Senior Employees in Small IT Firm Leaving Bugs: How Can HR Encourage Accountability?

Handling Senior Employees' Work Responsibilities

I have recently joined an IT company as an HR professional. It is a small-sized company, comprised of 10-15 employees. The company has 2-3 senior employees who have been working for the last 10-12 years and are on a high pay scale.

The issue is that these senior employees don't take their work responsibilities seriously. They leave bugs in customer projects without any apparent reason (possibly intentionally, as they are experienced and knowledgeable).

These employees know that the company needs them and cannot fire them. Moreover, if they were to be fired, they could easily secure another good job.

How to Address the Issue?

How can I handle this situation? How can I make them responsible for their work?

Ensuring Senior Employees Adhere to Job Descriptions

The point here is to ensure that senior employees work according to their job descriptions. For this purpose, they should be held accountable. This exercise is intended to encourage them to improve their performance, not to dismiss them. However, if they fail to correct themselves, they should certainly be shown the exit. Their high degree of employability should not justify their willful failure to perform their job as described. It is important to remember that a proper dismissal on the grounds of grave misconduct or wanton failure to work is a stigma that will affect such an employee's employability throughout their future career.

Thank you, Umakanthan.M. Please suggest ways to motivate them to perform error-free tasks. Informal discussions have been held several times by the management previously. Somehow, the company also relies on them. Situated in the (not so big) city of Rajasthan, experienced and knowledgeable candidates are very rare to find.

Changing Work Culture and Attitude

This requires a change in work culture and individual attitude. Both are time-consuming processes and cannot be achieved swiftly. Yet, the process of change must start, and there is no better time than the present to begin. You need to take both positive and negative steps regarding what is acceptable behavior in the organization now. For all this, you need the support and commitment of top management.

Intervention by an Expert

You may need an intervention by an expert, such as an OD Consultant. Since you are a very small setup, you might plan a combined summit of all employees. This could be the ideal occasion to bring a consultant into the picture and chart out a new course.

Dear Aariesrora, this is in addition to the views expressed by other learned members. You say that your company needs these employees. It appears that they too know this and have been taking undue advantage of it. However, sometimes the leadership of your company has to bite the bullet. You have been lenient with these seniors all along, but this lenience cannot continue indefinitely. Customers expect flawless service, and if it is not provided, then the business is bound to suffer. Has your MD calculated the cost of customer dissatisfaction vis-a-vis the cost of retention of these employees? I am sure the former outweighs the latter.

Talk with the MD and start thinking of arranging the replacement of these seniors. As you employ new persons, make sure that these old seniors report to the new ones. Temporarily, the MD should withdraw from the operations; however, from the backend, he should support the new employees. When the right time comes, check out these old seniors.

Tell your MD that he runs a business enterprise and not a charity center. Business growth and expansion should always be on the mind of the leadership. But this can happen provided he thinks from his head and not from his heart. Therefore, the time has come to take an unemotional and dispassionate view of the situation.

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

Dear friend, like every individual, every organization has a lifespan—mostly longer than that of the individuals who run it. Therefore, nobody is indispensable in the long run. If some employees, due to their senior positions, wantonly fail to discharge their duties, it amounts to insubordination that would always culminate in incompetency. There is no use in keeping incompetent employees for long. Regardless of the location of your organization, it is not so difficult to find proper substitutes in the long run.

Strategies to Address Senior Employee Performance Issues

You need to adopt a strategy to encourage the senior employees to step out of their comfort zones. The seniors should be clearly informed by the MD that they need to change their ways and meet the expected work standards, or else serious measures will be taken. Provide them with a 2-3 month timeframe to improve. Begin searching for potential replacements now and inform them that steps to replace them are in progress.

Exploring Job Profile Changes

Consider whether their job profiles can be altered, assigning each to distinct teams or targets to foster a competitive culture. Determine if the most deserving among them can be promoted with more significant responsibilities, while the other two report to this individual.

These approaches aim to make them realize they are not indispensable. If, despite your sincere efforts, they do not improve and it negatively impacts the organization, you may have no option but to replace them one by one.

Regards,
Vinayak Nagarkar
HR and Employee Relations Consultant

Signs of a Good and Bad Manager

A good team leader always takes responsibility for the performance of their team and won't shirk any responsibilities. In contrast, a bad manager does the opposite. A clear-cut sign of a bad manager is not taking their work responsibilities seriously.

Addressing Senior Employees' Lack of Responsibility

When senior employees shirk their responsibilities and duties, it sets a poor example for junior staff. In such situations, it's crucial to consult with the Managing Director (MD) to understand his perspective. If he agrees with your concerns about the poor work culture, steps can be taken to initiate change.

Setting Targets and Monitoring Performance

Establish clear targets and monitor them through Management Information System (MIS) reports. These reports should detail achievements and any shortfalls, along with reasons for them.

Exploring Talent and Understanding Issues

Being in a small city, talent may not be readily available. However, discreetly explore potential replacements. Communicate with current employees to understand why they might be taking their responsibilities lightly. Discuss these factors with the MD, and if they are indeed issues, take steps to address them.

Implementing Changes and Accountability

A kind of shake-up may be necessary to motivate change. If replacements are hard to find due to the location, remember that these senior employees may also struggle to find suitable jobs elsewhere. Begin holding them accountable for errors that affect customer confidence. Once they realize that the MD will not tolerate a "come easy, go easy" attitude, they may change their behavior.

Maintaining Open Communication

Keep communication lines open. The MD should interact frequently with the team and monitor their progress to ensure accountability and improvement.