People Management

[Libertine1975]

I've recently started a new role where I have some team management responsibilities (it's a small team).

One team member started about 6 weeks before I did and I don't think was given much support by my predecessor.

The nature of the role means I've got a number of files to review (which I have nearly finished). When I started I told the team member once I'd reviewed everything and was on top of things I could spend more time training them in their role and getting them to where they need to be.

For the past week they has been almost zombie like. Barely speaking to anyone. I had to explain something to them three times in under 5 minutes (literally telling them to collate some information in a spreadsheet). Today I honestly thought they were having a breakdown. They were sat at their desk staring at the wall (computer screen blank) humming to themself. I spoke to our office manager about their behaviour and I was very concerned about them and they tried to speak to them privately asking if they were OK, was their a problem with work, in their personal life etc. The team member didn't answer and eventually mumbled something and walked out of the meeting. They eventually went home at lunchtime and indicated to another member of staff they were overwhelmed.

Technically this person works for me but as I've been so busy I've literally just been putting work to be done in a general pile for all team members to work from (not allocating anything to anyone specifically, not put any pressure asking they have been doing when tasks seem to take them a long time to complete (in my opinion).

I don't know whether the issue is work or in their personal life but I don't know how I can support them if they won't talk to myself or the office manager.

Anyone else come across this kind of behaviour before and know how to deal? Someone else has suggested this person has ADHD but I can't verify this...

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Alucia]

I've recently started a new role where I have some team management responsibilities (it's a small team).

One team member started about 6 weeks before I did and I don't think was given much support by my predecessor.

The nature of the role means I've got a number of files to review (which I have nearly finished). When I started I told the team member once I'd reviewed everything and was on top of things I could spend more time training them in their role and getting them to where they need to be.

For the past week they has been almost zombie like. Barely speaking to anyone. I had to explain something to them three times in under 5 minutes (literally telling them to collate some information in a spreadsheet). Today I honestly thought they were having a breakdown. They were sat at their desk staring at the wall (computer screen blank) humming to themself. I spoke to our office manager about their behaviour and I was very concerned about them and they tried to speak to them privately asking if they were OK, was their a problem with work, in their personal life etc. The team member didn't answer and eventually mumbled something and walked out of the meeting. They eventually went home at lunchtime and indicated to another member of staff they were overwhelmed.

Technically this person works for me but as I've been so busy I've literally just been putting work to be done in a general pile for all team members to work from (not allocating anything to anyone specifically, not put any pressure asking they have been doing when tasks seem to take them a long time to complete (in my opinion).

I don't know whether the issue is work or in their personal life but I don't know how I can support them if they won't talk to myself or the office manager.

Anyone else come across this kind of behaviour before and know how to deal? Someone else has suggested this person has ADHD but I can't verify this...

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks

I think if it is possible I would speak to whoever hired this person and interviewed them for the role and see are they qualified for the position and how long they were in their last job. It is unfair for you to deal with this and you don't want to tip the person over the edge if they are not well. Best of luck with it all.

 

[Libertine1975]

I think if it is possible I would speak to whoever hired this person and interviewed them for the role and see are they qualified for the position and how long they were in their last job. It is unfair for you to deal with this and you don't want to tip the person over the edge if they are not well. Best of luck with it all.

Thanks for your answer. The role is a junior one and the person has worked in similar roles at other places (albeit not for very long always less than a year). They seemed very keen to learn and progress when I started but haven't shown much drive and initiative. I think there might be issues at home but they just didn't want to engage today when the office manager tried to find out what is wrong.

The office manager and I will be having a meeting tomorrow about the situation (they were involved in the hiring). I feel awful, I am the sort of person who wants to help and support people to reach their goals as that's how I got where I am.

I know I've not done anything which should cause anyone stress and can only presume something is happening in their personal life...

 

[Codiaeum]

Have the meeting with the Office Manager and ask if you can review any documentation from other people that might have been involved in hiring, just to check that qualifications are as they should be and whether they were indeed hired for the role they expected to be hired for. Nothing worse also for an employee to land in a role different than what was presented to them during the hiring process.
Then I'd say give them space for today and see how Monday turns out to be. If they are still on probation and something is off at home, they might be worried about that, but if on Monday they still fail to engage at work and seem "off", try to seek a 1:1 with them and gently probe. Being overwhelmed is one thing, doing nothing about it quite something else and it sounds like you are trying to be a supportive manager rather than piling it on, which they should recognize.
Must say, the "always less than a year" is an orange flag for me and it's something I'd have looked into during the hiring process, but you weren't involved in that so.... not much to be done. There's sometimes things you can't help where you have to leave a job rather quickly after starting it, but if it is a pattern in multiple places, they simply might not be the best person for the job.

 

[Libertine1975]

Thanks for the advice all. Spoke to the boss today, the behaviour had become weirder, holding their hand out and singing/chanting. The boss listened and said they thought it was praying.

The boss, office manager and I had a meeting and I was told there were concerns about them before I had started but they thought the change of management might help the situation.

The boss spoke with them and they couldn't or wouldn't say what the issue was. They apparently mentioned having missed a phone call from God. The boss has made the decision that they can't stay and has terminated their employment. The boss mentioned to me they thought there was either an issue drugs or a severe mental health issue based on the behaviour described by myself and my colleagues and what they had witnessed and said but we can't help them unless they tell us the issues.

They took them to meet their partner to take them home as they were concerned about the employee being alone.

Very upsetting day, I keep wondering if I had done something wrong but I've literally put no pressure on them at all with work I have allocated and I've just been working on an it gets done when it gets done philosophy. I feel very sad about the situation and hope they are ok in the long run.

The position is a junior one and they have a relevant degree in the area I work (obviously trying to keep this as vague as possible on a public forum). They had held similar positions at other firms but hadn't stayed in roles very long and we wonder if this was the reason. Once I was on top of the work I have taken over I was going to dedicate more time ensuring that they were trained up so they could take on more responsibility.

Thanks for the advice. It will be good to refer back to if I ever have similar issues to deal with!

 

[Alucia]

Thanks for the advice all. Spoke to the boss today, the behaviour had become weirder, holding their hand out and singing/chanting. The boss listened and said they thought it was praying.

The boss, office manager and I had a meeting and I was told there were concerns about them before I had started but they thought the change of management might help the situation.

The boss spoke with them and they couldn't or wouldn't say what the issue was. They apparently mentioned having missed a phone call from God. The boss has made the decision that they can't stay and has terminated their employment. The boss mentioned to me they thought there was either an issue drugs or a severe mental health issue based on the behaviour described by myself and my colleagues and what they had witnessed and said but we can't help them unless they tell us the issues.

They took them to meet their partner to take them home as they were concerned about the employee being alone.

Very upsetting day, I keep wondering if I had done something wrong but I've literally put no pressure on them at all with work I have allocated and I've just been working on an it gets done when it gets done philosophy. I feel very sad about the situation and hope they are ok in the long run.

The position is a junior one and they have a relevant degree in the area I work (obviously trying to keep this as vague as possible on a public forum). They had held similar positions at other firms but hadn't stayed in roles very long and we wonder if this was the reason. Once I was on top of the work I have taken over I was going to dedicate more time ensuring that they were trained up so they could take on more responsibility.

Thanks for the advice. It will be good to refer back to if I ever have similar issues to deal with!

Sounds like a tough day, it was good she has a partner to take her home, one less thing to worry about for ye all.