Colleague who won’t retire but also won’t train

[Putthepanback]

WWYD?

She’s got markedly slower over the last few years (think taking 3 seconds to press each button on the phone when dialling a number kind of thing). We spoken in very casual conversation about retirement and she is very much of the “oooo I’d have nothing to do with my time” school of thought.

We are having a big problem now though as our software is all being changed and we are retraining on the new stuff over the next few weeks.

She got very flustered in the training this morning and left after an hour as she said the trainer was going too fast. We’ve made arrangements for her to have 1 on 1 training instead. She is completely adverse to any kind of change at all. Very negative and “oh it won’t work it works fine now”.

I have to admit I snapped at her today because she’d spent all morning complaining how busy she was but wouldn’t accept any help. I really needed some figures by 3pm which I asked her for this morning. It was easily a 10 minute job for any other member of staff. At 2.30 I walked past and she had only just started. At 2.50 I realised she was counting them up (the columns) with her finger on the spreadsheet and then doing the sums on paper. I very gently said “oh x did you know if you just grab that little cross and drag it across you can add them like this”

She snapped back at me that she knows what she’s doing and she still had 10 minutes.

I had to leave the room before I snapped back at her. She’s been on excel training at least 3 times but just doesn’t retain the info.

What the hell do you do in this situation?! I’m not her manager, just one step above her and they are loathe to do anything and just whisper that she’ll have to retire soon surely! But from what she says she has no intention of going anywhere

[OooErMissus]

I have colleagues who can't do very basic things like copy and paste,

You have 30-something colleagues who can't copy and paste?

I believe you.

[Defenestrator]

Yes PontinPlace that was the point really, she'd never been taught how to use a computer, had just picked it up as she went along. She didn't realise that, for example, 'file, save as' was just the same in 2010 as it was in 2003 because she only knew about clicking on the save icon. Had never heard of 'file, save as'. And this was in 2014!

Also, while I was training her we had to check her emails for responses and she used to get literally 50-60 emails a day from shops, holidays, leisure etc. She said she didn't have the internet at home so she used her work email address for everything. She'd obviously spent hours and hours every day before she came into our team and our office. Unbelievable. And my fucking arsehole of a manager said her uselessness was my fault

[Defenestrator]

Hours and hours surfing t'internet...

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

I can believe that a younger colleague struggled with copy and paste. I had occasional contact with a very difficult man in another team. I had to sit with him once while he very slowly and laboriously entered some information into a database. I watched openmouthed as he highlighted a piece of text, moved the mouse up to the menu bar, scanned down the menu till he found Copy, clicked, moved to the target cell, back to the menu bar, navigated to Paste, clicked. I thought of telling him about Ctrl C, Ctrl X, Ctrl V but just couldn't face it as he didn't take criticism well and saw it everywhere (often with good reason).

He was in his 30s and this was just a few years ago.

[Putthepanback]

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g, I’ve sat and painfully watched someone adding up figures on a spreedsheet using a calculator. I feel you!

[SnuggyBuggy]

The problem is when their refusal to adopt a better method or system holds everyone back.

[SeaSidePebbles]

Thank you for this thread. It gave me food for thought. I work in a highly specialised area, you have to be very much on the ball, or the consequences are serious. I kept thinking: there is no way I’ll be able to do my job at nearly 70.
But you are right, of course. It’s the attitude, not anything else. With a big dose of self awareness thrown in. I hope my manager at the time will be able to point things out in a sensitive constructive manner.

[Phineasdidit]

It is 100% attitude and not being stuck in the mindset of “this is how we’ve always done it”!

[PontinPlace]

You have 30-something colleagues who can't copy and paste?

I genuinely do. My boss is 37 and an utter technophobe. She didn't even own a mobile phone until 6 months ago. She doesn't realise that her emails won't send and Google doesn't work unless connected to the Internet.

[RedTideBlues]

This could be dealt with through her job description / performance plan but would need to be handled carefully.

[YobaOljazUwaque]

Sadly this is a situation for enacting a competency-based disciplinary process which will end up with her being managed out of the organisation. Its a very difficult and stressful process for all involved but it is better to have a formal process to manage the rare cases like this rather than having a blanket rule that everyone retires at X age when many older people are happy and capable working longer.

The fact is she cannot do the job that needs doing.

She can't be managed out with just one documented incident though. You need to fully document this incident and log it with HR as s competency issue of concern. Do the same every time her work is too slow, inappropriate (eg on paper rather than on a spreadsheet) or to an unacceptable standard. With sufficient documented cases, the HR team will have a formal procedure which will include giving her one last chance to turn things around (which she may do and she deserves that chance, she may not have yet appreciated how serious this is)