In 2005, I took over an underperforming data analytics/reporting group that was known as the place to go when you wanted a job with low expectations and no future. Within six months I replaced them all with fresh college hires. These guys were previously productive software engineers, making 80-100k a year, and were completely disinterested in being held accountable. They all starting looking for other internal postings literally days from when I took over. I replaced them with 40k college grads with 10x productivity. When I was done, the jobs were redefined as entry level training roles where either you were promoted out of it in two years or laid off - the "up or out" method.
The key to turning a group around is to make the goals clear, hold them accountable, and follow through on your promises. Carrot and stick. Give your people an opportunity to succeed and reward them when they do. It's up to the guys doing the jobs if they don't want to meet the goals, because you do not care one way or the other. They miss the goal, they get the stick. That can mean required personal status meetings at 7am, job assignments nobody wants, unpaid leave, whatever. There's always a stick if you know what to look for.
So... How shocked should I be? I am pretty shocked, honestly. I understand that shirking responsibility, lying, and avoiding work happen all the time - at minimum wage jobs. These guys are paid $80K+. How often does one see this at this pay grade?
All. The. Time. I've never had a professional job where everybody was pulling their weight.
Is this (lying, complaining about doing what you are paid for) something I can make a performance improvement plan around (first step to firing, if they don't improve)? How would I set goals? Don't let us catch you lying in the next 3 months? Don't complain about doing your job?
You must have a zero tolerance policy for lying. That is completely unacceptable and grounds for immediate termination. Lying is fairly unusual in a professional environment. You need to make it clear to this guy (in private, with HR support, preferably) that lying will not be tolerated. Document previous lies and take these to HR to prepare for this first meeting. They should support your ability to fire him if he does it again even one time, and even if the lie is about something innocuous.
For the guy who says that if you make him work, he's going to quit, take him up on that. This guy will be easy to push out: give him all the least desirable jobs.
Most importantly, what are the chances of hiring someone just like these guys in the next round?
Any advice on weeding out slackers at an interview? Or is that an unsolved problem for all managers everywhere?
MJ mentioned it above, but the best way to interview is to use the STAR method. Situation, Task, Action, Result. Develop an interview script for the role.
http://www.wm.edu/offices/career/graduate_students/_graddocs/STAR%20Method_Interviews.pdfThe basic approach is to ask "Tell me about a time when you..." rather than "How would you..."
Another way to detect this is to ask questions about relationships in past jobs. Red flags are people who don't take responsibility for their own failures. If the applicant has had a lot of jobs where he had an awful boss or terrible coworkers, but he was a shining star, pass on him.
One question in all of my interviews is, "Tell me about a time you disagreed with your boss. How did you resolve it?" This shakes out more problem hires than any other question.
Good answers: We disagreed, I explained my point of view in more detail, boss kept his original decision but I felt like I had been heard, so it was OK. or, We disagreed, I did my best to follow boss's instructions, things didn't go well and I helped to get them back on the right track.
Bad answers: We disagreed, and everything fell apart, and I felt smug and satisfied. We disagreed, and I kept explaining it to my bonehead boss but he would not understand, which is why I'm here talking to you. We disagreed, and I did it my way behind his back. We disagreed, and I did everything I could to sabotage the work effort. Yes, people have actually used these answers in an interview.
Also, a question for everyone, which I didn't articulate in the OP, how much sense do you think it makes to work on improvement, just in general, or are such issues (laziness) beyond hope?
I'm a big believer in giving people an opportunity to succeed. They have not been well managed in the past, and that's about to change. Giving people bright, measureable goals to hit improves job satisfaction. If they haven't been measured before, or given any kind of feedback on their performance, it's easy to understand why they don't try hard.
Other suggestions:
- Read _Three Signs of a Miserable Job_, it's the best book on Six Sigma and the value of quantitative business metrics ever written.
- Prepare a 30/60/90 day plan for each of your new people. Review this with them weekly to evaluate progress. Set more milestones if that helps.
- Require a written status report of some kind, due weekly. The laziest will not submit it, makes it easy to fire them.