WWYD - Beware - a little long...

[movingforward]

I have a co-worker who is the laziest person I have ever worked with. I believe I have mentioned her on this forum before, but she can never meet a deadline and something that should take her less than a day to complete takes over a week. She has been at the company for close to 14 yrs now. I have only been here for about a year so I have just dealt with her behavior the best I can as I realize she isn't going anywhere and I am just not the type to complain about other people. I will stand up for myself if someone tries to "throw me under the bus" but in general I don't point fingers. Well, late yesterday afternoon my committee chair (this is a committee I sit on as a staff rep but the committee is made up of volunteers) emails me and says that she is really tired of this person who has been here for 14 yrs never meeting any deadlines and she wanted to see if I felt the same way. I basically told her that yes, I have been frustrated with her never meeting a deadline, etc. but also said things like "I am sure she may have other duties we are unaware of that are holding her up" because I wanted to be diplomatic. On the inside was screaming YES I AM TOTALLY FRUSTRATED but I really did want to be diplomatic and not sound too down on this person. Now this committee member used to be President of our board so she has influence. Well, she contacted me this morning said that she wants to contact the current President of the board about this person and that she has just been getting away with a bad performance for way too long. She asked me if I would back her up if she did that. I have not emailed her back and I am having kind of hard time with this situation. This person definitely doesn't pull her weight but I am just not a complainer... Oh, and just FYI this person is very close with our supervisor which I think is one reason she has been able to get away with her marginal (if that) performance all these years. How would you handle this situation?

[swamp]

No good deed goes unpunished. Keep your nose out of it.

[movingforward]

Swamp - this is exactly what I am thinking

[Angel!]

I would back her up, unless I thought I would be risking my job to do so. I would do it in a very diplomatic fashion - provide specific examplse where she did not meet deadlines or is taking longer than necessary to complete work. Avoid making it seem like you have anything personal against this woman - stick to absolute facts about her job performance.

If the supervisor lets her get away with it & no one ever points it out, the behavior will never stop.

[Deleted]

The committee chair is the one that will be sticking her neck out and almost40 would just be confirming what was said? I think I'd do it.

[Deleted]

No, explain to the woman that wants to go after her that as frustrating as it can be you are not comfortable being part of a campaign against a coworker. No one promises us an annoyance free life and it isn't at a level that threatens your job or opportunities so there is no particular reason for you to insist it be rectified.

[Green Eyed Lady]

I would do it, but if asked for input, it would be purely clinical. No emotion or personal feelings. For example:

Project X was due on 5/1/12. Project X was completed on 5/15/12.
Project Y was due on 5/6/12. Project Y was completed on 5/17/12.

They can draw their own conclusions.

[Deleted]

If I understand the structure of your organization it looks like the complainer is going over your supervisor's head. So this won't end up just being about the bad performer, it will be about the supervisor's performance as well.

[movingforward]

UPDATE - I just got off the phone with the committee chair and told her I was not comfortable being involved; however, I agreed that every deadline I give to this person will be in an email and I will copy the committee chair on it. Since most of the deadlines for me involve this committee, copying the committee chair wouldn't be out of line or look too weird. I told her that what she decides to do with those emails over the next few months when deadlines aren't met is completely up to her. I feel like this is the best solution because it keeps me out of it for the most part.

[alabamagal]

May 24, 2012 11:36:35 GMT -5 Green Eyed Lady said:

I would do it, but if asked for input, it would be purely clinical. No emotion or personal feelings. For example:

Project X was due on 5/1/12. Project X was completed on 5/15/12.
Project Y was due on 5/6/12. Project Y was completed on 5/17/12.

They can draw their own conclusions.

Also DO NOT PUT ANYTHING IN WRITING OR EMAIL! Do not even discuss the situation via email. You indicated that this other person emailed you about the situation. I am not a paranoid person, but 1) emails are the property of your employer and 2) emails can get forwarded to the wrong person, intentionally or unintentionally.

If someone higher up asks you about the person, in a closed door session, you can choose to give your honest opinion. But I would never put this type of thing in writing or email if you are not the problem person's immediate supervisor.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Personally I would stay out of it unless directly asked by the person who has the power to actually do something about it. Then I would answer diplomatically with specific examples of how it is interfering with overall performance. I would not come swinging out of the gate you want to make sure if asked you address professional concerns only.

Otherwise keep out of it. Let the chair stick her neck out.

[8 Bit WWBG]

It sounds like you handled it reasonably well. You are doing something that could be considered in line with your duties, but not getting involved in a smear campaign. You are providing information, but not conclusions.

[midjd]

Also DO NOT PUT ANYTHING IN WRITING OR EMAIL! Do not even discuss the situation via email. You indicated that this other person emailed you about the situation. I am not a paranoid person, but 1) emails are the property of your employer and 2) emails can get forwarded to the wrong person, intentionally or unintentionally.

If someone higher up asks you about the person, in a closed door session, you can choose to give your honest opinion. But I would never put this type of thing in writing or email if you are not the problem person's immediate supervisor.

I wouldn't say you should NEVER put this info in an email - as long as any info provided is as clinical as possible. Dates, times, anything objective - but not "she said she'd have it done by noon but then I saw her at Susie's desk talking and then she went to get coffee..."

Document, document, document, but don't offer opinions/conclusions - that's their job. And you never know who is being BCC-ed (learned that the hard way). If you want to vent, do it in someone's office or over the phone - not via email. I'd think in your situation an email like GEL described would be good - you can corroborate what the chairperson is saying in an objective and probably easily-provable way, but it doesn't make it seem like you're out to get this person.

At least that's been my experience. I've had to corroborate a few things that have led to others being disciplined - email seems to be the preferred method, I'm guessing because of the date stamp. And regardless of my feelings on the person (it's hard when you have to provide info on someone you like...) usually the facts can speak for themselves.

[Firebird]

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES.[/u] Do not editorialize; just give the facts if you're asked. Tell your coworker that you will be happy to explain the time she missed X deadline or held you up in Y way, but do not get involved in any kind of "bitch session."

Stick to the facts.[/u] I've dealt with this exact thing before and I ended up losing a lot of respect for the people who let their personal dislike of the person cloud the very real problems we were having with her performance. It made it really hard to figure out if we had a REAL problem or just a personality conflict and there was a definite pack mentality behind the whole thing that made me very uncomfortable.

[Firebird]

Project X was due on 5/1/12. Project X was completed on 5/15/12.
Project Y was due on 5/6/12. Project Y was completed on 5/17/12.

Good start but you actually do need a tiny bit more detail than this if it's going to hold water, otherwise there could be any number of reasons the project was completed two weeks late. People may draw conclusions that it was YOUR fault.

Needs to go more like this: Project X was due on 5/15/12. [Coworker] was supposed to get [critical project deliverable] to me by 5/5/12. Received said deliverable on 5/8/12. Project was delayed three days as a result." But again, do not editorialize. Do not talk about how frustrating it was or how many reminders you sent her (unless they ask) and do not speculate on why she was late.

They can take it from there.

Your chosen approach seems sound to me but in the event that you need to document future events, I'd do it this way.

[thyme4change]

Crap - I didn't know any of my coworkers were on this board.

[Firebird]

GOTCHA