How do I tell someone that I would like them off of my project?

[XBDC36]

As the title states, I'd like to know for future reference how I'm supposed to tell someone that I'm working with that their work isn't satisfactory/helpful. I understand that people will probably get mad/sad/something along those lines no matter how nicely you put it, so what are some steps I can take to make sure that I don't hurt their feelings?

[SinaAzad]

hey,
there are two things I can mention,
1. try to make them know that what they are doing is not what you want as early as possible, don't wait till it is finished! if you let them know earlier, they just don't waste as much time, also if they end up editing it it is much easier before the whole thing is finished!
2. before you reject their work try to appreciate the effort they have put in.

good luck!

[XBDC36]

hey,
there are two things I can mention,
1. try to make them know that what they are doing is not what you want as early as possible, don't wait till it is finished! if you let them know earlier, they just don't waste as much time, also if they end up editing it it is much easier before the whole thing is finished!
2. before you reject their work try to appreciate the effort they have put in.

good luck!

Thank you for your advice! I'll keep this in mind if the time ever comes (which I hope it doesn't, but I won't be surprised if it does, you never know). I do like to ask for/report progress whenever I work on something, so I hope that will help me with the first part that you mentioned.

[Mutive]

Agreed with the above advice. Sooner is better than later and just tell them.

But also, have you had a discussion about them as to why the work isn't acceptable? (e.g. is it always arriving late, it just isn't good enough?) Is there a personality clash with a more valuable team member? Is there another reason why they need to go?

It might help to discuss that first. Some things maybe can't be helped (e.g. their spelling and grammar is atrocious and they're supposed to be proof reading). But others might be able to be tweaked (e.g. they're writing a script and it's not going in the direction you envisioned). Saying, "Hey, we discussed that this would be a sweet romance and you keep adding porn. If you keep doing that, I can't have you continue to write the script" might bring about a change. (Or it might not. But if it doesn't, at least it's something they were aware of prior to being removed. And people tend to react better when they realize there's a reason they're being removed than when they're just told, "Hey, we don't want to work with you anymore.")

[Wudgeous]

To sort of branch off this topic....

In a situation where you have an agreement to partner with somebody, but they are not contributing any work towards the project, completely ghost you for months/years and just plain never check back in.... Is there any circumstance where you would owe this person a message or formal termination, if you intend to move on without them? Or is it okay to just allow the partnership to die out without any further communication?

[SinaAzad]

To sort of branch off this topic....

In a situation where you have an agreement to partner with somebody, but they are not contributing any work towards the project, completely ghost you for months/years and just plain never check back in.... Is there any circumstance where you would owe this person a message or formal termination, if you intend to move on without them? Or is it okay to just allow the partnership to die out without any further communication?

always communicate it!
first of all, you don't want to lower your level by doing the same thing they are doing which is not responding or reporting back! you are a reasonable person that follows the rules, you are gonna teach them how it is done! right?
2nd, there may be a reason behind the fact that you are not getting any responses it is always better to at least try to let them know that you are dropping them out! maybe they had a problem contacting you or something, for example, let's say your ESP kept putting the received emails from them to your spams and now, just bcs you sent an email to them telling them the situation it (the ESP) started accepting the email from them as a trusted address! (stupid example I know but it really can happen!)

this way you can be sure that they will not come back from the mist telling you that you have done them wrong!

[XBDC36]

Agreed with the above advice. Sooner is better than later and just tell them.

But also, have you had a discussion about them as to why the work isn't acceptable? (e.g. is it always arriving late, it just isn't good enough?) Is there a personality clash with a more valuable team member? Is there another reason why they need to go?

It might help to discuss that first. Some things maybe can't be helped (e.g. their spelling and grammar is atrocious and they're supposed to be proof reading). But others might be able to be tweaked (e.g. they're writing a script and it's not going in the direction you envisioned). Saying, "Hey, we discussed that this would be a sweet romance and you keep adding porn. If you keep doing that, I can't have you continue to write the script" might bring about a change. (Or it might not. But if it doesn't, at least it's something they were aware of prior to being removed. And people tend to react better when they realize there's a reason they're being removed than when they're just told, "Hey, we don't want to work with you anymore.")

