Needed: More management help!

December 7, 2010 1:22 PM

Still trying to be a great boss; what did I do wrong?

So if you remember, I was becoming a manager for the first time and sought your advice. I tried to be laid back, patient with the new employee (who is just out of school) and was a little too lax with her - since it was low-paying, I allowed her to telework, leave early if she needed to, etc.

Well, now it's getting out of hand. She's a little jaded because the pay is low (and the tasks are menial), and she's teleworking more and more and leaving earlier every day. The work was good at first but is getting a little sloppy, and it's coming now with a little bit of grumbling.

I realize it was my fault not to be more disciplined at the beginning. At the same time, I need to be tougher - how do you strike a balance between being supportive and nurturing, while still demanding respect and hard work?

Sigh. Management is hard.

posted by adverb to work & money (21 answers total)

There's no real compromise at this point. This is why shitty jobs are in highly controlled environments. Is she working towards something? Does she want to eventually move up to management or advance her career? Try to identify these mid-to-long term goals and show how immediate tasks work towards that.

Even if the goals don't match what is available to the company, I would try to at least show that you encourage her personal growth. This might mean hiring someone to do this job every 2-3 years out of college*, but I much rather work with someone eager then someone who has been doing then job for 7 years and is nasty to be around.

I think the answer is that this is simply the nature of this kind of work and if you don't advance or show advancement, you're going to get disgruntled people doing tasks below their ability and at a low pay. If that's the case, all the incentives in the world won't make a difference.

* Seriously, even if her goal is grad school or something not within the company, try to show your support. The worst thing is when a company has someone at a low paying, "bad" job and they don't want to lose them so they make it feel like they can't leave. Don't be this person, if the job is as you describe it, there's probably a hundred kids out of school that can fulfill that role. Work on making this a transitive job and less on something someone makes a career out of.
posted by geoff. at 1:29 PM on December 7, 2010

I think her behavior is normal in a dead end job. If you know you're paying her less than she can get elsewhere eventually and you haven't introduced any possibility of being promoted, and she gets the sense that she's going to stagnate at your company, then what's the point of working hard?

What kinds of incentives does she have to stay motivated (other than the bad economy, which might not really matter to a young person without responsibilities)?
posted by anniecat at 1:32 PM on December 7, 2010

Okay, while it's good you are taking responsibility for not being more disciplined in the beginning, please don't be too hard on yourself. I was an entry-level web person once with a low-paying job and menial tasks, and even I (a pretty damn lazy person) realized that grumbling and messing around were not options. In as nice a manner as you feel like using, tell her flat out that if she doesn't like it, she can leave. Entry-level is about paying your dues and mastering the menial tasks so you can move up to the harder, more rewarding ones. If she can't understand that or feels that she's above it all after less than 4 months, that's her problem, not yours.
posted by coupdefoudre at 1:32 PM on December 7, 2010 [2 favorites]

Also, if the pay is so low for a college grad, can the job be done by someone with less of an education who wouldn't find the job low paying?
posted by anniecat at 1:33 PM on December 7, 2010 [3 favorites]

She's a little jaded because the pay is low (and the tasks are menial), and she's teleworking more and more and leaving earlier every day. The work was good at first but is getting a little sloppy, and it's coming now with a little bit of grumbling.

The answer to this is actually really simple. Teleworking and leaving early are privileges for employees whose work is otherwise up to par. If she can get her work back on track, she can have these privileges returned to her. But until then, these are privileges that are not accessible to her.... but you're sure (you say) that this is only a temporary situation.

I realize it was my fault not to be more disciplined at the beginning.

I strongly disagree with this, at least from the facts you've presented. In the end, she's responsible for her own behavior. Certainly if I were working a job with the same flexibility that her's has, I would go out of my way not to screw it up.
posted by anastasiav at 1:42 PM on December 7, 2010 [17 favorites]

Manager Tools basics. You need to give corrective feedback.
posted by bfranklin at 1:43 PM on December 7, 2010 [2 favorites]

I think her behavior is normal in a dead end job. If you know you're paying her less than she can get elsewhere eventually and you haven't introduced any possibility of being promoted, and she gets the sense that she's going to stagnate at your company, then what's the point of working hard?

I had a lot of dead-end jobs, and I did them extremely well. This is how I was able to lift myself out of dead-end jobs. People don't underperform because a job is meaningless; they underperform because a) They aren't being managed properly; or b) They are lazy and/or apathetic.

It's hard to tell which is the case here.

To the OP: There's nothing wrong with being a permissive boss, allowing an employee to telework and leave early. There is something seriously wrong about accepting sub-par performance from an employee. ANY employee, no matter how dead-end the position.

Talk to her. Show her where she's lacking. Give her consequences (like not allowing teleworking) if she continues down this path.

