Difficult line management situation

[Brainshine]

My colleague is due to return from 2 months off with stress on Monday and I'm dreading it.

Since they went off sick there has been a restructure and they will now report into me. We are both senior but of course I am now more senior. I can see they will take issue with that.

The bigger problem is that they aren't good at their job. I'm not alone in thinking this and there's plenty of proof. It's a big part of why they went off with stress. They've been with the business over two years. They haven't had any performance issues raised with them as their former manager was equally poor - hence the restructure.

I will now have someone on my team who isn't much of a team player, who won't want to be managed by me and who I can't see performing well.

If they're coming back from MH related leave I know I need to be mindful but equally we need someone in that role who can be effective and not a burden to the rest of the team. They won't be managing anyone themselves for the time being.

HR will be risk averse and so I won't be able to officially performance manage them if they aren't up to scratch. I'll just have to cover the work they should be accountable for.

I probably sound heartless but I'm stressed enough myself as it is. I can't rely on my own manager to help as it's their business and this mess is their fault at the end of the day.

I've been doing well and that's why I'm now going to be this person's manager but their poor performance is going to reflect badly on me. I don't want to be restructured out like their former manager.

I can't leave. The job market is awful at the moment.

How can I avoid a toxic mess?

Why are you assuming that they won’t want to be managed by you?

A good line manager would put all biases aside (I’m not here deliberately trying to be bitchy, but genuinely advise you to look at this differently) there are plenty in your OP, and start fresh.

You need to start by conducting a very thorough return to work meeting, ensure they have the likes of occupational health assessments in motion, put in place any reasonable accommodations. Build rapport with them.

Then you can start performance managing. This isn’t a one meeting kind of conversation, this will likely take months. And it’s a real skill to turn a disengaged employee in to someone who’s engaged. That will be testament to your skill as a manager.

HR will of course be risk averse but as long as you can demonstrate you have taken their health in to consideration and put in place all the right check ins and whatever support you have available, it won’t backfire in your face once you start any kind of PIP etc

Can you restructure the job duties so that not-competent person ends up doing the least critical & most easy to get right jobs?

I am not sure there is a lot you can do immediately. You need to be positive and supportive but also make sure she has some clear objectives in writing.

Then if she isnt meeting objectives you will have evidence to start peformance managent processes.

Is it a phased return so that you can spend their initial time back agreeing duties and timeframes? Ease them in to the new situation and set up manageable expectations early on?

Very few people come to work to be bad at their jobs. It sounds like you’re writing her off rather than seeing it as an opportunity to build and develop her skills under a new manager. Keep her close with clear expectations and communication. Listen to her - what she enjoys and what she struggles with. Work with her to set processes in place that will enable her to succeed. Turning this round is the art of good management (something I love doing). With the right guidance, support and encouragement most people can have their entire career turned around, just having someone in your corner. Without that, she’ll definitely fail. She may still fail, but challenge yourself to at least try.

I will restructure their job duties. I have already done this to a certain extent as I've reallocated their work to other team members or covered myself during their absence but as a team we are thinly stretched.

They were able to fly under the radar previously. That's not how I work. They will know there's goimg to be more scrutiny. That's a directive from above.

The rest of the team is a mix of people I have recruited or who were around before me or moved to work with me. We've been working well and we're all on the same page.

I'm not a perfect manager but I know I've been doing a lot right.

I worked with this person previously as I was asked to advise them on an area I have particular expertise in, and that we have formal processes and best practice guidance for. They went off and did things their own way and the business has suffered as a consequence. I don't think it was due to my manner as other people have successfully taken my guidance on board.

I don't deny I am being biased but I also have my own MH and future to worry about.

I don't think they want to be bad at their job but I do believe they've been promoted beyond their capabilities by being friendly with their former manager, who the business recognised was also in a role beyond their capabilities. The business came to an arrangement with them but I don't think they will with this person as they are less likely to take it lying down.

Try and put all that's happened in the past aside and start afresh. Whatever the old manager was doing, obviously you need to make some changes. Don't assume this staff member will be inadequate or make mistakes. Obviously if and when they do you need to do something. But surely you can implement some training and a kind of culture where she can improve?

OP I would urge against this as although I can see why this poster gave this advice. to me it smacks of allowing someone incompetent an easier run of things whilst putting other team members under pressure to complete tasks which the senior person should be completing. This will create an unfair environment for less senior but more competent staff members and is likely to lose you staff. I have been witness to and in one instance involved in performance management of senior staff members who either were unwilling to adequately complete their role or unable to.

What I can tell you is that HR will act if they think that you will become a problem, ie write to them saying "HR, XX returned from sick leave on XX date and to date I have had numerous conversations about poor quality of work with him/her. Can you please advise next steps as I feel this employee will need to be performance managed as per point XX of the handbook." State what actions you have taken to support and then state what impact this is having on business, other staff members, especially to morale, and you as a manager. In my experience incompetent people normally like to suggest they were bullied or mistreated in some way to cover up the fact they can do the job. you need to protect yourself and your team by making sure HR are involved at the start even if that means a HR rep being present at your performance meetings with this person. Its a horrible position for you to be in though and I dont envy you.

