Line managing under performing employee

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I have been with organisation 6 years but manager for 1. I have been line managing a project officer for the past few months who started 3 years ago but in another team. There are 4 teams, each with a manager and several project officer type staff. They have been underperforming since they started and it's just let go as she is married to another of the managers. She was taken on without the essential qualification and no relevant experience.

We are all home based so she and partner work from home together albeit for different teams.

How do I manage their underperformance when it has been allowed for 3 years and she was recruited by the director who knew about the relationship with another manager and lack of qualification?!

Other 3 managers and director are friendly so I would be raising it with HR whi may also know they were unqualified!

The rest of the project teams end up covering this persons work and dealing with enquiries as they never reply to emails or answer their phone. It is making their workloads unmanageable but because the other managers and director haven't dealt with the underperformance nothing is being g done.

I should add, my worry is am I going to come across the bullying boss?!

This woman was never asked to do a qualification although did have some unofficial mentoring (from a more junior staff member who was actually better qualified and didnt get the job!!) but she has also turned down other cpd opportunities and its obvious to.us all she has no real interest in the work of the charity. Our director is very good at getting bids so I can't imagine senior directors will want to pull her up about this unethical appointment which happened 3 years ago especially as the work is getting done (albeit by other team members making their workloads unmanageable.)

The other team members are also scared about rocking the boat but it all just seems so wrong. As we are a charity many are on fixed term contracts and in the current climate dont want to speak.up to HR. We have part timers doing extra days covering work that this person hasn't done (across all teams, not just mine. Anything I say to my director gets batted back.

If you are the current line manager and responsible for their performance you will have to start fresh - that means draw a line under their qualifications and past actions, you can’t change or do anything about this.

In starting performance management you have to take a supportive approach to establish if it’s “can’t” or “won’t”. That would mean having a regular conversation/1:1 where you give direction about what you expect to be done ie answering telephone/email within a certain time frame and then checking back that this is happening, asking why not/understanding any mitigating circumstances.

You’d need to give clear examples of expected performance standards/goals, timeframes, monitoring them being met or not met, evidence this and put in support to do so ie training based on why not meeting the expected goals if appropriate. It can take some time but the employee has to be given the chance to turn things around. Who knows - it may be that if they haven’t been managed effectively, they think they are performing as expected - it might be that they turn things around and really surprise you.

There is usually a policy in organisations about this. You have to be up front and open, be clear about the management stage ie informal or formal and make adequate notification in writing/keep detailed and mutually agreed progress notes.

The relationship bit is tricky but following the proper process means that it is fair and evidenced for everyone. Use your HR to support you (and the employee) and speak with your manager to let them know your intentions and keep them updated on the progress of the situation. In my experience, people respond well to a supportive and clear approach - nothing will change if you someone doesn’t do anything. Good luck

Ps making an accusation of bullying and harassment is often the way people deflect from being managed. This is the where following proper process and a supportive approach to turn things round is key. You wouldn’t be doing your job as a manager if you did nothing. Keep good written records and share them with the employee at every stage

Thanks, that's really helpful Vivien. Other project staff have always been aggrieved that this person isn't qualified as it means they dont have to do certain difficult and time consuming tasks (they are on the same salary) and looking at data their target has always been around 30% lower and still nowhere near achieved.

I worry about this employee's motivation. Her and her manager partner have young children (most of us do though) and moved out to the commuter belt soon after getting the job. We have lots of meetings at the office which this employee either doesnt attend or is allowed to get to late due to the distance. I'm all for supporting parents, I am one but they do have special treatment. If we do one to the office, nobody else gets to leave at 3 for childcare, we have to make our childcare fit around the job. There seems to be every excuse going for this individual to do less work but it has never been addressed.

I think she has had a cushy ride so far with less than a days worth of work spread over 5 if that. I was only managing her for a week before lock down and had a meeting booked to discuss work plans at the head office that week but she called in sick. There have been 'IT problems' since lock down which inexplicably affect her mobile phone as well as laptop but the message from HR right now is to be flexible with staff so she is hiding behind that I feel.

Wow. You’ve inherited a bit of a mess there. If she’s employed in a job requiring a specific qualification to enable her to do a particular job, then organisation has to take responsibility for that. Whoever employed her has fucked up, especially putting her on the same salary, but it now can’t be changed.

To be able to get her to perform means providing a development plan and agree it with her, to skill up or training so she can do the same jobs as others. Sell it that youre investing in her. You would be maximising your team capacity there and could evidence that it is affected by your figures if you have to argue the toss for funding. It’s also equitable to your staff to ensure she has all she needs to perform and could address the culture. Monitoring her progress and achievement could be part of your performance management. As an employee she would have to comply and show willing.

With regard to the hours and meetings etc. Where someone lives is their choice and their responsibility to get to their job. Reducing hours or supporting family arrangements is generally done through a flexible working policy and an agreement with the employer at the employees request. The manager decides with hr what is reasonable to grant based on company policy to support employees but also based on organisational business need. Does your company have a policy and does she have an agreement - in writing. Generally people reduce hours or have work times agreed which accommodate, if manager agrees and reasonable. People can’t just bugger off on a regular basis, as you say. As the manager you generally have the right to review.

She sounds like she’s avoidant. Manage her sickness as well as this is another route to under performance - Occ Health can help. You have to stick to the policy on what you do so it’s fair (policy applies to everyone so you’d do it for anyone else!). Managing someone where you have performance concerns often makes people consider their position as well. Do it with a smile!

Thanks vivien this is so helpful. Our director did mess up but then so did HR who are supposed to check qualifications, which is why addressing it is rather daunting. You are right that nothing can be done now. It is going to piss a few people off that she could be funded to do a qualification that others had to.pay for and earn before starting but ho hum. You are right that if it falls under a development plan they will at least have to do this though and cant get out of it like they have with other cpd offers. Thanks.

You’re welcome - good luck.