There's some things I haven't considered yet here, that other people might have a problem with someone as the team expands, so that's some very nice advice. And I think that that part that you said " But if it doesn't, at least it's something they were aware of prior to being removed." when someone is being told about something they could change is important to keep in mind. Thanks for your advice!

[XBDC36]

To sort of branch off this topic....

In a situation where you have an agreement to partner with somebody, but they are not contributing any work towards the project, completely ghost you for months/years and just plain never check back in.... Is there any circumstance where you would owe this person a message or formal termination, if you intend to move on without them? Or is it okay to just allow the partnership to die out without any further communication?

Ooooh, this is a very good question! If it were me, I'd still send them a message just out of formality. Whether they respond or not is up to them I guess, but I'd still probably add a note at the end that goes something along the lines of "Please tell me if you've seen this and understand why you're being dropped from the project". If anybody else has their own thoughts, please add on! I think this is a question that needs to be looked into as well!

[Mutive]

There's some things I haven't considered yet here, that other people might have a problem with someone as the team expands, so that's some very nice advice.

It happens. I think a very real issue that some teams face is that they end up bringing in a lot of people (thinking that having more people makes things easier) when it often makes things more difficult.

More people = more ways to conflict. This can be interpersonal (someone just dislikes someone else) or creative (two people have very different views as to the end goals of the project).

I'd argue that it's generally harder to write a story with two people than with one, as you have to ensure that you're working on the same project, your voices are close enough that there aren't obvious differences, the plot remains consistent, there aren't plot holes, etc. It's a lot to keep track of if you want a quality project.

(I'd guess art can be similar, although I'm not as familiar with it. But I could see it being easier to produce, say, 10 sprites in a style you're adept at than 5 in someone else's style.)

And I think that that part that you said " But if it doesn't, at least it's something they were aware of prior to being removed." when someone is being told about something they could change is important to keep in mind. Thanks for your advice!

You're very welcome! And I do think things are easier when people don't feel surprised by their "demotion". I'd be pretty pissy myself if I'd put in 100 hours just to be told, "Sorry, we're throwing that all away because ~*reasons*~." While if I'd put in the same amount of work, but had been told several times in the past that it wasn't usable for X reason (e.g. I insisted on writing a sweet romance when spicy erotica was what was requested), I'd probably leave prior to needing to be removed. (And even if I didn't, at least I wouldn't be surprised.)

[XBDC36]

There's some things I haven't considered yet here, that other people might have a problem with someone as the team expands, so that's some very nice advice.

It happens. I think a very real issue that some teams face is that they end up bringing in a lot of people (thinking that having more people makes things easier) when it often makes things more difficult.

More people = more ways to conflict. This can be interpersonal (someone just dislikes someone else) or creative (two people have very different views as to the end goals of the project).

I'd argue that it's generally harder to write a story with two people than with one, as you have to ensure that you're working on the same project, your voices are close enough that there aren't obvious differences, the plot remains consistent, there aren't plot holes, etc. It's a lot to keep track of if you want a quality project.

(I'd guess art can be similar, although I'm not as familiar with it. But I could see it being easier to produce, say, 10 sprites in a style you're adept at than 5 in someone else's style.)

And I think that that part that you said " But if it doesn't, at least it's something they were aware of prior to being removed." when someone is being told about something they could change is important to keep in mind. Thanks for your advice!

You're very welcome! And I do think things are easier when people don't feel surprised by their "demotion". I'd be pretty pissy myself if I'd put in 100 hours just to be told, "Sorry, we're throwing that all away because ~*reasons*~." While if I'd put in the same amount of work, but had been told several times in the past that it wasn't usable for X reason (e.g. I insisted on writing a sweet romance when spicy erotica was what was requested), I'd probably leave prior to needing to be removed. (And even if I didn't, at least I wouldn't be surprised.)

That's a very nice example that you have at the end there. And that's some nice advice about big teams and possible interactions. I'll keep this in mind as well. Thanks again!