Blame game

[TheFaQQer]

This is where even doing a good job won't help because when your change has screwed up the sytem, you'll "feel bad" i.e. "why didn't you think of that"....

You imply I feel guilty - I just blame someone else!

[BlasterBates]

You imply I feel guilty - I just blame someone else!

I can see you have the hang of it

[pauldee]

I would actually take this more seriously. You are a company, and someone is defaming that company. If they are doing this directly to your client, that is surely a case for legal action. If someone defamed my work to a valuable client they would be getting a formal looking letter requesting them to stop and retract anything they had said.

Of course, this assumes there is no basis in wheat they are saying

[I just need to test it]

Blame game

I've been contracting for very nearly 20 years and never experienced this. And it's not because I'm God's Gift.

The things I see permies get wound up about are contractors' lack of professionalism - rocking up late, long lunches, leaving scandalously early, sitting on the web for hours, using their mobile phone to excess. I'm not sure I've ever observed gripes about their work.

Ironically the ability to appear professional (the bit most likely to get you booted out if you get it wrong) is the easy bit. Give me a complicated program to write and I'm in big trouble, but getting in at a decent time, being nice to the permies, muting my phone - piece of cake.

[DieScum]

It's not just a contractor, permie thing. I think it's a combination of silo'ing (give your side the benefit of the doubt, blame others for everything) and bad risk management.

I've worked places where I've seen contractors get walked for making mistakes. Ran wrong script -> downtime ensued -> contract terminated. It's ridiculous.

I think the best way to handle the inevitable things that go wrong with complexity is something like the blameless post mortem.

Honestly, though to go from a culture of blame to one of decent risk management isn't a shift any of us will be pushing through. It's best to just get out.

[SimonMac]

Most contractors would have buggered off before the blame falls, thus ensuring that anyone still at ClientCo will blame the guy who left but you won't care

[SueEllen]

Most contractors would have buggered off before the blame falls, thus ensuring that anyone still at ClientCo will blame the guy who left but you won't care

This^^^

If you are getting blamed you have either been at the client too long, or have contractor habits that p*ss the permies off.

[kmge]

How do you handle blame game. The permies never leave an opprtunity to blame contractors. I understand may be common. But it hurts sometime.

Smile and Invoice.

[Project Monkey]

How do you handle blame game. The permies never leave an opprtunity to blame contractors. I understand may be common. But it hurts sometime.

The truth does indeed hurt.

[mrv]

How do you handle blame game. The permies never leave an opprtunity to blame contractors. I understand may be common. But it hurts sometime.

I let them talk whatever they want and blame me all they want - as long as they sign my timesheet and I get paid. People in charge know what's realy going on and who's worth what most of the time, I cannot be bothered to learn all that underwater office politics.