What will you do with the no-longer-effective programmer?

Question

A programmer on your team is great at maintaining the old legacy system. But the company has switched to a new technology/platform.

What do you do with the no-longer-effective developer?

Answer 1

Try to smoothly move him to the new technology/platform - first give him small assignments, then bigger ones, then move him completely.

If he's a good programmer he will learn and adapt, if not, explain to him that he will have to think of another position - either in the same company or in another one. It's business, not his playground.

Answer 2

Presumably the company is still in the same business so this guy would have years of hard earned domain knowledge which could be leveraged in a technical/project management or BA role. Also, if you have existing clients that are reluctant to move to the new platform he'll be invaluable in a support role as none of the new guys will understand the legacy stuff.

Answer 3

People can become 'no-longer-effective' for a variety of reasons ranging from loss of enthusiasm, personal problems, disillusion with the company or management, fear or weariness of technological change, inappropriate use of recreational drugs, etc, etc.

Presumably they were once valued and effective employees. A humane response is to find out what the problem is and then find a way to make that person feel good about themself and their job again, so that they can once again help the enterprise become productive. A person in the position that you describe is obviously not happy about now being unproductive or being seen by other, luckier or more talented colleagues as 'no-longer-effective'.

So I don't like the way your question is framed, as if that person has become a problem and a burden: it lacks humanity. If you phrased it this way, the answer might become clearer to you more quickly.

"I find that I'm no longer an effective developer and I'm scared that I'll soon be unemployable. The world has changed around me. What can I do to get my employer to help me through this and bring back my sense of worth and self-esteem?"

PS I'm 52 and have managed to keep at the cutting edge, mainly through contracting and always using new technology, but I see a lot of people in the position you describe. They're human beings before they are programmers or employees.