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Original poster

Dealing with bad freelancer

35 replies

WomanintheHighCastle · 15/04/2023 22:03

Was hoping for some advice. I manage a small team. There's a guy who has been freelancing with us on different projects for the last few months. I have to work with him until the end of this project, which is going to last for another few months. The trouble is, he's not good at the job. The work involves technical writing which I have to approve and edit. Over the last few months he's sent work out to clients without telling me or has completely ignored my edits and has sent out badly-written and sometimes completely incomprehensible work, which I've had to spend ages fixing. Not claiming to be the best manager in the world but I have a lot more experience than him and really care about doing a good job. I've had several conversations with him, he's apologised, and then done the same thing again. I've absolutely no problems with anyone else I manage, only him. He's now sent out more work without telling me. Slightly at the end of my tether and have no idea how to approach this. Hate having the same conversation with someone who doesn't seem to listen. I have a boss but he's very hands off (which is normally a good thing) and expects me to deal with this sort of thing on my own. What to do???

OP posts:
Namechange224422 · 15/04/2023 22:11

Find a new freelancer!

Original poster
WomanintheHighCastle · 15/04/2023 22:15

Would love to! But I still have to work with him for the next few months.

OP posts:
SkaneTos · 15/04/2023 22:16

I can't really give any advice, but it sounds like a really difficult situation! You have my sympathy!

Ponderingwindow · 15/04/2023 22:23

Start by explicitly forbidding him direct communication with the clients. He needs to communicate through you.

if that is too extreme, forbid him from sending any deliverables or results to the client.

Ponderingwindow · 15/04/2023 22:25

I should add, there are ways to frame this so it doesn’t seem as harsh.

send something like

in order to streamline and track client communications, all results and deliverables on the project are now going to be sent by one point of contact.

Original poster
WomanintheHighCastle · 15/04/2023 22:30

Thanks Pondering. It's great advice. The problem is that I've already told him not to contact clients himself. He just won't listen and I don't know how to get him to!

OP posts:
TimeToChange111 · 15/04/2023 22:33

Surely there's a way to end his contract early if he's not following your instructions?

radishandbrie · 15/04/2023 22:34

You need to understand what his contract says. Surely you must be able to terminate contract for this?
You need to make sure it's documented clearly what he has done and impact of his mistakes.

And use as justification for management action.

determinedtomakethiswork · 15/04/2023 22:36

Why can't you terminate his contract if he's freelance? He's completely useless and isn't taking any notice of anything you say.

Greensleevevssnotnose · 15/04/2023 22:36

Fire him. All contracts contain expectations, he is not meeting them. Plus he is freelance so not an employee terminate him

Oblomov23 · 15/04/2023 22:41

Who hires him? As a freelancer? Why haven't you expressed all of this to your manager or to the person who hires him?

Original poster
WomanintheHighCastle · 15/04/2023 22:53

Thanks everyone. I didn't hire him. He was brought in by someone else who left before he started. Probably should sack him but that just feels like the nuclear option at the moment. Struggling because I've never had a problem like this at work before. Everyone else is very easy to manage! Genuinely starting to question myself. It's a small company which isn't very corporate (the accountant is also basically HR)

OP posts:
Oblomov23 · 15/04/2023 23:04

So who is your boss? How long have you worked there? Why are you not reporting in to somebody about this person disobeying your orders?

mondaytosunday · 15/04/2023 23:09

You sack him. It's not the 'nuclear' option, it's the sensible one.

Identifyingasadolphin · 15/04/2023 23:09

As a freelancer, does he submit monthly invoices?, and who approves and signs them off for payment? (there might be some leverage there - to get him to comply with the needs of the company on the project).

Is there any sort of carrot for him - i.e. if this project is successful, might he have chance to work on future projects (provided he resolves to demonstrate he can properly comply with your project requirements?)

Ponderingwindow · 15/04/2023 23:13

If you have been explicit, then you need to escalate to your manager or his depending on company structure.

Oblomov23 · 15/04/2023 23:13

Could you hire someone else? To finish the project?

More importantly, why have you not communicated all these thoughts to your boss?

SmugglersHaunt · 15/04/2023 23:20

My god, fire him! It’ll just reflect badly on you if it goes on. If you’ve told him not to do something and he continues to do it, he’s either unbelievably stupid or just wilful. Either way, the trust is gone and he’s bad at his job. Fire him.

mildlydispeptic · 15/04/2023 23:25

If he's disregarding your instructions you're well within reason to fire him, OP. My sympathies - I've had a similar situation, including the self doubt. Out of interest, what industry are you in?

zombiecupcakes · 15/04/2023 23:37

Ponderingwindow · 15/04/2023 22:25

I should add, there are ways to frame this so it doesn’t seem as harsh.

send something like

in order to streamline and track client communications, all results and deliverables on the project are now going to be sent by one point of contact.

Don’t bother with this kind of indirect nonsense!

Doyoumind · 15/04/2023 23:42

Get rid of him. There will be a notice period in his contract. You've tried managing him and he's ignored you. That's not your fault as a manager. He's disregarding your instructions after you've brought it up with him. That's a really good reason to sack him.

CrikeyPeg · 16/04/2023 01:44

If you're managing the project, it will reflect badly you if he's sending shoddy work out. I would tell him everything goes through you, no direct communication with clients, and if he doesn't follow those instructions you'll terminate his contract.

youveturnedupwelldone · 16/04/2023 07:31

Get rid and find a new one. That's one of the best things about hiring freelancers, easy to dispense with them if they are rubbish!

senua · 16/04/2023 07:40

Is there any sort of carrot for him - i.e. if this project is successful, might he have chance to work on future projects (provided he resolves to demonstrate he can properly comply with your project requirements?)
I was going to say the exact opposite. Inform boss what is going on. Make sure that freelancer doesn't get hired again for another project!

Send freelancer an email, cc'ing your boss. Tell him that you have asked him not to do XYZ but he is continuing to do it. It is reflecting badly on the business. He is on final warning - any future occurrences and he will be terminated.
Meanwhile, put feelers out for a replacement.

tribpot · 16/04/2023 08:05

Getting rid of a freelancer isn't a nuclear option, it's not like firing an employee. Have a look at the contract, at worst I suspect you'd have to give him one week's notice. As he's proven himself to be unable to take direction and is undermining your authority, I would hoof him out immediately and cut his access to your systems, so that he can't do anything even worse during his notice period - even if you have to pay him for a week when he can't work.