How do you deal with a staff member who produces brilliant work but is consistently late every single day?

It all depends! Actually I do not care about coming late or early since the employee can do his work in time and meet the target. My viewpoint is framing an employee with strict time limits will never bring about good results. Everyone can come in time and leave in time but without good performance in the ground except in terms of attendance!

if his late attendance does not affect the quality of work or job needs I will let him work with flexible working hours.

In your case, if your staff member is doing great work and he is brilliant, what does it matter what time he comes to work? 

Enterprises are run primarily for qualitative and quantitative outputs. Punctuality is one ingredient into it. If the output is acceptable and exemplary without the punctuality  ingredient then there is not much to worry. 

However, the said person might have to worry when he/she will be required to set example for the team comprising of different potentials to follow and punctuality will become an important ingredient.

If he / she is a brilliant performer then just ask that employee to be on time, he / she will definitely understand the importance of time as well. No need to do anything else in my opinion.

Spot quiz: What’s wrong with this picture? An anonymous IT manager

asked this question on Quora:

“I have a staff member who produces brilliant work but is consistently late every single day. I can’t fire him because it will take months to find someone to fill his position. What can I do?”

In case you haven’t arrived in the21st century yet, the correct answer to that question is: Count your blessings. Get a clue.

Developing software is — or at least it can be, when done right — an art. The best developer is10 times better than the second best. In this field, when a developer produces “brilliant work,” anybody who understands software and programming, and anyone who values productivity,  forgets the stupid work schedule and the10 minutes late.

In this case, however, after the initial question was answered by hundreds of people with essentially the same answer I wrote here (but more nicely, and in more detail than my suggested answer) the IT manager who asked the question added more to it, defensively responding, arguing that he has a valid complaint. Here are some excerpts:

“I’m the manager of an IT Department in a small town. It’s taken me months and months to find this guy — his work quality is fantastic and he’s both a good colleague and a friend. However, he is late virtually every single day. This is despite multiple verbal warnings. In the last month he has been over10 minutes late15 times, and between5 and10 minutes late12 times.

It makes other members of the team feel they can turn up late as well … I’m at my desk at9 a.m. waiting to ask him questions with no idea what time he’ll be there … There could be an issue that needs his immediate attention at9 a.m. Unlikely, but there could be. … It’s really f***ing simple to leave the house10 minutes earlier.”

I find this very amusing. I’m amazed that the brilliant programmer is still there, after all that harassment. I know very well at least three different companies that would love to hire him. The manager here is living a few decades in the past. Welcome to the21st century.

There are three lessons here that are much more important than mere amusement:

1. Productivity Isn’t Butts in Chairs Anymore

Look around you. Consider the expense of office space, the human time wasted in commuting, the explosion of new virtual connections, and rise of a generation raised with mobile phones and social media, and give up your old-world mentality.

Businesses that measure and manage by physical presence are obsolete. Nowadays, we should all be figuring out what jobs and what tasks and what parts of work go better with people in the same spot together, and what parts are done just as well or better alone.

Work life is a giant mosaic, mixing focus, concentration and alone time with communication, engagement and interaction. And every day less interaction is in the same physical space, more in shared space online.

Thomas Friedman’s book The World is Flat is already seven years old.

2. Productivity in Code and Software was Never Butts in Chairs — Ever

Coding is special. I’ve done professional coding and I’ve managed dozens of coders and, as I said earlier, I’ve learned that the best developer is10 times more productive than the second best. It’s not a straight curve. Yes, some coding is boring busywork, but most is related to creativity and imagination. It does not do well when locked into a specific office at a specific time for a specific number of hours. If you like software, set the developers free.

And — yikes — this isn’t even new to this century. The milestone book on this topic,The Mythical Man Month, was first published28 years ago. Even its second edition is19 years old.

I’m not sure coding is the only pursuit that works like this. Maybe graphic design, maybe even good business-related writing, web copy and marketing messaging are like that too. But I am sure coding is like that.

3. There’s a New Best-Ever Kind of Accountability Emerging

In the details of the Quora question above, the complaining manager cites the problem of precedent — what does he tell the other programmers who are on time — to justify his concerns.

That’s also obsolete. When and if the others complain about your star coming late, challenge them: “When you can produce what he does, you can come late too.” Let people be accountable for the work product, not punctuality, and your business will be better off.

To my opinion, there are two solutions to the problem............ ( I am assuming that you already talk to him about the matter and he is unable or unwilling to change his habit.) 

SOLUTION1: 

It all depends upon the company's rules n regulations....... If company has a rule to strictly maintain the discipline, write him a show cause notice ........ if he still don't comply, look for the replacement.

Those companies, whose priority is quality work, will soon hunt him 

SOLUTION2:

Have a meeting with management and show his performance to them.......... I am sure his quality of work will please the management and he will be awarded a re-scheduled work time (if he is coming1 hour late, he should go1 hour late). 

Punctuality is very important...................................

First discuss personally what his/her problem is and give a piece of friendly advice that he is being noticed for coming late.

If situation doesn't improve, issue one to one warning mail.

Once the same is in written document the employee will take it up seriously and be punctual. 

Well you don't deal with him (negative connotation) until and unless he is NOT able to deal with his work efficiently and effectively

 A brilliant employee is the one who meet all aspects of his job description. To my opinion, a job description is not only limited to targets but should include other aspects like teamwork, development and, for sure, accepting and respecting internal rules and regulations.

Working hours should be set either fixed or flexible depending on the nature of the job. In both cases, ALL employees must respect and accept that (with no exceptions).

If you have a sales rep who managed to achieve200% of his monthly target before the15th of the month, will you allow him to stay at home for the remaining15 days?

I believe you should be fair, clear and resolute with applying internal regulations even with this brilliant performer, but do it SMART in order not to loose him. Keep talking to him, challenge him, remind him with the rules and keep motivating him.