How do you correct a co-worker without feeling like an a**hole?

Question

So, one of the girls in my department is on vacation and someone came from a different department to help out with answering the phones. (We handle scheduling stuff, which means most of the calls that come in every day)

Now she does have experience in our area, but she makes so many mistakes that the time we spend correcting her mistakes or pointing them out to her is just not worth having an extra person in here.

Plus, whenever I point something out to her that she did wrong (which I do in as nice a way as possible) she will either act like I'm the biggest *** in the world or she will list off reasons why it's not her fault. ("So and so said..." or "I thought that you...")

At this point I am only pointing out about half the things to her, because last time I pointed out a whole bunch of stuff at once, she locked herself in the bathroom with another co-worker to complain (in tears) about how I was "ganging up" on her.

This woman is in her 40's.

How do I correct her?

Answer 1

I have to admit, I'm one of those people that don't believe in telling people anything they are doing wrong. ESPECIALLY, if they act this this lady. What I do, when someone is bound to make a bunch of mistakes, is to make sure that she stands alone in her mess. When you write an email, and she obviously makes a mistake, and the boss asks you what happened, I'd say, "Per (the idiot), the shipment was supposed to be here." I wish I wasn't mean, but some people who are rude, don't deserve to be saved. The best thing to do, is to not directly point out her mistakes to HER, but make sure that the people that count realize that its her and nobody else. I get great joy when people look like idiots, when they act like they know what they are doing. When they come to you, play stupid, and say, "Well didn't YOU say that it would be here Monday?" Make sure to cc the boss with any critical conversations that prove she's an idiot. Don't even bcc, just cc other people to cover your own a*s.

Answer 2

The problem is, most people don't want to hear they're wrong. And if you want to make any progress with them, you have to adapt to that fact.

Don't tell them they're wrong. NEVER tell them "you should do this or that" if you're not their boss. They'll just hate you.

So what should you do? There are three ways to deal with it:

(1) The slow way
Tell her she's doing a good job. She's doing great. Tell her you like her voice or whatever that doesn't sound like a blatant lie. After a couple of compliments like that, say something like "and you know, I find it easier to work when I..." and then say what she should do.
NOTE: This works only if you care about her and invest a lot of time to turn her into a good worker.

(2) The quick way
Complain to the boss.
NOTE: Be ready to be hated by that colleague and many of her friends.

(3) The easy way
You're not her boss, right? So what's it to you if she doesn't do her work properly? You'll get your salary anyway. Just ignore her, and if the boss comes complaining that the work hasn't been done, show him/her that you're doing your job, so it must be "somebody" else's fault.
NOTE: This always works.

Answer 3

I don't think you can correct her in an effective way. How about talking to someone about sending her back to her department? That way you won't have to fix her mistakes and things will go smoother. She either has a problem with criticism or with you in particular.

Since she is not there permanently, I don't think it will be worth your time to try to work this through. It sounds as if you have done your best.

Answer 4

Maybe the lot of you could be sent to run a Fruit Stand on some roadside. Then she could be responsible for the tomatoes, and you could be responsible for the apples. Just don't steal. And if you throw the fruit at each other you have to pay for it. Hair Pulling might be ok, but leave each others' clothes on. Unless you're really far out in the country.

Answer 5

Why are you worrying about this - this girl is going to go back to her department soon as your coworker is back from vacation.

Its not like you are her boss so you should be minding your business. The person to say something to is the boss which would be that she is not worth having because of her high error rate.

Answer 6

It sounds like you can't because she is such a weenie.

If the regular girl will be back soon, just let it go. If she will be gone for a while and you know there will be more work to do because of the weenie than if you just worked short-handed, then talk to your dept. supervisor about it. Let he or she be the bad guy.

Answer 7

She sounds like she can't take criticism or instruction. Just weather the storm til the other co-worker comes back.

Answer 8

It appears you have been correcting her absent results; if your in management deal with it appropriately per your company regulations; the objective is to correct the problems to see it does not continue;

If your not in management, bring to to thier attention in the event the behavior is no longer doable for you.

Answer 9

Don't correct her anymore. Obviously she can't take the advice/help/criticism ... tell your supervisor. Let THEM deal with it! You tried to help, it didn't work ... it's not your responsibility. If you tell your super & they don't do anything about it, at least you did your job, and if this person keeps messing up, it's not your problem.

Answer 10

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