Letting someone fail at work - aibu to let it happen?

[MrsBede]

In brief, I have a deputy who has failed to perform since appointment. I have followed all procedures to deal with this but my organisation is poorly led and I have limited support from those above - eg I should have a line manager but the post is vacant. We're public sector.

A senior manager has now told me my deputy needs to be given a project to lead on and when it flops it will be the point at which the lack of performance is finally dealt with. It's horrible, but the team and our clients are being detrimentally affected by this person's lack of competence so it has to happen - I've tried so much to bring them on but they just haven't responded.

So the project has been explained to them and they have got started. There are already issues becoming apparent but they have now sent me details of their next steps and it's really poor. Do I intervene or just let it play out? It will be a fuck up (not dangerous or anything) and should bring things to a head, but what if they come back and say they ran it past me first and I didn't voice concerns?

My problem is lack of support from above but there is none, so MN - please help!

Who appointed this person? Was there a probation period?

You need to re the capability policy for the process for taking people down this process. In reality, if she wasn't performing she she have started going through the stages prior and then giving her a project would be part of their action plan. I would envisage though that it needs to be supportive but also recording poor performance at each stage

Letting them crash and burn first time won't result in sacking as most public sector organisations have paid fully long and drawn out capability policies

Are you sure that letting them fail will fall on them and not on you? Id get it in writing tbh. Document e v e r y t h i n g.

Hmm. Now if I was managing them and the project failed I (and my boss) would see that as my failure.

You need to follow whatever your cabaility procedure says, but letting them fail by not putting support they obviously need in place, is a good way to lose the tribunal.

No probationary period - they're unusual in my sector. I was involved in the recruitment and this person came out top in points based interview. They weren't what they seemed to be once in post.

They have partly gone through capability before (twice) but my organisation never does anything right so it might not be official. This is not the first time they will have failed though, and everything to date is documented.

I am worried about it coming back on me, but I do know the senior manager rates me and has finally seen through this person and is now angry.

As their manager you should be offering feedback and support to improve. Why are you not doing this?

They have partly gone through capability before (twice)

How long have they worked for the organisation?

Has anyone checked that they were actually telling the truth when they applied for the job?

Isn't that a little negligent - Knowingly placing someone as the lead of a project when they've demonstrated they don't have the skill or competence to execute?

As it's public sector I would imagine that a business case will have been presented and the spend for the project justified so it seems a waste of public spend to knowingly allocate this to someone where it will fail. There has to be another way to deal with this persons performance issues.

Also, their failure should not be a surprise to them, they shouldn't be presented with a failure to manage them out and this be the first they have heard.

Would it not be a case of calling out the issues as you go along?eg you have made these mistakes, why? Work through corrections off they go. Then the next fail point again call out the mistakes and explore, then correct. This would provide an audit trail of their fail points?

Send back a list of questions that would point them in the right direction if they were competent. If they fail to act on them you can say guidance was offered in a form that encouraged reflection and reassessment of the proposed approach without stepping in and taking over as this was a development opportunity for x.
Document everything and keep Senior Manager updated so they don’t have plausible deniability.

I've tried so much to bring them on but they just haven't responded.

Eh? What has your response been to their lack of one? You've just allowed them to carry on without demanding answers as to why your directions/corrections aren't being followed? If they are that incompetent or arrogant, they should have been sacked long ago.

Who does the project matter to? May not be life and death but I assume it has some value. It obviously takes at least some skill. Do one of your clients know that their work is being used and not done in the best/most timely manner? Assuming this is either a different department in public sector or someone private It isn’t their fault that you have poor management.

Get everything in writing. Also offer guidance- don’t take over but offer feedback on what they have planned otherwise what is the point of them running things past you? Yes as the Deputy I would feel set up because I was.

Is this person in any kind of capability management as you say that you have followed procedures? Are they meant to be supervised more rather than less?

How clear was the Deputy job description? Do you think this person knows that they are out of their depth?

I was in exactly the same position OP. Told to let someone fail becsuse that was the only way my manager thought HR would pay attention - they knew but wouldn't deal with the problem. I couldn't do it as it would have reflected very badly on me and others so I spent a year picking up the mess and raising the issues with HR, whilst finding another job. I no longer work there and neither do many of my colleagues. The person who was /is failing is still in post

I'd definitely be seeking written instructions which detail the previous concerns about capability, as well as the instruction to then give this employee the 'lead'.

I'd also be documenting details of previous training and learning opportunities given to this employee, as well as detailing the various 'steps' they have shown you in their action plan and all the 'interventions' required by you to 'correct' all misconceptions/ gaps/ reminders of protocols and procedures etc

I don't think that giving the employee a task that you know they are unable to do in order for them to 'fail' before being able to begin any capability procedures is helpful.

The employee should be consulted along with HR, and any concerns re capability voiced, as well as a definitive plan to help support them, with an appropriate timescale in place. There may be more going on with the employee than you are aware of (illness/ divorce/ death/ mental health/ domestic violence etc etc), which should all be considered.

If the employee then fails to meet the agreed targets within the agreed timescale, this can be documented and the employee eventually let go. But it's a long road, and you need to ensure that you have ensured that you have followed the correct procedure and been supportive throughout the whole process.

As a head of department, I think its a really shitty thing to do. Assuming this person is a direct report of yours, It absolutely would reflect on you and I would expect to see complete capabilities to show you and done everything you can to avoid a project failure. They have updated you and you are managing them.

Or, I would want it on writing that the senior manager told you to not intervene. And then it would back fire on the senior manager.

If this person doesn't even have completed capabilities, it's very unlikely they havebhad the support they need at all. If the company is shit, it means you aren't getting the support to sort this employee out and they aren't getting support to be better.

Its entirely possible this person would be much better, in a better environment.

This senior manager has put you in a very poor position.

That doesn't sound like an effective way of managing performance, either for the colleague or your organisation as a whole. Someone will be left to clean up the mess, needlessly duplicating hours of work.

Maybe you could say you don't have time to review it (due to other projects or holiday or something) and get the senior person to be a point of contact whilst you are temporarily unavailable? I think you are caught in the middle of an impossible situation and need to side step.

As their manager, what have you put in place to help them? You say they've gone through capability twice, but what does that mean exactly?

Have they been adequately trained?

Do you have evidence of this?

Unless adequate training and settling in is provided, it will be you who takes the flack.

Civil service 20 years.

I wouldn't. He's obviously covering his back and it's a pretty shady way to deal with an employee to get rid of them.

You're can't ignore his mistakes if he's sent them to you to check over first.

Who will be affected by the fuck up? Employees? Children? Other managers? Will it cause a massive dip in staff morale?

Do they not have a performance review? Have they been trained properly with consistent and current ongoing training?

So this person has been set up to fail? This is so unprofessional on so many levels. Why hasn't a performance improvement plan been put in place? This is a very odd approach to a performance issue and I'd want no part of it from a professional standpoint. It's actually quite dark.

You might find yourselves up for constructive dismissal if you do what you are proposing.

Legally you have to document performance reviews and support to bring the person up to competence before going down the dismissal route. I would make sure everything is done correctly or you could find yourself in trouble

I suggest seeking professional guidance from acas or the likes to protect yourself

OP I can imagine that management may rate you. However if this went to an employment tribunal and the management of this employee was criticised then they might change their tune. (Not saying you are doing the wrong thing just an outsider might see it differently.)

I think you are right to get everything in writing. Make sure that you have followed and documented procedures that you have followed. If you are in a union then you might want to discuss with them. Also maybe put in writing somewhere to management that you need more direct line management.