4 ms·

I have some family in the industry as well and they report the same thing happens with every crew, a few of the workers are what you would call "ninjas/rockstar

I have some family in the industry as well and they report the same thing happens with every crew, a few of the workers are what you would call "ninjas/rockstars" in software and the rest are just there to do the minimum. Unfortunately it's hard to tell when hiring because everyone acts motivated for the job and their real work ethic doesn't show up until a few weeks later and you're stuck with them.

steveBK123 6y ago
Right on a normal project you’d weed out the poor performers but in this case its basically not possible. The workers knowing this is the case leads to a class of workers who show up and do the minimum. As long as they don’t do anything overtly that would trigger firing for cause, they can coast from project to project. Therefore the only way project managers can get anything done is to give 25% of the team the opportunity to work 2x the hours for 2.5-3x the pay. So instead of paying just for your 12 guys, you are paying for equivalent of 9+(3x3) = 18 guys when its really like 6-9 guys worth of work getting done.