who's doing the work?

[BIZARRO999]

There an engineer in my office who constantly calls his former co-workers or others from past employers that he knows through past experience. He calls them for project guidance - a lot of guidance. Our supervisor knows about this and has make some remarks about it not being his work and such. At University, this might have been known as not playing fair (to put things nicely). Nevertheless, the man's work is good, very good. Is there an issue out there?

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

The engineer is paid to get the job done ... how he does it is immaterial, as long as the job is done properly & by your own admission "his" end result is "good, very good".
The real issue here is what will happen when his former colleagues get fed up with him "picking their brains" & he has to start using his own. Will he still be able to perform his duties?


Making the best use of this Forum. faq559-716
How to get answers to your SW questions. faq559-1091
Helpful SW websites every user should be aware of. faq559-520

 

[Latexman]

If his network of friends call him when they need advice, no problem. If not, then he's a leech and without his sustenance (advice) he'll perish.

Good luck,
Latexman

 

[MikeHalloran]

Short term, the boss rents ~six brains for the price of one.

If the guy is merely a comm channel, he risks being replaced by an actual brain from his network, should one become available.

I hope he's smart enough to assimilate some of what he's channeling, before the river dries up.

In any case, it's the supervisor's problem, not yours. So, don't worry about it.





Mike Halloran
NOT speaking for
DeAngelo Marine Exhaust Inc.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA

 

[whyun]

As long as the work is properly credited, I see no problems. I've seen similar case where an engineer resorted to "a lot" of guidance from people within the office without giving them proper credit. Boss actually thought all the work was produced independently and gave this individual undeserved promotion etc. When things went wrong, this individual was not shy about blaming so and so who provided guidance. This person is no longer working in this state.

 

[HgTX]

I guess it all depends on how exactly the "outside help" is used and presented.

One of the things my bosses really like about me is my considerable network [1]. If I don't know the answer, I know who to ask [2]. To tell the truth, it's one of the reasons I'm afraid to leave public sector work--I think some of my sources would be less charitable if I were a fellow private consultant.

Hg

[1] I don't mean just Eng-Tips.
[2] And if I don't, I try Eng-Tips.

Eng-Tips guidelines: faq731-376

 

[svanels]

whyun maybe the boss knew who was doing the work and that why he was promoted to make it visible.

Sometimes a "promotion" is the first step to "get rid of"

I have seen this happen, we had a non-performing engineer.
Some opinions were:
1)Nail the guy to the pillory and whip in public
2)Don't give the guy any project, just a broom (with the same pay)

The managers choice:
Give more responsibility, more work etc., he threw in the towel.

Moral of the story:
If you are good you get a lot of work
If you are not good, you get even more work, because you need to learn how to work.

 

[Heckler]

I notice your field is Military. project guidance - I hope he's not passing out competitive company information in the process? Having worked in military/defense/semi-con for the last ten years I can tell you my past companies would not appreciate it if I communicated project related data outside of company walls.