What's the best way to deal with people who are playing dumb at work?
May 29, 2012 9:16 AM Subscribe
What's the best way to deal with people who are playing dumb at work?
In my job, a lot of the time I have individuals feign incompetence so that they will not have to get their hands dirty and take care of their own problems. How can I get these people to stop doing that? A lot of these individuals appear to be professional weasels who revel in violating the spirit of the law while following the letter of it.
It's not that they're not capable, it's that they just don't want to be bothered.
In my job, a lot of the time I have individuals feign incompetence so that they will not have to get their hands dirty and take care of their own problems. How can I get these people to stop doing that? A lot of these individuals appear to be professional weasels who revel in violating the spirit of the law while following the letter of it.
It's not that they're not capable, it's that they just don't want to be bothered.
One way I've dealt with this in the past (especially with technical folks for whom this is nearly a high art) is by documenting stuff in fool-proof, no BS terms. No deep explanations, no complicated visuals.
Here is how to fix problem X
1. log in to box
2. become root
3. go here...
and so on.
This worked for a couple of different reasons. First, it removed the excuse of ignorance. Second, it made people accountable during the on-call rotations. If you were on duty for the weekend, and hit the panic button without checking the wiki first, there would be shaming and other consequences come Monday.
If, on the other hand, you had specialized knowledge in your head, but had failed to document it on the same wiki, such that the on-call guy didn't know WTF to do, the shaming would be yours.
"Have you checked the wiki?" became something of a mantra in our shop. It took some time, but it worked. Learned helplessness became quite a bit rarer when there was nowhere to hide.
posted by jquinby at 9:22 AM on May 29, 2012 [6 favorites]
Here is how to fix problem X
1. log in to box
2. become root
3. go here...
and so on.
This worked for a couple of different reasons. First, it removed the excuse of ignorance. Second, it made people accountable during the on-call rotations. If you were on duty for the weekend, and hit the panic button without checking the wiki first, there would be shaming and other consequences come Monday.
If, on the other hand, you had specialized knowledge in your head, but had failed to document it on the same wiki, such that the on-call guy didn't know WTF to do, the shaming would be yours.
"Have you checked the wiki?" became something of a mantra in our shop. It took some time, but it worked. Learned helplessness became quite a bit rarer when there was nowhere to hide.
posted by jquinby at 9:22 AM on May 29, 2012 [6 favorites]
We get this sort of thing a lot where I work, and in my case, it's sheer laziness dressed up as feigned incompetence. People will submit reports to us for distribution and publication - you would assume that these would be as final as can be, right? Nope. Full of formatting problems and typos that they just assumed we would fix, and submitted past deadline to boot. We can't let them through with the mistakes; we get shit from senior management that *we* should have caught and corrected the errors. Thus, we are forced to pull crazy overtime to correct someone else's problems because senior management wants it that way.
For us, the buy-in of senior management is the only thing that will work to place the responsibility back where it belongs.
posted by LN at 9:32 AM on May 29, 2012
For us, the buy-in of senior management is the only thing that will work to place the responsibility back where it belongs.
posted by LN at 9:32 AM on May 29, 2012
"Every time you ask me for help, you're slowing both of us down. It's not personal, it's just what's happening and it needs to be addressed because it can't continue like this. You're pretty smart -- what can we do for you to make these tools/resources more effective for you, so you're not needing help like this?"
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:33 AM on May 29, 2012 [6 favorites]
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:33 AM on May 29, 2012 [6 favorites]
We can't let them through with the mistakes; we get shit from senior management that *we* should have caught and corrected the errors.
Yes, and senior management is key, as you say.
"Here's what was submitted and when. Here's the final after I corrected the formatting mistakes and typos. It took me X time to do this. If this is my job -- to correct mistakes -- we need to talk about getting me extra time/resources to do this, as I can't give you more than 110 percent."
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:36 AM on May 29, 2012 [6 favorites]
Yes, and senior management is key, as you say.
