Handling employees

[gutterdog 14]

Heres a new thread I'd like to get started! Has to Deal with handling people that work for you. I' heard alot of storys and I'v got my own to share also!

No chit! Ive been told a new guy gets fired for stuff like settin a ladder against a gutter. Well did you tell him not to first? Thats one I dont believe was a real account of how someone handled some one. Lets keep it real in here. Not how you would handle something when you get a helper. From your experiences.

Somethin else I can share to get this started! In the begining Ive had helpers want half the gross!! LOL!!

[Douglas Hicks 128]

Somethin else I can share to get this started! In the begining Ive had helpers want half the gross!! LOL!!

Now see, Mr Gutterdog, that is where us greasers have the advantage over you flat workers. We would just point to the grease we removed and tell them to get a bucket and take their half of the gross product. Can't get much grosser than old grease, unless you work the honey truck.

We have a monthly meeting. I have an outline I follow, written notes are kept. One of the topics is safety. Your lladder against the gutter would be covered under "Safety" and possibly "not damaging the customers property" . Except, I often put my ladder against the gutter to get on the roof of resturants.

[Scott Stone 604]

I have had employees that my wife begged me to find a reason to get rid of, I always ride it out, unless they are just irreparably stupid. Usually the ones that think at the start they are going to be able to tell me what to do turn out to be some of the best employees. I figure it is because I am consistent and predictable, and make their job easier.

What have I fired employees for? How about taking a nap, at his home, four hours every night on an eight hour shift? Maybe trying to wash a stadium starting at the bottom, and moving up? How about trying to save money, by not using hot water to clean a parking garage? Tacoing a trailer rim, because he was texting while driving? How about getting lippy, because I got mad because he left mud 6 inches deep on a dump truck, and considered it clean? Stupid employee tricks drive me nuts.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Anyone see the example of a martial artist who considers training someone? He points to a glass filled with soda. Then says "this is your glass, it is filled with the impurities of what you have learned", then points to a glass of water, clean and clear and says "this is my glass, it is filled with the purest form of what I know".

Then he pours his glass into the soda filled one and a mess is created. His response is that it is impossible to teach him anything until his student rids himself of what he "knows" and allows himself to be filled with the purest knowledge.

The other example from martial arts is that training never really ends, it becomes a matter of honing ones skills to keep them sharp, effective and efficient.

I have had my share of employees that had potential and those who did not. I hold myself accountable for that cause ultimately I was responsible for their success or failure as an employee determined by my ability to train them.

I wasn't always good at it and like doing the job, I found that training is a skill in itself. Patience is the biggest key along with understanding that everyone learns differently and while some will excel in some or all areas, others will not according to their self discipline.

Another difficulty I had was to break old habits gained through other jobs and experiences and prevent other bad habits from forming.

I found that supervising is not just watching, it is interacting and like driving a car, you must turn the wheel to keep it on the road otherwise it will become uncontrolled and have an accident.

Rod!~