someone younger than him, but also a woman, as sad that that sounds, and he could be having trouble adjusting. That could be why he can't ask you for help, but is coming via someone more senior (and probably male). If that is the issue he does need a bit of a kick up the butt.

Have you actually listened to his ideas? If he does query the way things are done could it be because he has ideas for new ways? If you want him to listen to you because your ideas are genuinely the best way, then you should do him the courtesy of listening, and I mean really listening, and considering what he has to say first without dismissing it because you used to do this all by yourself and that's how things work best. It could be you are resistant to change, even though you aren't on your own any more. Obviously I don't know either of you and I could be entirely wrong, but it's worth thinking about. And I still think you should listen to his ideas and at least give him real reasons for not changing (not just 'we've always dont it this way'). I say this because I've had jobs where I've pretty much always mistrusted any changes to the way things have been for a while and found it hard to see that just because something is different from the way I've always done something doesn't automatically make it bad or wrong.

Alternatively is he really refusing to do certain things, or forgetting to do them? If he hasn't been there for long it could take him some time to pick up on all the little things that need to be done.