how do i make a veteran meet deadline without being a jerk?

It's clearly more of a problem because -- from the evidence -- his problem has festered, forever, and hasn't been met squarely. And
if I'm reading between the lines correctly, it's getting worse.

If his consistently missing deadlines is wreaking sustained havoc on the backside, agree with Drip's latest.

 

Ben, it's a no brainer. Anyone who has been in this business, be it 50 years or 50 minutes, knows about deadlines. They know that they must be met. They also know that if they don't meet them, they will soon find other employment.
There's no way an SE allows an employee to take him under. Never seen it and in this day and time, never will. Excuse the expression but fuck the fucker before the motherfucker fucks you.

 

He may be a respected journalist, but his inability to make deadline is disrespectful to his boss. If he's been there for 20 years, he KNOWS the importance of deadline. He should also know that he needs to get his copy in by a certain time.

Sometimes, you gotta be an asshole.

 

I was in the same situation and you can't push a guy like this. In all likelihood, your ME and EE will side with him because he's been there for 20 years. Even though he's wrong.
And then you're stuck with a bad performance review because you can't get along with one of your writers.
It will take time. Slowly prod him along. But certainly don't listen to most of these posters and decide to show how big your balls are. Cause that will lead to a very long year. He's probably running late to let you know who he thinks is really in charge.
And in case you were wondering, I decided to leave the paper, like the guy before me, because I was tired of the "veteran" constantly going behind my back.

 

thanks for all the advice.

 

I understand where you are going Riddick and you gave him good advice. Of course this could all be a conspiracy play of some kind, which is even more reason why the SE should cover his ass. Create a paper trail. Document everything. And do try to work with this "veteran." I'm sure a common ground can be found.

 

Damn, good point, Drip.
That was the other thing. I did create a paper trail and documented everything. It didn't help in my situation, but it might help in yours, EG

 

Here is another point too. If he isn't making deadline, the other writers and deskers know it as well. Perhaps one of them can pull him aside and tell him that he's making work twice as hard as it needs to be. There are times when that works better than the SE getting directly involved.

 

I'm going to threadjack for a moment ... I've got a similar situation, but a bit different: veteran reporter who is now doing multimedia work and can't seem to work quickly. There's always technical issues or equipment issues or he just can't produce content fast enough (i.e. a video that would take me an hour to produce takes him four). He chose to do multimedia, so it's not a "I'm being forced into this bullshit" problem.

Any advice for bridging this generation gap AND technology gap?

 

Talk to him not at him for starters. Show him what you know. Obviously, he wants to learn but if no one is going to teach him, he will never learn. Most of all be patient. It took you time to learn what you know. Give him time as well.

 

Rule No. 1: People rarely change.

Chances are he's been missing deadline for 20 years and others have tried before and failed to get him to make deadline. Therefore you have a very tough challenge ahead of you.

So you need to make a decision: What's more important to you, making deadline, or getting out of your comfort zone and dealing with the problem?

It may be he'll never make deadline, which will set up another choice: Do you keep his same duties and accept late copy, do you move him to less time-sensitive duties or do you get rid of him?

Do you really want to go to your boss and say, "Old Joe's a nice guy and well-respected, so I'm not ever going to make a Friday night deadline?"

Also, there's a difference between being assertive and being asshole. Be assertive, but don't be an asshole.

In terms of practical steps, maybe you give him earlier deadlines or multiple to complete the various tasks he has. For instance, if his Friday deadline is 10:30 p.m. and he's to file two stories, make one come in by 9 p.m.

Try to create an environment where he can succeed, but impress upon him the fact that he needs to make deadline.

 

if my department misses deadline for any reason, time and time and time again, i lose my job, period. i suspect the same is true for you.

if you want to play mr. nice guy, go right ahead.