A reader seeks advice on managing an underperforming employee named Norman, who lacks self-awareness about his performance issues and exhibits inappropriate behavior in the workplace.
Norman focuses on irrelevant project details, skips quality control processes, and makes offensive jokes despite being told to stop.
The employee has never been placed on a formal improvement plan due to previous managers not addressing his performance systematically.
A new manager, Elaine, is preparing to address Norman's performance issues as she takes over the department, but where to start and what to address first remains a challenge.