"Here's what was submitted and when. Here's the final after I corrected the formatting mistakes and typos. It took me X time to do this. If this is my job -- to correct mistakes -- we need to talk about getting me extra time/resources to do this, as I can't give you more than 110 percent."
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:36 AM on May 29, 2012 [6 favorites]
I can't speak to your workplace, of course, but, sometimes, when it seems like people are feigning incompetence, it turns out that they're actually incompetent. And, sometimes, their managers and supervisors are partially to blame.
Things like additional training, closer supervision and more precisely-defined duties and tasks might be helpful. (And, if none of that stuff works, at least it'll help establish a paper trail.)
posted by box at 9:37 AM on May 29, 2012
Things like additional training, closer supervision and more precisely-defined duties and tasks might be helpful. (And, if none of that stuff works, at least it'll help establish a paper trail.)
posted by box at 9:37 AM on May 29, 2012
The boss I have currently has a great way of handling this.
But this system only works if you're genuine, in that you'll truly allow/help someone learn something new. If you're expecting them to already know this stuff then it's a different story and you can skip right to the "there's the door" part of the above.
posted by Blue_Villain at 9:38 AM on May 29, 2012 [4 favorites]
If you don't know something, you learn it, we'll even help you learn it. If you don't want to learn something new, then we've got a long line of people who do, and there's the door.This works both when there are a large pool of qualified applicants and no applicants at all, because we generally do train un-trained people to do this stuff. It's also great because even in a market where there are lots of other options, some that pay excruciatingly well, I can stick right here and know that I don't have to put up with those weasel-like shenanigans.
But this system only works if you're genuine, in that you'll truly allow/help someone learn something new. If you're expecting them to already know this stuff then it's a different story and you can skip right to the "there's the door" part of the above.
posted by Blue_Villain at 9:38 AM on May 29, 2012 [4 favorites]
I think it helps to seperate basic job competency with basic job performance. As Blue_Villain just said above, "here's how to meet the basic level of competency." Once you have the basic skills down everything else is about performing the tasks at hand. If you have documented that an employee has the basic skill set, anything they are not doing now falls into the realm of their own willingness to do the job.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 9:42 AM on May 29, 2012
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 9:42 AM on May 29, 2012
It really depends on a few facotrs having to do with power. Who do they report to? you? someone else? what is your relationship with the people they report to?
What kind fo power do they have? Above you? Do they possess specific subject matter information or control a specific needed process?
What about your power? Do you have seniority/title/relationships that are stronger?
they must have some level of power to be able to frustrate you.. so understanding these things is important and it's difficult to provide any kind of strategy in dealing with these folks because the nuances of the relationships they have politically and personally have a lot of bearing on how you approach it.
posted by rich at 9:42 AM on May 29, 2012
What kind fo power do they have? Above you? Do they possess specific subject matter information or control a specific needed process?
What about your power? Do you have seniority/title/relationships that are stronger?
they must have some level of power to be able to frustrate you.. so understanding these things is important and it's difficult to provide any kind of strategy in dealing with these folks because the nuances of the relationships they have politically and personally have a lot of bearing on how you approach it.
posted by rich at 9:42 AM on May 29, 2012
Rather than doing tasks for people like this, I take the time to write out detailed instructions on how to do it. It takes longer, but they can't claim they don't know how to do it. If they say they don't understand my directions, I train them one on one. Again, it takes more of my time initially, but it sends the "I will not do your work for you" message pretty clearly. It helps enormously if you have your manager's support for this strategy.
posted by Kimberly at 10:08 AM on May 29, 2012
posted by Kimberly at 10:08 AM on May 29, 2012
I've been in work environments where employees who excel at the boring or exhausting work get rewarded with... more boring and exhausting work. It's not a good system: the employees who don't want to do the work will either make excuses or deliberately do a mediocre job, while the hardworking employees grow resentful.
