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I have been having an issue for the past 4 years with one particular co-worker (I use the word “Worker,” casually with him, as he doesnt do much work).

When we hired him, we knew he was green. We were all green at one point. We decided to let him ask as much as he could and learn as much as possible, and as our organization gows, teach as much as possible. Unfortunately, the only thing that has happened is that this guy takes tickets, doesnt do much, records the user’s replies, does nothing about the issue, lets the issue fester, then winds up asking the issue “Is this still a problem?” Er… if you have done nothing about it, what makes you think it’s resolved?

I am not the only one who has noticed this behavior, and he has been reported to a C level (my boss) by me and other co-workers as well. He keeps slipping through, and basically not taking his work load. I wind up fixing stuff that he is supposed to have tickets for, suggesting fixes so that he can fix things or at least give him ideas as to where to search for answers. My way of learning forces me to search out the answer rather than have someone spoon feed it to me, as that will make the information stick better (desired difficulties lead to better learning), but i have also given up the practice of helping him, as he doesnt pull his own weight. He spends more time on his phone, browsing AOL STYLE, setting up his spotify playlist, and programming his DVR than he does working. I found the guy shredding his snail mail at his desk one day, while we were inundated in tickets. We had to go hunt him down in the parking garage on more than one occassion. I found him asleep in his car one time.

I am all about giving people second chances, but i am about to take a good friend’s advice and “Give him enough rope so that he can hang himself.” The guy is not a teenager, hes in his 30s and should know better.

What do you recommend? Yes, HR knows. Yes, my boss knows. Yes, my boss has had chats with him. Yes, other co-workers have had chats with him. I could just let emails sit in the inbox for days (and that has happened) when we have a 3 hour response time. But that helps no one, and it only breeds contempt from the people we support. I love my job, i love the company for which i work, but this situation has gone on far enough.

What would you do?

130 Spice ups
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If the supervisor and HR are not doing anything about him, you can’t either. I hope they are creating a paper trail that will lead to his termination.

Perhaps you need to sit down with your boss and let him know that you are not happy about the situation and paperwork needs to be generated.

70 Spice ups
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Ultimatum time - if you are valued by your boss, time to say “me or him - one of us must go”. Obviously, have your resume polished and have the balls to actually go through with it if you go this route. If your company is worth half a shit, the lazy one will be terminated. If not, lesson learned and you get to move to something better.

Though personally, I would have done whatever possible early on to prevent such behavior, including smacking the shit out of him when needed.

42 Spice ups
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I’d sit down with my boss again and address the issue.

If he’s still not working out, ask HR if they’ve heard about the issue. Your boss might be enabling him.

Other than that, find a new job, or suck it up.

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Stop investing so much thought into what he is doing. You’ve done as much as you can. Don’t help him, let him sink himself and continue doing what you need to do.

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Sounds like the ones that need to know, actually do know about him. Not sure what else you can do, besides kidnapping… What’s your office policy on no call no shows? :wink:

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Sounds like you have done all that you can. My best 2 suggestions would be to either hold off until they are done with him or find work elsewhere. Sounds like upper management isn’t quite done with him.

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We had someone like this on our team (4 man contract). We were generating the paperwork to justify his termination while letting him get away with doing nothing. We found him sleeping in his car too but we wanted to leave him because then we didn’t need to watch him in the server room. In the end, he found another job before HR terminated him. He gave notice about a day before HR was going to terminate him so they just let him leave on his own.

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Unfortunately as da Beast says, if HR and his boss already know about it and are doing nothing, your options are limited.

The only thing I can suggest is simply bypass / go around him. If he can’t be relied upon to do anything, then don’t ask him to, get help from someone else / do it yourself, operate on the assumption that he isn’t there, and make sure what you are doing is all documented in Helpdesk calls etc.

