Advice Please...

[Fat Tone]

I have a colleague who is incompetant. In 15 months I have yet to see any evidence of IT skills beyond the ability to fiddle and kludge. Now he is getting pressured to finish a job that is 12 months late and keeps trying to get me to do his job. His answer to every question is along the lines of "I know everything except that".

That's why I'm up so late - he has me really wound up.

It's like he's borderline Schitzophrenic. He'll trade emails all day thinking of excuses not to do something or trying to get me to do it, or ducking responsibility etc, and then the next day its as if it never happened.

Do I ignore him, waiting for him to (eventually) dig his own grave, or should I be more proactive and point out to someone higher up (not easy) the problems he is causing me? I can't keep arguing like this, it's not good for my sanity or productivity.

T.

[BuddMan]

I would try to teach him how to do whatever job this is so he will learn how to do it and be able to any future jobs without bugging you. I dunno if that's possible, esp. if you don't have the time. Maybe get someone to help him learn how to do his job though.

But, if he's just lazy and doesn't want to learn. Let him dig his own grave.

[Gurm]

Just make DAMN sure to not let him drag you down too.

- Gurm

[ZokesPro]

I say let him dig his own grave, and maybe give little hints to someone higher up that he isn't the cream of the crop.

And also go with Gurm, DO NOT let him drag you down!

[Wombat]

Start keeping a journal of the work YOU have done, so that they know where NOT to look when the heads roll.
Seriously.

[Lizzard[MPE]]

block his emails and make an excuse of why you arent getting them

[Dogbert]

I know this kind, I'm a more evloved version of it, I don't dump my responsibilities on some1 else.

The thing is simple, a guy that throws his responsibilities on someone else is a lowlife. It isn't any different from theft, robbery or whatever. Let him dig his own grave while being carefull around him.

1. Keep a log of your work.
2. When he tries the "Yes, Tony and I..." thing around colleagues or bosses, immediately say that you don't have time for this since you're very busy with higher priority tasks. If and when you're done with those, you might be able to help him with HIS. This way he won't be able to attach his tasks to you.

If he gets too persistent, start complaining that your're flooded with work and now 'people' want you to do his work as well.

[Rakido]

Tony,

as others already suggested: keep a journal of your own work!!

Teaching how things should be done (as Budd suggested) is fine for someone, who is new in the job, but as he is 15 months in the job it's plain useless.

The best thing is to tell him that he sucks (maybe with some better chosen words ) and that you don't do his jobs longer for him. If this does not help, don't hesitate to go to to someone higher and explain the situation.

The main point is: if someone higher comes to you and asks you, why you are late with your own jobs and you tell them, that you do all the jobs for your colleague and therefore your own jobs are late, there will be one nasty question: why didn't you report it earlier (and it sounds *then* as a lame excuse)

After 15 months: be proactive for your own job-safety.


Rakido

[The PIT]

Jeez if I kept a journal of my work when I was in industry I would have been beaten to a pulp and driven out of the workplace.

Tony are you his supervisor if so get him sacked. If you're not keep clear and let him dig his own grave. Also make it clear your not going to help him any further and tell him he should know by now.

[T'kul Bastile]

hire a hitman

[Fat Tone]

If he worked FOR me, he wouldn't do anymore, if you see what I mean.

My boss appreciates I am busy, especially at the moment, gearing up for the next semester, and yesterday said I am 'bloody good' at my job, so my colleague hasn't dragged me too far yet.
I gave him an indication of the problem. Trouble is my boss would need to speak to the HoD (his boss) before anything happens, which he is unlikely to do unless I shout louder. Another problem is I normally have no reason to meet the people he works for.

I can't really teach him anything because he is not a team player. I don't pretend to know all the answers, and I already said what happens if I ask him something. He almost never asks for help/ideas, he just flounders on getting nothing done for fear of exposing his incompetence.

We have the same job title but work for two separate halves of the the same department. Separate budgets etc. There has been a recent 'nominal' merging, but the support boundaries are the same. There is talk of 2/3 of his staff moving down the road, and him going with them (PLEASE!!!) so I was asked by the HoD to consider how we might support those staff who remain! When I have to report back on that I may have to expose him then.


T.

[RichL]

I had almost the same problem with a collegue once.
There were two of us doing PC & Network support covering the main office, the secondary office and two small offices between us. The boss (who was more of a VAX/VMS person) decided to hire a 3rd PC& Network guy.
Due to company policy, we had to advertise internally first. One of the prat's from the Customer Service department (the phone answerers) applies for the job.
"Hes a cocky little tit who turns up late and never does much work" said his boss to mine.
"I had to bollock him last week for pratting around with someone elses computer and breaking it." said I, "He's an amatuer fiddler and I'd prefer not to work with him."

He gets the job.
In the course of 'showing him the ropes', I failed to realise that for his entire months trial period, we'd done all the work and he hadnt done a jot.
Towards the end of his trial, my boss creates a new job specifically for supporting the sattelite sites, and asks me if I want to do it. I worked out that it would put about 10,000 miles a year on my car, and as it didnt come with a company car, I refuse.
So....my boss gives it to the prat WITH a company car and WITH a pay rise to compensate for he additional tax he'd pay for having it.
I was not impressed at all, especially as he was now earning more than me for a job I knew wouldnt be as hard as mine.

Some months later he went off sick for a couple of months, and the other 2 of us had to cover his work as well as ours. We immediately discovered that he had an outstanding call list of about 120 calls dating back for months at one site where he was based 3 days a week. Previously we'd visited once or twice a week and kept the calls at zero. He'd also managed to lose 2 PCs when moving his desk from the machine room to next to his mates upstairs, and his own PC barely worked anyway.
I finally went to my boss officially with the things I'd been grumbling about for the last few months. She did nothing, and not long after that I got an official reprimand for 'not being a team player'

I sent my CV to several recruitment agencies the very same day.


So the moral of the story is.....if your boss hired a complete ****ole, be very careful about pointing out to them that they have done.

[Dogbert]

Isn't that what people call a 'whistle blower' ?

[Fat Tone]

Originally posted by Dogbert
Isn't that what people call a 'whistle blower' ?

That's not very helpful Dogbert!

[GT98]

Originally posted by Dogbert
Isn't that what people call a 'whistle blower' ?

The term Whistle Blower as I see it is usally an employee who reports "evil doings" of the company s/he works for.