The really tough part of managing

[Copperclad]

We recently hired a guy (laid off from a position he held for many years, but in a different trade)
He is a nice guy, and is trying, but Im not sure he's going to work out.
I personally have told him to at least carry some very basic tools with him at all times if you want to make a good hand for an electrician....something to cut wire with.....a phillips, a flat head or a multi purpose screwdriver. a roll of tape, and some wire nutts in your pocket. A very basic request for a helper to start out with.
He has to be told this EVERY single day. He constanlty has be told what and how to do simple things over and over again........
I know he has a family to feed, and I dont want to fire him, I just think there are better qualified guys out there that would love a job making what he makes, and would be much better at it.
Im just sick about it, but he needs to go.
Somethimes I hate my job........but somebody has to look out for the best intrest of the company.
Any of you ever felt crappy for making the unpopular decessions?

 

[Dolfan]

When they say 10% unemployment...there's a certain percentage of the population that just should not be working anyway. Don't feel bad, he will survive.

 

[AV ELECTRIC]

I been able to train carpenters and plumbers do electrical work but you cant overwhelm them with to many tasks keep it simple and something they can do for at least a couple hours like doing underground installation, help pulling wire .installing boxes , going in crawl spaces . prefab equipment you get the hint. If he was a tradesmen before he should have some common sense on how to do things . I had a guy who could do concrete and he re bared and poured concrete for my parking lot lights. You must put him where his skills can be used at the fullest . Now if hes not mechanically inclined it may be tougher but not impossible . I have yet to meet a person I couldn't train in a short amount of time and that's including my son when he was 12.

 

[fondini]

Give him the boot, it will get harder as time goes by and the only thing you will have to show for it is an empty checking account.

 

[revolt]

I've tried writing it down, drawing pictures, speaking Mandarin and even molding clay figures of how I want it to look and they still look at you like a fin popped out of the top of your head.

 

[augie47]

There are a few basics and he does not seem to be able to grasp those.
I've seen it on numerous occasions and its almost always the same result.
Your job is to make the business prosper, not him.
There are too many really good folks looking for a job to waste time on him.
You already know the answer. Being a good person you just don't want to do what you KNOW needs to be done.

 

[charlietuna]

There is no easy way to let a guy go--period ! But it is your job to protect the company and the other families involved--thats the way you need to look at it !!! If you take it personally and can't get over it --then your in the wrong position! You have given the guy a reasonable amount of time to adjust -- and for whatever reason ???? Don't attempt to solve this guy's problems at the expense of your own family and the opther families depending on checks from your company.

 

[stevenje]

Many years ago the company that I worked for hired a kid right out of high school. He showed up on the job site one morning and the job foreman put him with me. He worked hard but he didn't seem very happy. After a couple of weeks I asked him what was going on. It turned out that it was his dads idea that he become an electrician, not his. He said that he wanted to learn to be a cook. I told him your 18 years old, if you what to cook then go cook! The next morning he didn't show up for work and the foreman said that he had quit. About and hour later the foreman come walking up to where I was working with this real big guy. It turns out to be this kids father and he didn't look too happy. The foreman introduces us and then just stood there with his arms crossed with a great big grin on his face. I'm thinking to myself, "me and my big mouth." He says "so your the one who told my son to go cook." I asked him, "what do you do for a living?" "I'm a truck driver" he replied. I asked him "What did your parents want you to be?". He started to say something and then just smiled. He reached out to shake my hand and said "I'll see you around". They both walked away with my foreman just shaking his head. Isn't funny on how we end up where we are.

