Managing someone with dyslexia

[RosieH]

I've recently found out one of my reports at work has dyslexia - at least I understand anecdotally that she does.

Her work involves writing a lot of documents, and it's eating horribly into my time constantly having to correct typos before an email can be sent to a client. I've only been managing her for a couple of months, and am pretty appalled that if she is genuinely dyslexic, nothing has been done to support her - she's been an employee for about 6 years.

But equally, I'm struggling to manage my own workload because of how much time checking her work takes me. HR not much help so far, and looking on the British Dyslexia Association's website, there's advice that's nigh on impossible to follow (open plan desk situation's not negotiable, our job's pretty stressful at times, it involves lots of writing etc).

Her appraisal's coming up - given that she hasn't told me herself she's dyslexic - it's just been suggested by other senior staff - can I bring it up? And any ideas on how I can help her achieve a better standard of work without just taking it all on myself?

[Michael Palaeologus]

I would not bring it up in the appraisal meeting. The appraisal is supposed to be a summation of the manager/staff discussions throughout the year and looking forward to the coming year. Reflecting back on past performance and forward to future performance, i.e. objective setting and agreement of personal development actions.

Nothing in any appraisal discussions should be a surprise. To mention the dyslexia in the appraisal meeting would mean that effectively the appraisal meeting would become all about the dyslexia, all else would be forgotten.

Next time you have to correct some of her work, take her to one side and mention it, and that you have had to correct previous work. Ask her why? Give her an opportunity to explain, then you can discuss and agree remedial action and so move forward.

[RosieH]

Thanks Mike. The reason I was thinking of bringing it up in the appraisal was that the quality of her work is so poor, it has to be a subject for discussion in the appraisal (the poor work, not the dyslexia).

Only when I mentioned this to my own boss this week did he say that he thought she was dyslexic - but at the same time he was talking about performance management measures as though it was just that she's rubbish at her job (there are other aspects of her work that are seriously under par).

So really, unless she chooses to tell me, I need to take some steps to address the (often very) poor performance, but if it is caused by dyslexia, I want to do what I can to support her. But if she doesn't volunteer the information, does that mean I can never bring it up? In which case, she's potentially going to be unfairly penalised... I feel a bit chicken and egg.

[StraferJack]

Sounds like noone is doing anything about anything

Can you access her application and interview notes and is there anything on there to suggest dyslexia?

If you can access work from say, 5 years ago is it appreciably better and has there been a deterioration or has it been there from day one?

If it?s been a day one issue, then you would have to question why someone apparently unsuitable for the role was given the job, but at least acknowledge that dyslexia is the underlying problem and address it as best you can. Do they even realise, does it affect them outside work, reassign work etc etc

If things have been getting worse then it could be that the term is just being used as an excuse for everyone to ignore the problem ? the problem being an undermotivated, badly performing worker who needs to pull up their socks

good luck either way

[MissP76]

There is software called read and write gold which reads back text to the user so they can hear rather than read it (the user wears headphones). There is also software called Claro which helps in various phases. Dylexia is a disability covered under all discrimination legislation, there may be requirements for an employer to accommodate if a definite diganoises is found. A proper test takes about 3 hours and needs to be done by a trained assessor and costs a few hundred pounds. A company called Remteck can provide training and software.

[RosieH]

Thanks MissP76 - really helpful.

And Strafer, yes, you'd think someone might have done something before now. Unfortunately my company, until recently, has been run very much like a small family business, with no real adherence to proper processes. We're now part of a fancy dan organisation who should have all of this stuff in place, so I'm hoping someone's going to know more than me. I just seem to be met with resistance and a "she should just pull her socks up" attitude.

[Otta]

I reckon you should just take her aside and ask her about it in a friendly "I'm here to support you" way.

[red devil]

Discreetly switch Spellcheck on...

[Otta]

Ha ha, that too.

[Pugwash]

I had a work colleague who was with the organisation for many years and thought she was just a bad speller. She had a physical injury and had an assessment at her work station by an occupational therapist who whilst watching her type asked if she had dyslexia as she noticed some odd spellings. My colleague had never considered this. Went off for a full assessment and was diagnosed with dyslexia and was given an IT programme designed to be used by people with this problem. Everything was paid by work. Vague feeling that the assessment was done by the DWP/Disability Advisor at Job Centre.

I have a friend whose partner specialises in dyslexia and other learning disabilities and devises IT programmes etc to suit individual needs. She is Dr in own right and was a college lecturer in IT.

[Michael Palaeologus]

Taking your staff member down the performance management/ disciplinary route could leave your employer in an IT before you blink, if she has dyslexia and if she mentioned it to somebody in the past.

She may not have dyslexia, she may not know she has dyslexia.

Still, if her under-performance in this areas has not been mentioned to her, why wait until a formal appraisal to raise the issue? It instantly escalates a difficult situation.

Well before the appraisal meeting, take her to one side and address the issue of poor written work directly. Show her examples, discuss the impact on you and her colleagues. Then ask, Why? Make sure she understands that she has a problem that needs to be addressed. Agree an action plan (the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches noted above sound good) with impact measures and timescales. The action plan can then be used to monitor her performance.

If the under-performance continues then you have grounds for entering formal performance management/disciplinary processes.

However, the appraisal is not a disciplinary mechanism. Your HR people should be giving you this advice by the way. That they are not is worrying and leaves your employer vulnerable.

[bon3yard]

Hi rosie, as your report has never mentioned dyslexia to you, you cannot bring it up in an official appraisal. You can ask open questions (e.g. how good do you think your writing skills are), but the rumour may not be true and it is up to her how much she lets you know.

You should definitely address the performance issues. If the issues are severe, multiple and long standing you may need to consider putting in place a programme to address themn all with the appropriate support and some very clearly agreed goals and performance measures. I have done this in the past and it really worked. I got the performance I needed in a relatively short space of time. Getting the balance between appropriate support and a good degree of challenge seemed to be key. (If I had been asked to bet at the beginning of this process if it would work, I would have put ?50 on no, it was a pleasant surprise that her performace turned around so dramatically so quickly)

However, if she is not up for it or it doesn't work, you may need to consider managing her out. I have also done this and it is not pleasant, but ultimately I cannot live with persistent under-performance. Also the person I managed out of the organisation has found a new lease of life in a new job. The change was just the spur he needed.

This stuff is not easy, but whatever you do, do not dodge the bullet, it will only come back to bit you in the ass.