Yes, you shouldn’t have to do that, and it may seem like playing into his hands, but eventually he’ll do himself out of a job. It’s harder on you in the interim, but by not depending on him he may just notice and start pulling his weight, but at the very least, when he exits, your house of cards won’t come tumbling down as much as if you had relied on him.

We had one like this and much worse besides, and while he eventually did hang himself, it took a lot to disconnect, take that step back and just leave him to it, but it worked in the end.

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Exactly.

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Have you thought of just calling him out on that?

It may not be the most politically correct course of action, but if all else is failing, maybe a swift kick in the ass is what’s needed.

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I know of one guy that would make yours look like employee of the year. For whatever reason no matter how much damage, vandalism (seen keying a car), lying, laziness, and who knows what else, he is protected but someone else pays for his screw ups. The guy lives in his own little world.

Thankfully I never had to work with him directly, I’d probably be up on charges or worse if I did. The guy has a history at a couple of places. I know of him from others who have lived the experience of this guy being useless and incompetent.

I can be slow and slack sometimes but when there is something to be done, I see about getting something together.

I haven’t got much to offer you here in terms of help.

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Thanks for the replies! I do appreciate it. i am a no holds barred, roll up your sleeves and lets get it done kind of person. i dont need to invest as much time in this as i have, you are right. This is a wonderful piece of advice!

Sometimes, as it has done today, it is a lot more difficult to overlook “what he is doing,” as i am sinking/drowning in work (i am eating my lunch at my desk, as i do customarily to catch up as i post this). But it is time to roll up my sleeves and do what i was hired to do, and if he wont do his job, it isnt on me to make him do that.

Time to watch him sink like the Titanic.

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Just let him dig his own hole, don’t cover/help him. Management will either can him, or leave him in a corner and keep paying him depending on how your company runs. Not much you can do on that end, just stop covering his work, and make sure if there is a delay on something in his queue, you forward the irate owner to him. Enough complaints come from outside the IT dept and something will happen.

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A couple if things…
I used to work for an MSP who had one of the largest MSPs in the US as ‘guide’.
Rule of thumb was 6-8 months is fair to get used to the system, the clients, the workflow etc.
Now 4 years? that looks like something went completely wrong.
From what you describe he, he sounds like what our ‘service coordinator’ / receptionist is doing,
NOT the work of a tech. If he’s be willing to learn he’d ask.
It sounds like that at this point he got too used to the way he works.
Honestly, there is nothing YOU can do, but it has to be his manager / HR.
I’d give him 3 months. I know he already got talked to but it has to be his final warning.
3 months, if you / manager / supervisor, etc. do not see an improvement he’ll have to let go.
But you NEED manager / HR in on that. If it is just you and management / HR does not do anything, then there is not much you cna do. Maybe try to motivate him. Ask him questions, maybe get him to get a cert?
As said, for most techs we hired we could tell after the first 1-3 months if they are going to work out or not. We don’t expect ‘greens’ to know everything but to ask. ASK ASK ASK questions, however not the same more than 2-3 times otherwise that gets old real quick as well… :oP

Also, I’d tell exactly that your manager “I love my job, i love the company for which i work, but this situation has gone on far enough. if that keeps going on like that I’ll have to look for a better opportunity”

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If you work in government, the next step is to promote him. See it all the time.

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I have called him out multiple times. i dont care about PC. i have literally walked over, knocked on his cube wall, looked at his screen and exclaimed “Programming the DVR?! SERIOUSLY?! There’s emails in the inbox, and i am not taking any more work today.” He sighs, THEN, he takes the tickets. I dont hold back. i dont enable the behavior, but as long as no one says anything to him, he will do as he will do. it works for a while, then he goes back to the same old habits.

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Ya I think a polite visit to the powers that be, may be in order, but you have stated that has already been done once or a few times prior. so now, I would call the slug out.

assign a ticket, and provide a specific expected due date for it to be finished by. if he doesnt do it… well there you go.

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DAMN! Does he have a made cousin or something?!

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That’s where the “winner” I mentioned is at.

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