What helps immensely is making sure everyone on the team has the following three things: the same knowledge (or access to it), responsibility, and acknowledgement.
Knowledge: Have clear, succinct documentation on every procedure, every checklist, etc. Get the style and format as consistent as possible; if you have one set of instructions in a text file and another in a full-color Powerpoint deck, that's more opportunity for people to say "well this looks different and I don't understand it." Update everything regularly, and keep it all in the same place. If you have a wiki, make sure it's up to date and very very easy to navigate. Wikis can be confusing, especially if they're poorly organized.
Responsibility: You know these guys are capable of performing well. Give them the chance to prove it. If you have employees who never step up to the plate on the big assignments, give them non-time-sensitive assignments that require some critical thinking (so they aren't tedious) but not too much specialized knowledge (so they can't claim not to know). Rewriting/updating the how-to documentation, as I mentioned earlier, is an awesome starting point. Have either a firm deadline or periodic check-in meetings, depending on the size of the project, and stick to it. The more regular and consistent you are about following up on everything, the less opportunity for them to "forget." And if they give you some excuse about how they're too busy, tell them that you understand how busy they are, and therefore you've given them a generous deadline.
Acknowledgement: For everyone, not just the top performers. Even just saying "nice work on that report" helps. If there's any sort of team goal you can meet and reward - one that doesn't have the possibility of one person messing up the numbers for everyone or one person picking up others' slack - that can be immensely helpful. Or a non-competitive individual goal, like "keep your performance above X or improve it by X percent." Reward both consistently good work and improved work.
posted by Metroid Baby at 10:49 AM on May 29, 2012 [3 favorites]
What helps immensely is making sure everyone on the team has the following three things: the same knowledge (or access to it), responsibility, and acknowledgement.
Knowledge: Have clear, succinct documentation on every procedure, every checklist, etc. Get the style and format as consistent as possible; if you have one set of instructions in a text file and another in a full-color Powerpoint deck, that's more opportunity for people to say "well this looks different and I don't understand it." Update everything regularly, and keep it all in the same place. If you have a wiki, make sure it's up to date and very very easy to navigate. Wikis can be confusing, especially if they're poorly organized.
Responsibility: You know these guys are capable of performing well. Give them the chance to prove it. If you have employees who never step up to the plate on the big assignments, give them non-time-sensitive assignments that require some critical thinking (so they aren't tedious) but not too much specialized knowledge (so they can't claim not to know). Rewriting/updating the how-to documentation, as I mentioned earlier, is an awesome starting point. Have either a firm deadline or periodic check-in meetings, depending on the size of the project, and stick to it. The more regular and consistent you are about following up on everything, the less opportunity for them to "forget." And if they give you some excuse about how they're too busy, tell them that you understand how busy they are, and therefore you've given them a generous deadline.
Acknowledgement: For everyone, not just the top performers. Even just saying "nice work on that report" helps. If there's any sort of team goal you can meet and reward - one that doesn't have the possibility of one person messing up the numbers for everyone or one person picking up others' slack - that can be immensely helpful. Or a non-competitive individual goal, like "keep your performance above X or improve it by X percent." Reward both consistently good work and improved work.
posted by Metroid Baby at 10:49 AM on May 29, 2012 [3 favorites]
Seconding the folks who recommend rewarding good/hard work.
My part-time job is in an industry --- journalism --- that has a clear system of local, statewide and national rewards: industry dinners and awards, achievement certificates, that whole ball of wax for the reporters and editors. Ad reps are rewarded/acknowledged with commission incentives, extra time off, etc. etc. On the other hand, my own job is pretty well invisible, and in more than twenty years here I've never even gotten a verbal 'good job!', though if I DID screw up it would be VERY noticeable. Okay, I'm cool with that: I'm more the background-type, but that's just me --- plenty of folks NEED that validation.
Without exterior validation, if they're feeling forgotten and ignored --- assuming they not just plain lazy! --- they might start slacking off, shuffling their work off on other people, or just claim ignorance or inability to DO that job.