The key to managing in a crappy environment like the one you describe is to be specific. That means put expectations, directions, and consequences in writing, and hold everyone to them, including yourself.
posted by coolguymichael at 1:44 PM on December 7, 2010 [3 favorites]

One thing you could've should've done was to build in a check-in point. "OK, we'll try this working-from-home arrangement for 2 months, and we'll be aiming for the following outcomes. At the check-in we'll see whether you're reaching the outcomes, and if not, we'll go back to office hours to get back on track."

You should nip things in the bud, because they'll get worse otherwise, and you'll lose even more credibility.

Schedule a meeting with her. You can say something like "I have no objection in theory to flexible work arrangements, and, being new, wanted to give it a try here. We agreed that you'd be able to telecommute on some days and there would be remaining hours that you'd work here in the office. Unfortunately, from my perspective, it's not working. For the last few weeks, I see you've telecommuted 3 days a week, and your office hours have dropped to 16. So we're not getting things done and as a result we haven't met this, that, and the other target for this month/pay period/ whatever. Would you agree that we've been trending in this direction? [response]. I need to have you in the office more often, where communication is easier and I can keep track of progress. We need to make and agree on a concrete plan that spells out the number of days you'll be telecommuting per week, the tasks that will be accomplished on those days, and the number of hours you'll be in the office the rest of the week. We can have weekly check-ins to make sure this is working."

Don't feel bad about this. It's just work. And these are the basic committments a person needs to maintain in order to do a job, whether or not it's boring or they're jaded. Guaranteed, if she doesn't want to do it, someone else does - and if she doesn't want to do it, she's better off seeking some place where she'll be happier. And you'll be happier because ultimately, you're responsible for her output, and it sucks to be left holding the bag by somebody who doesn't give a shit about you or their job.

Also, you will definitely be doing her a favor by being fair but structured. If this is her first job out of school, then its function for her almost by definition is to learn that the working world is structured and will have expectations of people in return for their being paid. The sooner people learn this, the sooner they can get the hang of managing their own careers. If she has a lax boss for a long time, she's going to develop some really bad habits that can make her really hard to employ down the line. You can acknowledge your experiment with flexible scheduling isn't working, but then demonstrate that things that don't work get responded to quickly. It's not never fucking up that makes a good manager, it's identifying when you've fucked up as soon as possible and then limiting the damage and learning whatever there is to be learned. It's not too late for that.
posted by Miko at 1:47 PM on December 7, 2010 [12 favorites]

On preview - yeah, you could just revoke the telecommuting arrangement until things improve. It definitely is a privilege. You can be sure she is not putting in the hours on those days - if she's lax in the office she is undoubtedly even more lax on her own.
posted by Miko at 1:49 PM on December 7, 2010

You're her manager, not her friend - you gave her these benefits in order to get work from her, not just to be liked, right?

Explain to her that you gave her flexibility in hours and teleworking because you respected her ability to do the work. But lately the quality of her work is suffering (give examples). Her behavior is now reflecting on you, and it's reflecting poorly. Let her know the consequences of not doing her job well.

Tell her what you need: for her to put in full days, or to show good morale when possible, or complete xxx widgets. ("I want to be able to recommend you for the yearly bonus/promotion/etc, but these are the things I'd need to see first.") Ask what, if anything, you can do to enable her to be successful. Only agree to do those things that you have the ability to do.
posted by ldthomps at 1:49 PM on December 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

I think Miko has the best answer. When I work somewhere I don't expect my boss to be "supportive and nurturing." I expect them to be respectful, and to work as hard as they're expecting me to, but they're not my friend and they're not my mom.
posted by MsMolly at 2:52 PM on December 7, 2010

"Lucy, thanks for coming in. I just want to say that I appreciate the good work you've done for us (then give examples). How do you feel your work is right now? (Listen) I can't help but notice that since you've been teleworking more recently, your work hasn't been up to the same quality that it was when you did less of it. Is there anything I can do to help you with that?"

Depending on how the subsequent conversation goes, you may want to suggest a temporary suspension of teleworking until the work returns to a better quality or just gently warn her that she may lose this privilege if her work doesn't return to the standard it needs to be at.
posted by inturnaround at 2:56 PM on December 7, 2010 [2 favorites]

adverb: "The work was good at first but is getting a little sloppy,and it's coming now with a little bit of grumbling."

Do you have anything more objective than that? Because taking away telecommuting for grumbling sounds like a Demotivator poster. "Sloppy work" could mean anything from indentation style to "who was the idiot that wrote all this code" to putting broken code in production without testing, and I think it's important to realize the only person's perspective you've shared is your own.

This is why managers love metrics, gives them something besides gut feelings to make decisions on. If metrics show the output is the same, but you think they need more time in the office, well I suppose it's your discretion as manager but it's kinda pointy haired.
posted by pwnguin at 3:58 PM on December 7, 2010

Teleworking and leaving early are privileges for employees whose work is otherwise up to par.

