Is it best to say nothing?

[mumtoallbhoys]

I am a contractor at a company working directly for someone I really respect and have worked with previously. They recruited a junior person permanently at the same time as me and the idea is that I will get us through the annual busy period in September-December, leave and she will manage everything. By next September she will be fully fledged.

I am not her manager and to be honest I kind of carved out the roles so she would be accountable for her tasks and there would be transparency. From day one I kind of cautious of her, just little things she didn't deliver on.

The dilemma is...

This girl just hasn't grasped the fundamentals of the role, she is really letting clients down by not following through and not achieving what she should be.

Our collective manager is aware the output isn't what it should be and trying to manage it but the new girl is kind of making excuses and pulling the wool over her eyes... because I know the job I can tell she is bluffing but the manager is falling for it.

The new girl is now saying her downfall is that she needs to shadow me to understand advanced stuff... I have tried to help her but she doesn't actually follow any of my advice on getting the basics right, which gets the job done well enough to not hit the radar. I find teaching her frustrating because they only have a set budget for my time so I end up working for free to get my own work done.

Should I tell the manager? I am mindful that she is an expert at excuses and my role is directly related to how fast she gets up to speed and I worry the manager might think that is my agenda....

@Bluntness100

In an ideal world they would have someone who delivers the basics accurately and I would stay on doing the more strategic stuff. I dread logging in to see what random thing she has done and then trying to sort it out. I would love someone who would do their job and make my life easier.

Ah op. I’m not sure if there is something missing here or you’re being a bit disingenuous. You’re due to leave next month, even if they gave her notice where would they find someone who could step in with no notice and start beginning of Jan and you could train immediately and so quickly? From what you’ve written that seems highly unlikely so would. Be much more than a six week extension, no?

And the role they are recruiting for is basically your role, but at a lower pay, doing both thr strategic and basics? They are not really looking to hire you an assistant?

It’s ok to own it. Do you have another contract to move to? Or are you out of work next month?

Any way you can put it back with her. Each time she gets step one wrong send her to do it again, and again. She needs to do it independently. Explain to your manager that this step has to be right before she can understand step two. And at this point any additional coaching will be extra hours and you will need to charge.

@Bluntness100

You could easily get someone to start in the new year. Max 2 weeks to fill this role. You would start them after Christmas if they were working, before if not. Once people see a complete month they are usually good to go!

They have a specific piece of work that has to be delivered no later than 31st December which I was hired to manage. I have to document it after. It won't be due until the same time the next year and they will probably do it in house with the new IT package or you would go to an external consultancy for sign off. They 100% cannot have nobody able to do the basics nice I leave.

@midlifecrash

That is exactly what I did which the manager was supportive of, until October month end when then it was an emergency and just needed to be fixed. The manager now wants me to make sure the planning for November is perfect.

There is another guy in a different territory, he submitted his stuff with minimal errors and early. He does have more experience in the company but I have only spent 3 hours with him and he has it right!

Can this guy be your contingency plan? If management won’t take on board that your other colleague is not up to the role, maybe they will be open to the need for backup -as she’s not competent

@midlifecrash

He is good but he is in a really busy broad role. He wouldn't be able to take the volume of work. He definitely would be a good sounding board on the new process if you had someone who was owning it.

Ah yes. Ignorance and stupidity, the lethal combination which causes fools to think they are good at things which they are not.
You are going to have to be blunt. Your manager needs to choose - keep her and accept she is going to make a tangled mess when you're gone. Or replace her pronto.