What advice would you give someone who told you they've been warned about being too slow at work?

[Haole Girl]

I don't have that problem. Actually, I've been told to slow down at work!

So, I told the person maybe they should drink coffee.

Was that the wrong advice? They didn't seem to take it well.

*sigh*

:shrug:

[graywarrior]

1. Tell them to drink Jolt.

Or take bennies.

[Adsos Letter]

3. ...bennies...

oh man...

:D

[graywarrior]

6. *snort*

followed by luudes.

[Haole Girl]

4. Bennies... um...

..maybe not a good idea for someone working in a hospital! lol! ;-)

[skygazer]

2. "Then speed up"

I don't understand slow people. It makes the day drag so. I like to hustle. :shrug:

[Haole Girl]

5. I don't understand them either...

..really, I don't. :hi:

[Danger Mouse]

7. Some white lady ought to do the trick.

:hi:

[Haole Girl]

10. huh?

sometimes I feel like such a dork. I have no idea what you're talking about... will go to google in a sec.

[Danger Mouse]

14. coke.

:P
:hi:

[Haole Girl]

16. Oh

Thanks. :hi:

[datasuspect]

8. what kind of work is it?

i've run into the same problem with managers, the ones who want you to sell every contact you develop, RIGHT FUCKING NOW!

i had to tell the one guy that if i wanted to do "right now, right now" sales, i'd sell used cars and make more money. but since i was trying to develop clients while being my own support staff, IT dept, and management team, i told him the overhead he was covering was money well spent.

plus, i do realize many people want to see immediate results, but i didn't bring a portfolio of long term clients with me.

i gave him an option: cover me for 6-9 months and then say i'm in hock to you. take the returns on sales after this initial point and sink it back in until we're even.

it's like everyone wants to be a major organization with fly-by-night money.

[Haole Girl]

11. Health care. nt

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. My dear KC2...

Nobody ever told me to speed up at work...

But I knew I was slower than everybody else, and it weighed on me...

I did the best I could nonetheless...

And I believe that saying anything to the person would not be helpful!

It just makes them much more self-conscious, and that leads to, you guessed it, more slowness...

Just my two cents...

:shrug:

[Haole Girl]

13. Thanks

Seems I always do or say the wrong thing.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

20. I wouldn't say that...

I'm sorry...

Didn't mean to say anything upsetting...

I was just remembering my own experiences with this...

Your heart is definitely in the right place...:hug:

Please forgive me...

[Haole Girl]

21. Don't worry, Peggy

You were giving your personal opinion. I just feel like a jerk... because I acted like one.

I really shouldn't get involved with people's problems... I'm really not good at it.

You didn't upset me. I upset myself. :hug:

[The Straight Story]

12. Hey KC2 - sorry about last night

I was hoping to spend some talking with you and then got really busy and went to bed.

My bad! I am awake though right now ;)

[Haole Girl]

15. Oh... no worries...

...enough people kept me busy regarding my late night musings thread

that I kept my mind off of it... for the most part.

Today, I must admit, I'm pretty drained.

Thank you for caring. :-)

[The Straight Story]

17. I am terribly drained as well

Today was not a good day, but I hope tomorrow will be better.

[Haole Girl]

18. Here's hoping for a brighter tomorrow!

:toast:

[SOteric]

19. I guess the advice I'd give depends on whether

that person actually wanted to speed up, or whether they seemed more to be looking for reassurance of their worth.

If the former: I'd suggest he/she to get a cheap pocket stop watch, think about some of the daily tasks which tend to take the longest and time the actual performance of those tasks to get a baseline time. Then work out some constructive ways to organise the tasks in question to shave a few minutes. -& keep time those tasks until desired results are acheived.

If the latter: I'd remind that person that those who take the longest often produce the best quality, most detail-specific work. Excellence is rarely accomplished in a hot, sweaty hurry.

[Haole Girl]

22. This is good advice... thanks!

I'm going to think on it overnight and possibly suggest this... or ask someone else, who can be tactful about it, to suggest it. Thank you!

[yellowdogintexas]

28. as one who is suffering from this very issue, I know my less speedy

approach is due to wanting to produce perfect detailed work with no stone left unturned for my caller. They rarely have to call back when I am finished with them. Alas, quantity not quality rules so my team leader is coaching me on things I can just let go of, some of which are things I did not think I could let go of. It is a process.


I have been moved several times team leader wise, and this one has dug in with the idea that it ain't fair to me for her to NOT do some intensive one on one coaching ...I greatly appreciate this although it will be hard.

Yep anal retentitiveness is not always a good trait. And I hate making mistakes, which has always gotten in my way, whether I was on phone, or processing claims or whatever else I do.

[Guaranteed]

23. Get a time machine.

That'd be the easiest way to deal with it.

[cuke]

24. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

[Capn Sunshine]

25. That's good.

I would add "work on your resume because they are not happy with your production level"

[Generic Brad]

26. I've had employees with similar issues

Very people are deliberately slow. I find that it is a symptom of either a) being preoccupied with problems at home or b) being very uncertain of what they are doing. If it's "A" I remind them that work can be a refuge and a safe place where they are free from their outside issues. Just realizing that seems to make a huge difference for those affected like that. If the root cause is "B", then I work with them to identify where they need retraining and develop a plan to help them address the things setting them back. Both require the cooperation and understanding of management though.

When I first started managing people I would just get frustrated and tell people to work faster. That rarely ended well for any of us. Now that I listen and try to figure out how I can help them. That approach makes a world of difference and everybody wins.

[XemaSab]

27. Depends on what "slow" means

There's lazy, and there's thorough. :shrug:

[flvegan]

29. How specifically "too slow"?

I mean, is this person making widgets, in another kind of production, or is this a general issue where the person moves/thinks too slowly/fails to execute?

Obviously, widget making may be a matter of "speed up" as may be the case with any kind of production. However, this person may just need to learn a shortcut/multi-tasking thing or two.