Cat33 - 7/3/2022 21:51

I'd like to know what the " can't get him to kick it into a higher gear no matter what I do" entailed.

I'd call any previous employer to see if he was slow at that job if you haven't already. If he wasn't previously, then there's obviously a reason he is now, and it might be simple to fix.

Without knowing what you've tried, sit down and have a talk. Basically state everything good he does to begin with. Start off with you're doing a great job, you do what I ask, you don't throw up any red flags that a poor employee does, whatever you want. Then get into "but it seems like it's taking you a while to catch on to things and it's costing me time." Now the part that most don't want to do as a boss and say "Is there something I can do to help you get things done quicker?" Reiterate that he does everything well and that you don't want to have to hire somebody else to speed things up. Don't say I'm going to let you go if you can't, let him draw his own conclusions.

My only reasoning for tiptoeing around is that if he is as good as you say he is, you'll probably be better off keeping a quality slow employee rather than finding a fast working poor one...if you can even find somebody.

I'm also not a big rah rah I'm the boss and I rule with an iron fist my way or the highway kind of person. If I were an employee I'd be less inclined to try to improve for that kind of guy....or even give a crap.