Ask HN: How to tell someone they are not doing well at work?

Re:Ask HN: How to tell someone they are not doing well at work? by ptero on Friday July 21, 2017 @10:26AM (#14820759)

TBH, I suspect the best option for him is to just move on to another company. He is sharp, always learning and young (supposedly irrelevant, but we all know it helps). He should have plenty of options.

For us, though, he never finishes anything he starts. He does three quarters, then considers it done and ignores requests to wrap it up, so 90% of his work has to be completely redone. That, unfortunately, is baked into his reputation by now, so even if he has perfect execution from now on he would be carrying the reputational baggage he collected over the last years for a while.

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Re:Ask HN: How to tell someone they are not doing well at work? by jwdunne on Sunday July 23, 2017 @04:27AM (#14831388)

Does he know this is a problem? Have there been frank discussions about how this habit is harming team productivity?

If he's been there for a few years and he hasn't changed despite repeated nudges and explicit warnings, yeah maybe he needs to go.

If I'm honest though, smart and always learning isn't compatible with refusing to improve a bad habit. If he's as sharp and eager to learn as you say, it seems like he would be open to feedback.

"Reputation" is quite silly. If the problem goes away and he stays, why the hell should his "reputation" come into it?

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