Coworker competency issues

soulchill

soulchill

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Just wondering what other people's experiences are with this. I've been having many issues with coworkers not being up to task to get things done. As more and more projects come to our group, I got fed up with people not pulling their weight so been filing complaints.

Evidently other people in the group are doing the same. It finally looks like a couple of people will be fired. It's really hard to find qualified people, and it really wasn't anything against them personally. Just professionally, they aren't getting things done. Oddly enough, HR seems to drag the process down with wanting people to have one more chance, probation periods, …. Which is really dumb, because we could have gotten rid of people while they were still in what they call the trial period.

Even though it'll mean more things assigned to those of us left, I think we'll be better off with things getting done properly and not having to hold someone's hand.

Anyone else got driftwood at the office or experience with attracting and keeping good people? I've already gotten better at documenting what people do right and wrong; even though I'm not the manager, at least I can provide examples to back up the performance issues.
 
A busy HR department is an employed HR department and the ones that should be moved on are experts at keeping an HR department busy. It is a kind of union all over America. I am guilty of calling it the union of the dumb. They may not be great at working but they darn sure know how to keep others working while keeping themselves in the game. If they get enough of themselves in one place they know their power is in numbers.
Next thing you know you are being fired.
 
Hey Soulchill: It is like this everywhere...some places are more lenient than others. At my recent old job, they even let people stay on board even though those workers just got out of jail on DUI offenses. I was much more productive than many, yet they still treated and paid me the same as the others. I thought it was because I was the odd one out, but as it turns out, it is the way the company works.

Some companies are so desperate they will keep people that are still 50% better than the rest of the driftwoods.....
 
Different people work at different speeds. I'm not sure what type of company you work for, but people usually come from different working cultures in the software business as financial is very political; entertainment software is very laid back(people wear shorts and sandals) and medical is very precision oriented. So, with people coming from all these different cultures things don't always flow like a well oiled machine.

However, if you have having issues that are leading to problems you should be emailing people and including their boss(and your boss as well) on the emails. This doesn't mean calling someone out, just reminding them that such and such needed to be done or that you are waiting on something.

A direct complaint is not always the way to go because you have to work with these people. If the people are new to the company, you might want to talk to them about how things were before they got there. In most cases, they are thankful for that information.

As much as it seems like it to us deaf, we don't work in a vacuum.

EDIT: Also, keep in mind they are not paying you to be HR or a manager of other people. If the company wants that service form you, they can pay you for it.
 
VacationGuy234 said:
In most cases, they are thankful for that information.
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You are right....but in many cases like mine, HR is fully aware of what is going on and chooses not to do anything.

The reasoning is usually the same...it is cheaper to keep a warm body that is close enough to get the job done than spending time finding the right person & training that person.

When it gets to the point where the good employees must work harder to make up the difference, like in my case, it is time to move on.

My employer spent a long time convincing me that they can't give me a good pay raise due to the economy, and because other people are not pulling their weight, so I have to 'suffer' with them. They changed their tone after I turned in my 2-weeks' notice, but it was too late.
 
my organization is "at-will" employment... meaning they can fire anybody at any time with or without any warning for whatever the reason.
 
soulchill said:
Just wondering what other people's experiences are with this. I've been having many issues with coworkers not being up to task to get things done. As more and more projects come to our group, I got fed up with people not pulling their weight so been filing complaints.

Evidently other people in the group are doing the same. It finally looks like a couple of people will be fired. It's really hard to find qualified people, and it really wasn't anything against them personally. Just professionally, they aren't getting things done. Oddly enough, HR seems to drag the process down with wanting people to have one more chance, probation periods, …. Which is really dumb, because we could have gotten rid of people while they were still in what they call the trial period.

Even though it'll mean more things assigned to those of us left, I think we'll be better off with things getting done properly and not having to hold someone's hand.

Anyone else got driftwood at the office or experience with attracting and keeping good people? I've already gotten better at documenting what people do right and wrong; even though I'm not the manager, at least I can provide examples to back up the performance issues.
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just a warning - a frequent "complainer" do get fired along with useless worker because in their professional opinion - it is and can be detrimental to workforce atmosphere and morale.

IMO - you're better off finding a new job where you can do something productive. you seem to be wasting your time and energy on hawking over people rather than doing your job.
 
green427 said:
They changed their tone after I turned in my 2-weeks' notice, but it was too late.
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It's good that you did something about it, you did the right thing.

The deaf in general don't get paid what they should get paid.

So, there are three ways to deal with it: Price yourself a little low to avoid layoff; move from job to job or start your own business.