Seconded. And oh, I have felt your pain.

How are you correcting her sloppy work? (You are having her correct it and not just fixing it yourself, right?) If she's made similar mistakes a few times in a row, that's grounds for a meeting. I would start off the meeting by asking if there's something wrong, because you're been surprised to see her doing work that's not up to her current level.

This is an easier intro for you than starting right off with the Stern Boss Speech, and it also covers you from feeling like a big jerkface if it turns out that she's got real some hardship going on. Being distracted and cranky because you're taking care of a sick parent is a whole different thing than being distracted and cranky because you'd rather be playing.

Does she get a six-month review as a new employee? Even if it's not company-mandated, it sounds like it would be a good idea as a way to recalibrate expectations.
posted by desuetude at 5:08 PM on December 7, 2010

Dropping back in now that I have a bit more time. Listen, "sloppy" is bull. Sloppy is a judgment and arguable. Are things late? Are they incomplete? Are there spelling errors? Factual errors? These are things to give feedback on.

"Hey, employee, can I give you some feedback? When your work has errors, I begin to worry about your ability to focus on quality while working from home. What can you do differently?"

Focus on behavior. She cannot argue specific behaviors. She can argue that she isn't sloppy. She can't argue that there are 10 spelling errors in the report she produced.

You're fundamentally asking the wrong question. You don't strike a balance between being supportive and nurturing while demanding respect and hardwork. You are supportive and nurturing BY demanding respect and hard work. Your failing is not trying to be too nice. Being nice is fine. Your failing is in not providing constant feedback on performance.

Every day you should be telling your people what they're doing right and supporting them in continuing those behaviors. You should also be calling out inappropriate behaviors and being supportive in helping the employee change those behaviors. You shouldn't have to drop the hammer on this employee -- corrective feedback shouldn't be a big deal. Listen, this thing you're doing isn't working. What else can you try instead? It's not "RAWR SHAPE UP OR YOU FIRED."

Please, please don't do what inturnaround is suggesting. It's well meaning, but a) it's a complibut. If you're going to compliment someone, do it. Don't use it as a cover to make yourself feel better about doing your job and providing corrective feedback. It makes all positive feedback insincere and employees won't hear the good because they're waiting for the but... b) You're a manager. You delegate work down. It is not your job to fix the employee's problem for them. SHE NEEDS TO FIX THIS. Note in the feedback above, the onus is on her to suggest a behavior change. This amounts to _commitment_ from her to change. If you ask her what you can do to help, the commitment is yours to fix the issue.

All of this and more is in the Manager Tools casts. I cannot recommend these enough to any manager.
posted by bfranklin at 5:22 PM on December 7, 2010

If you're not happy with the quality of her work, that's what you need to address. Point out where her work doesn't meet the required standards. Ask her to redo the work. Every time. If necessary (and it may be necessary), start being clearer about your expectations for the work that she does. If it's meeting deadlines that is the issue, start arranging face to face meetings on a weekly basis to check progress (actually that's not a bad thing to do anyway). If it's quality issues, identify the problems and try a coaching approach to get the improvement that you're looking for.

She may be bored - are there some slightly less menial tasks that you could give her that would make her feel more interested in her work?

Also nthing the finding out what she wants to do next, and looking for ways to help her develop the skills that would help her with her next career move. Even if that's in another company.

Also agree with Miko that first jobbers often lack an understanding of how work works - and setting clear rules and expectations provides structure that can help.

I think the teleworking and leaving early are red herrings. Your focus should be on her output not her input. Even if she's in the office 9-5, 5 days a week, that doesn't mean that her work will improve.
posted by finding.perdita at 5:33 PM on December 7, 2010

how do you strike a balance between being supportive and nurturing, while still demanding respect and hard work?


By laying down rules and being consistent in how they are enforced.

No one is forcing her to do the job, and if she hates it she can get another one - it's a brutal reality. There is no point in being nurturing when them that's being nurtured is in a dead end job. If there is room for advancement - if you're making an investment, sure, but not menial labor, be fair and firm.

Teleworking requires a degree of trust that can only be delivered via a good work ethic and maturity. So if it were me it would be a conversation about them working on site because their performance is not up to scratch - and make it a take it or leave it situation.
posted by the noob at 5:34 PM on December 7, 2010

When she works from home, does she have specific action items to complete, or is it just "work on" this? Some people don't feel like you care if you're too nice. This was my biggest flaw at first.

That is, if she cuts out early and doesn't do a damn thing during her "telework" does she get called out on it promptly? Then why would she work hard? For all she knows, you don't care either way and probably don't even notice when she does a good job. Maybe you're giving her the impression from your lenience that you're one of those bosses who isn't really into the whole ideology of the company, you just want her not to get you in trouble and everything short of that is fine with you.