You need to treat this as a fresh start, follow the return to work policies properly, to the letter, make sure all reasonable adjustments, phased return etc are implemented, a good way to ease someone back is refresher training. Also makes sure they can't argue they didn't know how you wanted things done. Regular check ins (documented) to make sure their return is going smoothly, and a gradual reintroduction to the workload. This will work in one of two ways they either feel supported and any prior gaps in knowledge are covered and they start to perform well and therefore enjoy the job and after productive (win win) , or they don't perform and you can begin a performance improvement process -don't jump the gun on this with an ill health return. You need to put all assumptions aside and make a fresh start, it's both the right thing to do morally and the most defensible should it come to it. I wouldn't restructure the job to suit them, the job is what needs doing and they can either do it or they can't.

@Brainshine I think you need to see this as a fresh start; you are fortunate in that structure and processes have been updated in the last couple of months and you are there to support you reportee through this. It starts with the back to work interview when you explain all of this to your colleague. You put in regular catch up sessions, because that is what you are doing for all you other direct reports and as part of your duty of care, it is during this time that you can start to explore their shortcomings and then advise HR what further action you need to take.

One of my managers is dealing with a similar situation, and as frustrating as it us, sometimes you have to let someone make mistakes and then you have something concrete to resolve.

@Brainshine there is some good advice on here.

The key is to get the right objectives agreed up front. For example that they will follow xyz processes and procedures. Get reasonable adjustments documented, arrange remedial training etc.

Meet regularly and ask them to state what they have done well, where they think they could do better against objectives. Essentially get them to assess their own performance. It’s hard work and stressful but drawing a line in the sand at the start enables you to demonstrate you have been fair.

I would also have a meeting with your manager and HR and clearly establish what they agree to do to support you. Make sure you email agreed outcomes of the meeting to them. Essentially if, as you suspect, they have slopey shoulders you have grounds for a grievance. It’s upwards management but by setting it out at the start the buck stops with them not you. This is why if your MH is impacted you can claim Work related stress for them not following performance management process. I hope this doesn’t happen but by being pro active now makes it easier longer term.

I'd seek very clear guidelines from HR on how to manage a returning staff member with MH issues. Ask about how to manage expectations - yours, the company's, the employee's, and where to direct the person to for support if they find it tough again. Ask just for clarity, what the company expects you to do if they underperform.

Help them set very clear targets with deadlines and discuss what management style works best for them.

You are making terrible assumptions. They were poorly managed and went off with stress. They are now in a restructured environment so they will have clear expectations and will want to do well. You need to be supportive and mindful but that doesn't mean they won't be able to do their job. It's as if you are expecting them to fail. Expect them to succeed and they will. You dint sound like a great line manager tbh

First I would have a, 'back to work,' program - maybe get this signed off by HR, where you give the new junior effectively a job description and expectations.

This could be followed up with weekly, 'check ins,' or however best you want to describe it - maybe, 'catch ups?'

Of course you know the need to document everything performance wise, but also ask about mental health - is there anything that could be done as far as, 'reasonable adjustments,' for a settling in period?

HR will be risk averse and so I won't be able to officially performance manage them if they aren't up to scratch

This is the biggest issue, as far as I can see.

Why are HR avoiding dealing with this problem? When I worked in HR, the line I used to spout repeatedly to managers who wanted me to deal with the minutiae of every employee interaction was "HR does not replace the function of management". But that swings both ways - Management cannot replace the function of HR.

When issues occur, discuss this with the employee in a fair and reasonable fashion. By doing so, you give them an opportunity to make changes. If they persist in the behaviour, you then have to pass it to HR for them to deal with it. Whether that is issuing a PIP, an on-the-record formal discussion or maybe even disciplinary.

Ultimately - if it starts to effect your career and your MH - and your manager/HR do nothing, I'd be raising a grievance to highlight that action must be taken and that you won't accept being scapegoated.

Are you sure you are suited to management?

Because you are making a lot of assumptions about this person and you don't seem to realise that managing teams means that you need to be able to deal with conflicts and difficult staff.

You simply need to start with a return to work meeting to discuss any reasonable adjustments and a phased return that this person might need then discuss with them their work priorities for the next 3 months and set up regular one to one catch ups to check how they are doing. Also discuss eith them whether a referral to Occupational Health would be helpful.

Document everything so that you have actual evidence if they are not performing.

Then you can follow your organisation performance management policy.

But the employee also deserves fair treatment rather than you assuming that they will be difficult and incompetent before you have even started managing them...

You say their former manager was poor- this could be a significant part of the previous problem. I would go in with an open mind , have a thorough return to work meeting including an audit of the work stress situation and then schedule in regular meetings so they know there is support in place. I hope you manage to build a good working relationship and things improve.