Employees

[bleeth]

Is it just around this part of the country or are you guys who have shops with employees going nuts trying to find craftsman who know what the hell they are doing?
I don't have a single person who hasn't worked in the business for less than 10 years and 2 with over 20 years. Yet none of them seem to be able to remember from one minute to the next what they are supposed to be doing. If I have a preconstruction meeting and go over the drawings inch by inch pointing out anything that isn't standard construction, when they are building it they are still completely lost and constantly forget what we discussed in the meeting. If I ask them how long it will take to finish something up and they say an hour, three hours later they are still at it. And what's worse, when I look at it when they tell me an hour, I see an hours worth of work left.
When I interview pre-hiring I go over tools. They all tell me how they have all their own tools. Then they show up with one screwdriver, a speed square, and a 20 dollar Harbor Freight screw gun.
There is, of course, three things they always know instinctively. When it's break time, when it's lunchtime and when its time to go home.
In discussions with other shop owners in the area, whether they are in casework or other trades, they all say the same thing. "What happened to the people in trade work that do it because they love it?"
So I'm just wondering: Where in this country did the dedicated craftsman go? Are there any new ones coming out that actually want to learn? Does anyone know why the productivity in America is crashing and we are fast on our way to becoming a 2nd rate economy?

Dave

[myxpykalix]

A lot of people know how to game the system so they have the attitude "hey if you don't like the way i work i'll just go on unemployment, and make just as much".

It's too easy nowadays to get paid to do nothing which bleeds into employees attitudes. There is no pride in workmanship or loyalty.

I can remember one girl who worked for me and my competitor across the street offered her 10 cents more an hour (in the 80's) and she wanted me to match that, i said no. I told her if she left, she couldn't come back. She left and went to work across the street.

She was back in a week trying to get her job back. I said, you should have thought about the pay advances, interest free loans, pick of the schedule, free movie rentals and all the other perks you got (that she didn't get across the street). I never let her back.

Part of Dave's story sounds like either a lack of respect or laziness on their part. Either they figure they can get away with slacking off or are just stupid. It is hard to find good workers nowadays.
That's why i think i would hire an old guy over a young punk. A forth thing they know is when it is payday.

[jTr]

Dave,
This is why I work alone. Many would argue that I should get up to speed and get some help. Problem is, by bringing anyone else on board, the dynamics change, and the quality of attention and execution of work is quickly diluted. I've done pieces for several different owners of small companies who have firmly advised me to avoid employees as long as I can, with many stories similar to yours.

My solutions:
- Get a shopbot for "mule" work in the shop
- Jobsite work requiring multiple helpers: sub out one man re-modelers who have a similar passion for accuracy and some "skin in the game".

I've been fortunate enough to accomplish both of the above. Working with each other instead of for each other seems to produce better results with much less baggage.
It appears to me the best people eventually end up working for themselves, especially when weighing the cost of living versus pay scale in my neck of the woods. There certainly are shortcomings and limitations to this, but for now, I've settled for them in lieu of the other set of headaches.

Ultimate question I've had to ask myself:
Am I in this to exercise a set of business and human resource management skills to grow an organization, or do I want to make a reasonable living while retaining a reasonable level of sanity as I enjoy exploring the creativity involved with this vocation?

I may be wrong, I may be right, but I've made my decision. For now, I need to cut to the chase - the boss is breathing down my neck....

jeff

[Mark Farris]

Hey Dave I'm with you. I don't run a shop with employees anymore, but I do manage a custom homebuilders field work for my day job. It is the same problem here. The younger kids aren't interested in learning a trade unless it involves middle management pay and air conditioning, and the rest of my subcontractor base is getting old like me. I'm afraid I'm part of the problem by raising kids who don't know how to start at the bottom and who feel entitled because we didn't want them to have it as rough as we did. Wait another 10 years and there will be no one unless our generation acts. Somehow we are going to have to try to lure the younger generation back to the trades with better training programs and incentives than we have now; maybe a free tattoo or piercing? All this while we struggle to make a profit with increased material costs, insurance, financing, blah blah blah. Somehow our generation is going to have to band together and work on this or I don't see anything changing. I have been in the cabinetmaking / building business all my life and I have a lot of knowledge to offer if we can find a way to share it, and if anyone is interested in learning.

Frustrated in Florida,
Mark

[coryatjohn]

The bottom line:

You can teach someone a skill. You can teach someone to work. You can't teach them to care.

From my personal experience, the people who do care usually are frustrated as employees so they start their own business.

[curtiss]

There are about one million children with Autism and 10 million with ADHD.

Both have the same 4 to 1 /boy to girl ratio. The CDC has no idea as to the cause of this epidemic.

http://www.followingvaccinations.com/

[cwshop]

I found there are 3 choices with employees:

1. Let the employee do the job wrong the first time, then do the job right your self while the employee is watching. Pay for material twice. Pay your employee twice. If you’re very very lucky you end up with a profit.

2. Do the job right yourself one time while the employee watches you. Pay for material once. Split profit with the employee.

3. No Employees – Do the job right one time and collect all the money.

I work by myself now. But, in past most all my employees where really good help!
Knock On Wood!

[khaos]

Here is a short video to help you deal with the millennials.

HTH,

[dlcw]

Maybe all their brains are fried from drugs.

I won't hire for a number of reason, but the top reason is simple: it is almost impossible to find anyone these days with any work ethic whatsoever.

I think Jack is right in that people take the attitude that if they take a job, they can do crappy work, get fired, then sit on the couch smoking pot, collecting money from those who work hard for it. Unfortunately it is becoming more and more common.

[bob_reda]

The first thing you have to keep in mind is that no employee, no matter how good they are, is going to look at your business the same way you do. Secondly, most just work for the money. So if they are making minimum wage, that is what you get, and should expect a large turnover, these are the ones that will go where the money is higher. Most good employees are already working for someone. Most youngsters today don't want to do manual labor, but that is where the jobs will be in the future. I am a retired union plumber. We cannot fill out our apprentice classes, a 5 yr course, that at the end, they will be making $30 an hr plus health benefits and pensions.

Go figure.

Bob