chris webster wrote:
David Hawkins wrote:
What do I do? I can't have the perception that I have a team full of slackers and if a handful of individuals would put in a couple of 45 to 50 hour weeks we'd be caught up. ...
Remember that not all problems have to be solved by management. In fact, you're almost guaranteed not to like the solution we come up with.
I hear what you're saying, and I certainly don't envy your position, but a number of questions come to mind.
Why are some of your team members falling behind in the first place? Is this because the plan was over-optimistic, because they're slacking as you suggest, or because of some other factor?
Outside factors put them behind. For better or worse, the people responsible have been dealt with but we still have to get back on schedule.
Have you talked to them to find out why they're behind? Given your own commitment to trying to keep the working hours reasonable for your team, have you challenged them to explain why everybody else now has to work extra hours to make up for their delays?
Multiple meetings with the group and individuals have commenced. We are back on track since I originally posted my reply. Maybe I'm used to a different standard, but when I was a developer and I would say I'd have something done in two weeks then I would get it done in two weeks regardless of whether or not I was interrupted in that time, had to put in longer hours to get caught up, or maybe even work a weekend. To me, when I commit to a date it means I will do what it takes to get it done. As a developer I was pretty good at making sure I worked an 8 hour day and got my work done, but even when I was in control of the estimates I did get it wrong occassionally. That is the case here. I met with the team lead, I worked out the dates in advance, and he committed to them. I didn't tell him when he would deliver, we came to an agreement. However, the project now rides on us delivering on time. Other teams and other projects will suffer if we don't make our commitments.
If your boss insists on comparing your team's hours unfavourably with the (less productive) hours of another team, why don't you speak up for your team if you genuinely believe they are more productive? If the boss doesn't know better, and you don't put him straight, who else will do so? Not the manager of the other team, that's for sure!
Perception is reality. If we were on target the whole time and working 2 hours a day less than the other team, we appear to be more efficient and a better team. If we are not on target and the other team is working 2 hours more, then we appear to be less dedicated. Without playing office politics and potentially putting my team at risk, I cannot accuse the other team of being less efficient while my team is behind.
All that aside, I do just have a philosophical disagreement that we must keep to an 8 hour schedule. I believe people need lives and they should have a work environment that is conducive to a family life if they so choose. At the same time, this or any other job allows them to put food on their table and software development is not a low paying field. Sometimes you do have to put work first and get the job done. I see developers complain about lack of career advancement as they rush out the door at 5pm. I've seen this over the past 10 years in technology. Moving ahead in your career doesn't require long hours necessarily, but it does require a dedication to the company goals. I can't just walk out the door if a teammate is struggling with a problem that I can help them with. If I can't help, I'm going home, but if I can help then I feel like I'm abandoning them. If working a long week helps keep my project on track, I'd do it.
Building a rapport with my fellow developers, helping the company meet its goals, and showing that I would do whatever I needed to make projects successful is what helped me bridge that gap between development and management. I want my team to have good morale and not work themselves to death, but at the same time I think that sometimes you just need to roll up your sleeves and get the job done.