How can I constructively address the fact that a coworker with the same (senior) title doesn't have the basic skills for the role

Question

I am an in a QA automation position, with the title "Senior" which is nice. I have a coworker, let's call him Sam, who also has a "Senior" in his title.

I was happy with my title until Sam came along about a year ago; he's not a senior by any stretch of the imagination -- I'd give him a junior title at best. Without going into the specifics, he's lacking the requisite skills to perform the basic functions of the role (without the senior or junior modifier); it's bad enough that I can't even discuss basic concepts with him as he doesn't understand the jargon or motivations and we constantly need to stop to explain the basics. It's not that I believe he couldn't be trained, but he's not there yet.

I know that I can't complain to our lead that I feel the discrepancy in our ability would make Sam a junior -- trying to get someone else's title reduced seems petty; by the same token there isn't really any higher I could rise without changing my role to something different, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that; I'm salty that someone who is unable to perform the work was hired directly to a senior position and needs constant hand-holding.

How can I productively address this issue?

Answer 1

How can I productively channel this issue?

It's not clear what "productively channel" means in this context.

You do your job to the best of your ability. If that means your colleague appears comparatively diminished as a result, that's your bosses problem not yours.

Do your work. Get rewarded accordingly. Let Sam and Sam's boss worry about his work and rewards.

Answer 2

I think you're doing something here, out of goodness of your heart, that is preventing your boss from seeing the problem.

If Sam struggles with something, based on the same-level position between the two of you, you are not actually responsible for him, but your boss.

You don't have to be rude about it, but you can say "Hey Sam, I can't help with this right now because of <deadline>, can you ask <boss> about resources?" Basically, your assistance to Sam is preventing the boss from knowing your colleague's issues.

Answer 3

The issue here is that life isn't fair. Stop focusing on others and focus on yourself. If you are getting paid market rates for your skill and function, let it go. If they are making it hard to hit deadlines, let that be known as that is important to the team and company. Under performing seniors should be terminated, not demoted, but that is an issue for management to deal with.

Answer 4

How can I productively channel this issue?

Like a comment suggests, I would not raise it and instead focus on doing your job efficiently.

If your coworker really lacks skills for their role it will become evident with time, and with performance reviews.

Channeling your time and effort to raise this will only diminish your performance and also not give a positive impression to your coworkers.

Answer 5

I was happy with my title until Sam came along about a year ago

This part tells us that your core problem seems to be that you feel slighted. Your coworker's skills are lacking, but his title – and probably salary – match yours. I'll tell you that this should not be accepted. Yes, some people were born rich, some beautiful and you will have to deal with that. But in your situation, there are things you are able to try.

there isn't really any higher I could rise without changing my role to something different, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that

If you do not want to be on the same level as your coworker, you have plenty of options, including negotiating a raise, a promotion or switching companies. (Note that I only mentioned positive options and only those that affect you.) I wouldn't recommend switching companies because you raised no issues with your current one per se. But neither salary raise nor promotion will work before someone notices the difference in skills between you and your coworker.

What can I do to make a coworker's lack of effort more visible?

You should, however, focus on highlighting your contribution, not your coworker's lack of contribution. Why? Because the labour market is a rat race and you're not only competing against Sam, but also against countless others. Getting Sam demoted won't do you much good once Sam2 and Sam3 are hired. Given that your company decided to hire Sam "1", that's not unlikely.

You will find plenty of advice on highlighting your contribution both on this site and in print. Best of luck and look forward, not sideward!

Answer 6

He is senior, not because he knows about QA automation, but for something else:

He could be a manager, a tester, HR, controller, etc. etc. in senior capacity, and he is (for whatever reason) assigned to his current role as QA automation position.

That means he could possibly teach you a thing or two. Take advantage of that!

Answer 7

While I agree with the existing answers (you should definitely focus on your own work), I think it's important to keep in mind that two things you mention should be addressed in some way:

by the same token there isn't really any higher I could rise without changing my role to something different

If that's true, than you career is stagnating right now (if you don't want to change roles). That is a legitimate concern to raise.

I'm salty that someone who is unable to perform the work was hired directly to a senior position and needs constant hand-holding.

You should try to be constructive here. If you can't do your work properly because you have to hand-hold, document the time you spend doing so. Raise the issue with your manager if it turns out to be a problem, but focus on the work-related parts, not on your saltiness about his role. A competent manager will draw the right conclusions anyway.

Answer 8

I know that I can't complain to our lead that I feel the discrepancy in our ability would make Sam a junior

I think you can absolutely raise this with your lead (assuming you share a line manager here) - although you might not want to phrase it quite that way, and certainly not as though you're pitching for him to be "demoted". It might be sufficient to satisfy yourself that they and the rest of the business are aware that Sam isn't as capable or qualified as you, and that they are treating the situation appropriately.

As you suggest, it is very hard to demote someone who was hired into a senior position, but it might be that although you share the same job title your roles aren't actually the same - are you given more responsibilities than Sam? Are you trusted more to get things done?

Answer 9

Like everyone says, focus on your own work. I've had people who aren't up to scratch work with me, and I've always helped them out (as long as they are willing to learn). That's how we all grow.

Then again, think about it .. what if somehow through your networking skills you end up in a senior management level job which you are not really qualified for. Would you want other managers to expose and get you sacked, or help you get up to speed?

Dude, think about others and be nice

Answer 10

Avoid expressing opinion; let the facts speak for themselves.

Your co-worker sounds like the "senior" developer I'm currently cleaning up after. I'd characterize him as a barely-competent junior developer who requires constant handholding to not $#&@ up everything he touches. But I'd never tell my boss that. I let the code do the talking.

Pretty close to quite a few real bug close messages:

This was caused by unconditionally setting foo to false in Fnord.cs line 999.

or

This was caused by not disposing bar in Fnord.cs line 666.

Everyone knows who wrote Fnord.cs and said the bugs were in third party software and couldn't be fixed.

Answer 11

It's time to rise a question about competence model in your company. It could help business to have better job from everyone; for everybody it will be clear when to get next +level or bonus; what perspectives does everyone have; people will be motivated to be better professionals.

Answer 12

The way you deal productively with this situation is by working effectively with your peers, including Sam.

Titles, especially title modifiers, mean almost nothing. In many workplaces, you are "senior" "junior" "associate" "principal" or "staff" depending on arbitrary org-chart rules which are devised by HR and based on not much at all. It appears that you're not being dragged down by this person, but you are simply offended that he has the same title as you and you perceive him to be not as competent.

Moreover everyone has gaps in their knowledge, often, very effective people lack fluency in jargon and need cues about intricacies because they've come from other domains. Whatever the case with Sam, he got his title because someone in your organization felt he deserved it.

If your goal is to get him fired or demote his title and pay, I think you will find that will lower your reputation among your peers and managers. Why not just work with the person and get him up to speed? You even said you feel he can eventually do it, right?

Answer 13

You can't productively address an issue with a company that can't see the skill (or its lack thereof). "Focusing on your job" is always good but ignoring what happens around you is like putting your head in the sand. Sooner or later it will come back and bite you. What if Sam gets bonuses/promotions/pay rises earlier than you? What if by some twist of fate you learn that Sam even makes more money than you?

Your options are limited. You can either wait and see what happens* (that's always fun) or move to a company where you would be "Medior" but Sam would not have made it through the screening process.

*By doing your job as good as you can, if you stay, you stay.