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I recently became the line manager for a team of engineers, which includes a two-people subteam based in a different location (very far away from here, I haven't had a chance to visit yet, but it's something I'm planning to do).
The two people in this subteam, Alice and Bob, don't really get along well, in particular, Alice doesn't like Bob.
The relationship that makes up this situation is summarized by:
Alice is senior to Bob in terms of years at the company, but not age
Alice and Bob can't really communicate and pretty much ignore each other
Alice openly expresses her dislike for Bob (to me, the rest of the team, and sometimes customers)
Alice said she tried to fix this situation with Bob (not sure how) but it's now too late and she can't do anything about it
How can I, as their (remote) line manager, try to fix this mess?
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Apart from Alice expressing her dislike, is there an actual issue here? Are they able to work together? – Gregory Currie 8 hours ago
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I would definitely say that all the problems stated above mean that the resulting working relationship is a lot worse than it could be – xxxvim 8 hours ago
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Meaning they have trouble completing their work? They don't work as fast as they could? They don't do code reviews properly? – Gregory Currie 7 hours ago
3 Answers
There is nothing wrong with two employees not liking each other, provided they conduct themselves in a professional manner.
For instance, it is very bad that Alice tells others that she does not like Bob. That is unprofessional and unacceptable.
Regardless of how they feel about each other, as a manager you need to have an expectation that they communicate effectively when they need to.
You job isn't to get to the bottom of their dislike and act as a relationship counsellor. Two people cannot be made to like each other.
If you think the situation could lead to such problems, you can get on the front foot and indicate to them that they should make efforts to improve the working relationship, and that you won't tolerate unprofessional behaviour.
If one of them has a specific grievance, they should bring that up professionally with the other, and if that does not work, the correct course of action is for them to raise it with you. You should then act on the merits of that complaint and in line with your company's HR policy.
Alice openly expresses her dislike for Bob (to me, the rest of the team, and sometimes customers)
Expressing dislike of a teammate to a customer is such an egregious violation of the norms of professional behavior that I'd warn her never to do that again, and fire her if she did so.
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1And the warning should be in writing. ( Not just verbal ) – Mister Positive♦ 2 hours ago
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The warning should be done with HR involved as well, to make sure the disciplinary process (if any) is correctly followed. – Solar Mike 20 mins ago
Go over there, don't try to fix it by calls. Get the three of you in a room. Explain the situation as you experience it. Explain the consequences of their behavior towards customers, team performance and their professional advance.
Listen to their side of the story, do not judge them. Ask them how they think the situation can improve and what they think is needed to change the situation. Facilitate in those needs.
Have a regular follow-up on how they work together. If it improves, complement them, if not: tell them what kind of behavior you expect and what they can benefit from it.
For you: this is the burden of being a line manager, lots of energy can go to this kind of issues. Don't be a soft healer for it create rotting wounds, but don't go to hard and don't take it personal.
