Ask HN: How will you handle a team member who always comes late and leaves early? |
Ask HN: How will you handle a team member who always comes late and leaves early? |
You aren't aware of what they have going on, who in management they have discussed his with, nor what accommodations have been made for them via management. And they shouldn't have to discuss it with you unless they choose to.
If it's affecting your ability to work (beyond the action itself making you cranky and anxious), then bring it up to your supervisor, and make sure it gets followed up on.
What I do have a problem with is people that are there strictly 9-to-5 without delivering. That's a much bigger problem. (Obviously, just being there 9-5 is no problem that should be the norm, that people are only there for the time that you actually pay them.)
- They are coming in late and leaving early and completing all their assigned tasks. There is no problem.
- They are coming in late and leaving early and not completing their tasks. This requires at the very least a discussion about meeting the goals set for this employee and what it means to complete them. If you have a formal discussion with the employee about their goals and how they are not meeting them and they do not improve then you have a case to remove them.
I suppose there are some smaller inconveniences that go along with someone not being around but they can be pretty easily resolved.
- They should be easily reachable at the very least from 9-5 regardless of the time they actually spend at the office. No one should be stuck waiting on them for an answer to something.
- Other employees may doing an unfair share of tasks that crop up during the day. If an unexpected task comes down from on high or from a client or whatever you usually task someone handy with with it. If this employee is never around they will likely never be tasked with something like this. Just remember to keep them in mind for things like this and shoot them an email/text to inform them.
1. I'm assuming that you mean a team member who comes in late and leaves early, but doesn't do any additional work outside of the office environment? I know of many people who leave the office early and work from home.
2. The key metric here is delivery - I'd much rather someone who works fewer hours but delivers results over someone who works long hours, but doesn't deliver.
I look like the in-late-out-early guy part of the time, especially when I'm working late at home a lot. If you have to wonder, though, your problem is with management, not me.
In case his work is time sensitive, it's a different problem.
For example, if they aren't delivering what they should: Have the conversation with them, explaining that they aren't completing the work they should be. They need to do something about this and one solution might be to spend more time it.
Note that this is also the early stage of what in the UK would be the normal process of dealing with under-performing employees, that might eventually result in termination.
Only in the first case do you need to have that difficult talk with him. In the other case, the best plan would be to use him as an example for the rest of the team to emulate. Get your work finished and get out. If the rest of the team isn't doing that, it'll come back to bite you in terms of long term productivity and team happiness.
And I wouldn't mind if he finishes his work and moves out. But, it's not happening that way. I am concerned about others in the team who might be demotivated because of this person.
And now extra unclarity: If you are flexible and have no expectations for how many hours comprise a day, how is it possible that one could "leave early?"
If you've handwaved like this to the employee, it shouldn't come as a surprise that his definition of "no norms, flexible" might differ to yours. Give him an expectation, and maybe he'll meet it.
is this what you're asking? if so, might help to clarify that in the question statement
Are you his manager or just team member? If you are a team member which means you might also have a problem which appears this way, this guy working hours beside.
Amazing time managers, with perfect foresight and judgment abilities.
My job finishes at 5.30pm, an hour or so before I'll start winding up any bigger jobs ready to pick them up in the morning.
Anyone who's consistently having to work overtime are unable to manage their time correctly.
If done at 4pm, just leave, do something else, volunteer a project. No need to be seen to put in 'required hours;. Delivery is important. If anyone sticks around for required hours they're being dishonest with their team about their capacity.
For overtime, a good manager depends on honesty of their staff to gauge their capacity. A staff member that sticks around until required time doing nothing but pretending they are doing tasks is being dishonest about their capacity.
If they are skimping on things like working a full day without using their vacation time and clearing leaving early with the boss. Then the person is probably skimping on other important things that will eventually come back to bite the team, themselves, or even worse the company.
People that do this are not trustworthy and should be distanced from those that do their full hours and bill their time accurately. Insure the boss knows of the illegal activity so he can work with H.R. to get the person out of there as soon as possible so you can get a more trustworthy replacement. How much work they complete or the quality of it is no substitute for committing fraud.
Then you need to clearly communicate expectations. You said elsewhere that you don't expect a full 8 hours, but are unhappy with 4-5. What is the quantity of work you want done? And it can't just be accomplishing tasks on deadline, because your scheduling process is based on a certain number of man hours per week.
I want him to be motivated intrinsically.
Intrinsically? OK, how much of the company does he own?
None? LOL. The biggest con perpetrated against programmers is that they can be made to care so much about something that isn't theirs for reasons that aren't money. If this guy is outside of that, it's a more healthy mental state to have about a job. So what do you offer that another employer won't do the same/better on?
On the other hand, you might think that making her stay longer hours will deliver more result - but that's not always true. In fact, she might even lose her productivity and deliver significantly less than now.
Have you thought that maybe leaving early is what motivates him?
Motivation is way more effective when it's something from inside (from the person) rather that from an outside stimuli (ie: a raise)
You need to understand what are his needs (what call him to action) in order to provide an environment that allows him to thrive
I don't mind when person finishes his task in couple of hours and leaves the office. But, I am concerned when a person calls it a day after working for 4-5 hours without completing his task. 'Flexible timings' shouldn't translate to 'Flexible work'.
Does this person know what the are expected to deliver on any given day/week/month? If not, they may think they are delivering acceptable outcomes.
Can you set clear weekly targets for this person to achieve?
Just have a frank chat on the lines of "dude, i hate to say this but we are not delivering. We have to change our ways a bit. Here's a list of things I need in the next two months: you have to nail one each week. I don't care which one, just give me one each week. I ask you because I trust you can do it, I think you have more potential than others. We just have to get something to show, y'know? If that doesn't happen they'll come down on me and make life hard for everyone; but if we show we're running full speed, we become heroes and will have larger buckets when money rains." For extra safety, give him a list 30% to 50% longer than necessary, and review it with him right there to let him drop a few of the scariest items and still have enough to cover the planned timestamp. He will feel a bit more involved in choosing his own destiny.
There is a chance the guy will bolt for good shortly after: this would mean he hated the place already, good riddance. If he stays on and improves his ways, the challenge is on you to keep finding realistic week-long targets, or you can relax it a bit and have two or three-weeks targets instead.
Extra-bonus: have this meeting on Tuesday morning, starting the system the following week. On monday he will hate you, from Wednesday on his morale will suffer; and it gives him enough time to clear any competing interest (either professional or private).