If possible, set up a system of rewards: Employee of the Month, excellence and proficiency certificates, extra time off (leave two hours early this Friday!), maybe something like rewarding the best team with a monthly catered lunch from a local sandwich shop.
posted by easily confused at 12:21 PM on May 29, 2012
My part-time job is in an industry --- journalism --- that has a clear system of local, statewide and national rewards: industry dinners and awards, achievement certificates, that whole ball of wax for the reporters and editors. Ad reps are rewarded/acknowledged with commission incentives, extra time off, etc. etc. On the other hand, my own job is pretty well invisible, and in more than twenty years here I've never even gotten a verbal 'good job!', though if I DID screw up it would be VERY noticeable. Okay, I'm cool with that: I'm more the background-type, but that's just me --- plenty of folks NEED that validation.
Without exterior validation, if they're feeling forgotten and ignored --- assuming they not just plain lazy! --- they might start slacking off, shuffling their work off on other people, or just claim ignorance or inability to DO that job.
If possible, set up a system of rewards: Employee of the Month, excellence and proficiency certificates, extra time off (leave two hours early this Friday!), maybe something like rewarding the best team with a monthly catered lunch from a local sandwich shop.
posted by easily confused at 12:21 PM on May 29, 2012
Best answer: After trying many different approaches, I finally learned that you need to make sure they own their problems. This is only YOUR problem in an indirect way, and your strategy needs to be that you communicate this to your team. The first thing you need to do is STOP fixing their mistakes. Your first conversation with them needs to be a question of how they are planning to fix it, not how you are going to find the time to do it. "Here's the problem, as communicated by upper management. Look it over and get back to me in two hours with your plan to fix it." If the response is "It requires xyz and I don't know how to do that." then the next step is to clearly communicate that the requirements for their specific job includes this skill and they need to let you know a date that they will have acquired this skill. "Oh gee, but that's the requirement and you're going to have to move forward if you want to stay here."
This requires a shift in attitude on your part and a change in communicating with your team. You need to consider this as a way to help your team grow their own skills, and you need to communicate it as that. You are ultimately helping them improve their skillset so they will be able to move forward in their career. And anyone not open to personal and professional growth is really not welcome on your team.
You just have to keep putting the problem back on their desk, and every excuse needs to be met with the question of what THEY will be doing to fix it.
This takes quite a bit longer in the short term, but will generate results pretty quickly.
posted by raisingsand at 1:28 PM on May 29, 2012 [3 favorites]
This requires a shift in attitude on your part and a change in communicating with your team. You need to consider this as a way to help your team grow their own skills, and you need to communicate it as that. You are ultimately helping them improve their skillset so they will be able to move forward in their career. And anyone not open to personal and professional growth is really not welcome on your team.
You just have to keep putting the problem back on their desk, and every excuse needs to be met with the question of what THEY will be doing to fix it.
This takes quite a bit longer in the short term, but will generate results pretty quickly.
posted by raisingsand at 1:28 PM on May 29, 2012 [3 favorites]
What are the negative consequences for shirking a responsibility, or doing a bad job at it?
posted by adamrice at 3:26 PM on May 29, 2012
posted by adamrice at 3:26 PM on May 29, 2012
One of the most perceptive comments I ever heard is "work flows to where work gets done". Work not getting done is -noticed- by even marginally-competent management (if your management doesn't qualify, leave, there are more issues than that). Otherwise, let people not do work, it -is- noticed.
posted by jet_silver at 7:53 PM on May 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by jet_silver at 7:53 PM on May 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
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Also look at the dynamics. Is their motivation in the hole? Is someone making a bunch of people unhappy? Is there unfair rules or situations such a favoritism that is making everyone not give a crap?
Generally, if employees don't care that means they feel like the higher ups don't care about them.
posted by royalsong at 9:21 AM on May 29, 2012 [2 favorites]