I have a team member that will leave at 5:00 pm every day, even when situations call for more work to be done afterwards. He works very hard when he's there, never comes in late, and he's a salaried employee. He is valuable to the project, but he also causes heartache when he refuses to stay a little late for a task that needs to be addressed right then. I've been asked by several members of the team to replace him. He knows his skills are vital to the project, and he uses it against the team and the company. His skills won't easily be replaced if I let him go, but he does just as much damage and he does good at times. I've tried talking to him, but he refuses to listen. Is there a good way to handle this situation? Saving Changes...
Product Operations Program ManagerBarcelona, Cataluña, Spain
Putting aside the fact that I do not embrace the 9 to 5 mentality, communication to understand the underlying reasons is key. It could be that he is taking care of a sick relative. It could be that he is raising a kid on his own, and has no one else to pick the kid up at school. Many reasons could justify this behavior.
If the root cause is something else, then the resolution may take different shapes. Still, the first thing to do is to communicate with this person and understand the motivations to leave at 5 sharp every day no matter what.
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1 reply by Adrian Carlogea
Jun 14, 2019 1:08 PM
Adrian Carlogea
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If the contract specifies 9 to 5 working hours then the employee should not be asked to provide justification for working these hours. If the contracts specifies 8 working hours per day with no defined start and end then the company can choose the working hours for instance 10 to 6 instead of 9 to 5.
No. It is a deal.
You really need to monitor his/her performance rather than taking attendance Saving Changes...
Ellik HawkinsPresident/CEO| Hawkins Ventures, LLCTallahassee, Fl, United States
May 22, 2018 6:38 AM
Replying to Drew Craig
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Similar views as Sachin.
Empathy. Understand what more about this individual, the hidden side. Maybe his wife has a night job and he needs to get home for the kids. Maybe his kids have activities to go to. Maybe he has a sick parent he is caring for and needs to relieve the nurse.
Or, not. But go into a discussion with empathy to understand more about the other aspects of this individual.
From there you can work to find a common ground. Read what Sergio wrote. It's a bit scientific, but it is accurate. Don't let negative emotion skew your perception.
Andrew Craig nailed it! Good people are hard to find. Work with him to figure out a solution. If this person is younger, they may have different values than older generations and they may strive for a work/life balance. My point is take some time to get to know what he values. If he is truly that valuable to the project, and he's not rude or condescending to others about his skill set, then he's worth keeping around. I am curious about your organization's overtime policy as well. Does he get flex or comp time, or is he expected to "donate" his time after 40 hours? If so, the organization may need to look deeper into their policies. Saving Changes...
Ellik HawkinsPresident/CEO| Hawkins Ventures, LLCTallahassee, Fl, United States
Good people are hard to find. Work with him to figure out a solution. If this person is younger, they may have different values than older generations and they may strive for a work/life balance. My point is take some time to get to know what he values. If he is truly that valuable to the project, and he's not rude or condescending to others about his skill set, then he's worth keeping around. I am curious about your organization's overtime policy as well. Does he get flex or comp time, or is he expected to "donate" his time after 40 hours? If so, the organization may need to look deeper into their policies. Saving Changes...
I agree with Sergio that you have a different expection than the team member. You need to discuss your differences. Collins makes a good suggestion: tell the employee you need a specific result by a certain date and time. Then let the employee figure it out. (Don't be surprised if the employee tries to negotiate the deadline.)
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1 reply by Adrian Carlogea
Jun 14, 2019 1:01 PM
Adrian Carlogea
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Setting or more accurately trying to set deadlines to team members is probably one of the biggest mistake a PM can do.
For starters, unless the PM is also a very good SME, he can't know how long a task would take to complete and as such the deadlines would be arbitrary.
Normally the PM asks the team member or the project functional lead for an estimate and then if needed tries to negotiate that estimate. So the PM is the one who usually tries to negotiate the deadline and not the team member.
Saving Changes...
Pamela NelliganOwner/Chief Software Architect| Statdash LLCWilliamsville, Ny, United States
I would suggest trying to find out what the underlying reason is for him leaving at 5pm. As others have suggested, perhaps he cares for an elderly parent or children. I wouldn't be quick to let him go because, as you stated, he works hard when he is there. Try to get to know him and what makes him feel valued. Ask him straight out if he could stay later one day per week to help the team get over a hurdle. The best thing to do is to have open, direct communication. Saving Changes...
I agree with Sergio that you have a different expection than the team member. You need to discuss your differences. Collins makes a good suggestion: tell the employee you need a specific result by a certain date and time. Then let the employee figure it out. (Don't be surprised if the employee tries to negotiate the deadline.)
Setting or more accurately trying to set deadlines to team members is probably one of the biggest mistake a PM can do.
For starters, unless the PM is also a very good SME, he can't know how long a task would take to complete and as such the deadlines would be arbitrary.
Normally the PM asks the team member or the project functional lead for an estimate and then if needed tries to negotiate that estimate. So the PM is the one who usually tries to negotiate the deadline and not the team member. Saving Changes...
Putting aside the fact that I do not embrace the 9 to 5 mentality, communication to understand the underlying reasons is key. It could be that he is taking care of a sick relative. It could be that he is raising a kid on his own, and has no one else to pick the kid up at school. Many reasons could justify this behavior.
If the root cause is something else, then the resolution may take different shapes. Still, the first thing to do is to communicate with this person and understand the motivations to leave at 5 sharp every day no matter what.
If the contract specifies 9 to 5 working hours then the employee should not be asked to provide justification for working these hours. If the contracts specifies 8 working hours per day with no defined start and end then the company can choose the working hours for instance 10 to 6 instead of 9 to 5. Saving Changes...
Finding some to replace another person in a team is a resource intensive exercise that can be avoided by finding the most effective approach to this situation. If this person is a unionised, government, permanent contract employee then might be fully within the contracted rights to leave work at 5pm everyday because that is what they are contracted to do. As a project manager you would not expect any other resources to work outside there contracted obligations. I would first seek clarification from HR as to the employment status of this individual and if would also independently assess this persons financial tangible value to the team i.e how much they are worth. If there salary is lower than your figure then I would look to see if increase this person salary with the expectation of increased working hours. If your figure is lower than their salary then I would look to first meet and resolve the issues and if this does not bear fruit then I would look at a replacement. People who think they are irreplaceable within a team ultimately will damage the team. Saving Changes...
This is already very old and the "advises" given here most likely are now useless.
Talking in general however for similar cases in the civilized world employees should not be forced to work overtime, they are not slaves!!! Changing the working hours from 10 to 6 instead of 9 to 5 yes could be done but forcing the employee to work longer not.
The fact that an employee does not want to work longer hours or different hours than the contract specifies does not or should not make him a problem employee.
I find it inhumane to try to replace an employee just because he does not want to be a slave. If the team members are not enough then additional ones should be added and the company/project sponsor should pay for this. Saving Changes...
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