Some people do better with smaller portions of tasks that they can check off frequently. That lets them tell you WHAT progress they made, rather than just that they "worked on" something. It also lets you give feedback more quickly. "I'm not feeling like this is going to get done in time at the rate you're going."

From a more selfish point of view, I find that I'm more likely to not feel really bad about returning work for correction if it was a small thing I found immediately. If, a week later, I notice something that will be a big pain in the butt to go back and fix, I feel like an asshole about being picky and might let it slide when I shouldn't.

I'd start with the obvious stink-eye when she leaves early, and if that doesn't immediately give her a clue, have the "I'm not getting the impression that you're happy here. What's up?" talk. Basically, she has to know you notice, and know you do care.
posted by ctmf at 6:04 PM on December 7, 2010

Telework shouldn't be on the honor system. Does she have achievable action items to complete when she's not in the office, that you can see progress on frequently? I'm guessing she gets to go home to "work on" something. Too vague. It has to be more like, ok, so you're going to take off now, but by tomorrow I should see X, right?

And then promptly review X for errors when it's done. Yes, that's difficult for YOU to have the discipline to do. You'd rather trust her that she did what she was supposed to do. Let me tell you, that will result in a) her believing (or rationalizing) that you don't really give a shit anyway, b) testing her boundaries c) a lot of rework, sometimes by you late at night because it's easier now than having her redo it.

Prompt review of her work will also tell you if the telework thing is working out. If the quality and quantity of work she does at home is less than what she does at the office, then she can't really argue with you having her in the office instead. If her work quality is poor across the board, then she needs the "I don't get the impression you're happy here" talk.
posted by ctmf at 6:14 PM on December 7, 2010

[Argh, whoops. The server hung and I didn't think the first one posted. I refreshed to check and everything, honest. Disregard the redundancy]
posted by ctmf at 6:16 PM on December 7, 2010

As a first time manager myself who is now trying to deal with an employee that has gotten a bit sloppy, the biggest thing my boss has hammered into my head is:

Address it when it occurs.

This does NOT mean go back in time! This means the next instance where you find the work to be below the standards you need them at, have a meeting with her in person in a private office, and have a conversation that might go a little like this:

You: "I noticed that X,Y, and Z were not done correctly in this work. This has become somewhat of a trend I've noticed, but I wanted to address it with you now so we can look at this specific example together and figure out what is getting in the way of you doing the quality of work I've seen you are capable of."

Her: "I guess I missed that, sorry, I'll be sure to do (insert bs "process" here meant to placate you and get out of the meeting) in the future.

You: "Part of me wonders if your work would benefit from the closer communication that comes with spending more time in the office. In fact, I've noticed a pretty close correlation to the quality of your work and the time you spend in the office. Before, when you were telecommuting less, everything was great. And then, when I allowed you (this is reinforcing that this is a priviledge with her) to telecommute more, I noticed you were working fewer and fewer hours, and this has been the result."

Her: "You know, I can see how you would think that, but honestly, I'm thinking its been more because I've been distracted by (insert a bs reason here to shift discussion away from telecommuting now that she senses it is at risk)."

You: "I can see how that might affect your work, but I still can't be sure at this point that more time in the office wouldn't help things...what do you suggest we do?"

Her: "Whatever the hell will let me keep telecommuting as often as I am (or some other more manipulative variant of this...she's fighting for freedom now)."

You: "That's an interesting suggestion, but here's what we'll try. I want you to come in every day for the next three weeks (like a normal person) and we'll review X at the end of those three weeks (make sure you give her a VERY measurable deliverable). If I'm satisfied with X at that time, then I'll begin reinstating your telecommuting privileges (underscore this as you say it) at a rate of one additional day per week until you get back to where you currently are. If at any time the work begins to suffer during that period, we'll go back to you coming in every day.

Her: "Isn't there some other way we can do this? (Maybe something more openly hostile at this point since she will be wanting to claw your eyes out one way or another since she sees you as being a completely unfair manager)"

You: "I think it is important to reiterate that telecommuting is a privilege awarded to top performers here, and I apologize if I've conveyed any differently by waiting until now to address this with you. If you can improve the quality of your work and the consistency of that quality, it will open a lot of doors for you here beyond just telecommuting, but we need to cross this bridge together first. Its unfortunate it has come to this but as your manager, I hope you understand that I am ultimately responsible for the quality of your work, so I need to take appropriate measures."

***awkward meeting end***

The only real way to address this is to nip it in the bud and this person will resent you for that one way or another and will bitch and moan about you behind your back. Comes with the territory of being a manager. But you know what? That's their problem--they dug their own hole. Next time you'll be able to help both of you more by stopping them before they dig the hole too deep.
posted by Elminster24 at 9:13 PM on December 7, 2010