RE: Employee experience dilemma....

[Janet Valade <janetv -at- systech -dot- com>]

I think that if you are going to work with Lisa in the future, it would be
best to work with her now. At this point, you are reviewing her work and
providing feedback. She seems perfectly willing to accept your feedback. If
she has potential and writing skills, as you say, she will learn from your
feedback. If your feedback consists of "this chapter needs to be rewritten
with a different structure. Here's what I mean.", rather than just redlining
some sentences here and there, that is okay. She needs to do it to learn.
You should not be totally rewriting for her, except maybe some partial
rewriting as examples of a better organization or construction

If the feedback and  training you are providing her on this project is so
time-consuming that your deadlines or her deadline for the project are going
to slip, then you need to discuss this with her and work out a plan.
Perhaps, since she is a newer writer and slower, in order to meet the
deadline, you can help her *with her project* by writing some of the
chapters. Perhaps there's another way to get everything done by the required
time. Or perhaps, the deadlines are unrealistic given her speed as a
beginner. Then, once you and Lisa have a plan that you both are comfortable
with, you go together to management with your plan.

If you go over her head and complain about her work to the boss, she will be
unlikely to trust you in the future. If the manager actually takes the
project away from her as you want, she will feel censured and embarrassed
and, probably, angry, and will see you as the source of her demotion. Your
working relationship will always be strained.

Janet

Janet Valade
Technical Writer
Systech Corporation, San Diego, CA
mailto:janetv -at- systech -dot- com