If you get paid good money and good benefits, being a little under the pay line isn't a big deal and, lets face it, people aren't jumping to hire deaf.

If you have sought after skills, moving around is the best way to up the pay scale.

Your own business is good, but if you don't make enough to cover a 60 - 70 hour week(running a business isn't 40 hours), it might not be the best route, especially with health care cost. Still, if you can do it then it is the most profitable way to go.

In every case, you've got to deal with co-workers and or vendors.
 
I worked with a guy that kept trying to quit. Every time they gave him more money and within a month he was making over twice what he started at. Made him feel like they where really screwing him before. He eventually quit anyway and got a job somewhere else for even more money.
 
VacationGuy234 said:
So, there are three ways to deal with it: Price yourself a little low to avoid layoff; move from job to job or start your own business.
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five.

4. be a valuable worker

5. work for their competitor
 
VacationGuy234 said:
There is no gaurantee for number four and,
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simple - move on to where you will be appreciated. I had no problem finding another job after I got let go. much better benefit package. much better pay. much better atmosphere. much better colleagues. much better work responsibility. and I'm still getting call-backs from people wanting to interview me.

if you're (general you) constantly working under fear of getting let go - well that's just terrible. you must be a lazy or unprogressive worker.

if you're a valuable worker - it's pretty much a guarantee that you will get hired in a short time (few months at most).

VacationGuy234 said:
in some cases, you could get sued for number five depending on your contract agreement.
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in most cases - nope. such no-competition contract is typically for highly competitive field or executives.
 
When I am stuck in a situation where I think other people will not do any work, I will plan to do all of the work by myself from the getgo. If I cannot do the work by myself then I will consult the boss or drop the project.
 
Jiro said:
simple - move on to where you will be appreciated. I had no problem finding another job after I got let go. much better benefit package. much better pay. much better atmosphere. much better colleagues. much better work responsibility. and I'm still getting call-backs from people wanting to interview me.

if you're (general you) constantly working under fear of getting let go - well that's just terrible. you must be a lazy or unprogressive worker.

if you're a valuable worker - it's pretty much a guarantee that you will get hired in a short time (few months at most).


in most cases - nope. such no-competition contract is typically for highly competitive field or executives.
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I had lots of places that wanted me to sign a no compete no disclosure contract when I work in software development. They don't want you taking their ideas somewhere else. I always slipped out of signing them somehow.

They where so inclusive I don't know if they would hold up in court though. Basically the way they where written it would be impossible to go work somewhere else for about a year.
 
jonnyghost said:
I had lots of places that wanted me to sign a no compete no disclosure contract when I work in software development. They don't want you taking their ideas somewhere else. I always slipped out of signing them somehow.

They where so inclusive I don't know if they would hold up in court though. Basically the way they where written it would be impossible to go work somewhere else for about a year.
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Yes, I get that a lot too. They are most worried about a direct competitor. In the end, it's a scare tactic, but it is legally binding.
 
If that is your photo in your avatar I can see why you're having a hard time finding good people.
 
Jiro said:
just a warning - a frequent "complainer" do get fired along with useless worker because in their professional opinion - it is and can be detrimental to workforce atmosphere and morale.

IMO - you're better off finding a new job where you can do something productive. you seem to be wasting your time and energy on hawking over people rather than doing your job.
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I got to agreed with that one. Really, you should focus on yourself and show them that you're valuable at your work. It doesn't matter what or how they are doing - it's their supervisor's or manager's job to deal with them, not you.
 
JMH said:
I got to agreed with that one. Really, you should focus on yourself and show them that you're valuable at your work. It doesn't matter what or how they are doing - it's their supervisor's or manager's job to deal with them, not you.
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Unfortunately in the modern workplace the newly hired less than competent will spend more time in one week of their job in the bosses office for one reason or another than you have in the 5 years you have worked there. Next thing you know you are being edged out by the less experienced less competent much younger employee. If you are hoh or deaf and are depending on your boss to have your back then you are still experiencing an innocent state that I wish you the best with. Really it is how it should be I am not saying that.
In fact I know of two excellent ways to tell if someone is going to try and give me the bone someway.. One if they say "I got your back" and the other is if they call me "buddy".
I read that Soulchili is staying on top of the action, probably doing more than he is paid to do and taking more responsibility than he is paid for but is keeping his position in a fortified way.
It is more stress but so is the stress you get when you are edged out of your good job so some POS with zero conscience can stroll around smiling and gladhanding while you end up buried in their scut work before moving on to another job.
Which by the way if you pencil out what you did not earn during the time getting that new job and figure that in to your new payscale - even if it is higher, you lose money for a long time.
 
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