 

[SPARKS40]

We recently hired a guy (laid off from a position he held for many years, but in a different trade)
He is a nice guy, and is trying, but Im not sure he's going to work out.
I personally have told him to at least carry some very basic tools with him at all times if you want to make a good hand for an electrician....something to cut wire with.....a phillips, a flat head or a multi purpose screwdriver. a roll of tape, and some wire nutts in your pocket. A very basic request for a helper to start out with.
He has to be told this EVERY single day. He constanlty has be told what and how to do simple things over and over again........
I know he has a family to feed, and I dont want to fire him, I just think there are better qualified guys out there that would love a job making what he makes, and would be much better at it.
Im just sick about it, but he needs to go.
Somethimes I hate my job........but somebody has to look out for the best intrest of the company.
Any of you ever felt crappy for making the unpopular decessions?

So what did he do for a living previously?? What are the things that are "so simple" that he has to be told repeatedly how to do?? Please enlighten us a little more. Are you having him carry the tape, wirenuts, cutter/strippers and screwdriver while he's following you around, in the event you aren't carrying any of the above?? How old is the guy?? Are you barking orders at him to do something, or are you in the trenches with him, explaining while you are helping with the task at hand?? Are you showing him respect for his possible years of knowledge, or are you browbeating him because he just can't seem to catch on to things YOU might see as simple?? Maybe you need to re-evaluate the situation and ask yourself if this guy is being provided with the proper opportunities. You named this thread "The really tough part of managing", but i can tell you through experience that the TOUGHEST part of managing is assessing your own leadership skills, and asking yourself if you really gave someone all of the tools they really needed to succeed when they appear to be failing. Are you telling him what to do, or are you TEACHING him what to do?? Think back to where we all came from versus where we are now. we were not born with the knowledge. We aquired it through teaching, training and being led in the direction we should be going. Look for opportunities to grow the individual.

 

[hardworkingstiff]

It's really kind of funny, the skills you need to be a good Electrician usually have nothing to do with the skills you need to be a good Electrical Contractor/Manager.

 

[360Youth]

We have had to let two different guys go for similar reasons. One was totally green and we hoped to train him, but he just could never get it. Another supposedly had experience, and certain things he did well, but the things he needed to do on a regular basis, we had to tell him regularly to do them, and how to do them. It is never easy to fire someone, but it has to be done. I can bet that your guy is just as unhappy and uncomfortable as you.

 

[One-eyed Jack]

I have had to train a lot of guys over the years. I had the good fortune to have two that were in step with me if not one ahead of me all the time . I hated to lose either one but they were good enough to work on their own. The others ,oh well some were adequate and some were a real PITA. Firing them was hard because they were personable guys. Gotta do for the company.

 

[satcom]

I know he has a family to feed, and I dont want to fire him, I just think there are better qualified guys out there that would love a job making what he makes, and would be much better at it.
Im just sick about it, but he needs to go.
Somethimes I hate my job........but somebody has to look out for the best intrest of the company.
Any of you ever felt crappy for making the unpopular decessions?

What we have done to avoid this type of situation is hire only someone who will enter a 4 year certified program, this way you have someone commited to learning the trade, and along with learning he gets from the jobs, he has classroom work, over the years it has worked well for us, and after the 4 years you have a J man ready to help the next new guy you may hire. With electrical work the new employee needs plenty of supervision and training, because one accident may be the last one.

 

[dmagyar]

Remembering being in the apprentice program

Remembering being in the apprentice program

This post made me think back to when I got started. We heard it more than once that there were 1200 men/women wanting the same chance that we were receiving and if we didn't appreciate it, step out of line and let someone else who was interested take it. No threat just a simple fact. The journeymen always insisted that we have the proper tools and most wanted us to have our pouch on all the time. Although now days a tool pouch has increased in size with several bags to offset the weight of the tools and the necessary suspenders to help hold it up.

The funny thing is now owning my own company no one has to tell me to pick up the material, bring the right tools or spend my time wisely.

 

[jwjrw]

If I really felt bad and wanted to help him out put him with your best J man and make sure he is being told what to do and how to do it and is being watched and corrected if doing it wrong. If in a few days after that he still just dosent get it you have no reason to feel bad. You tried but business is business hes gotta go.

 

[LarryFine]

One of the most difficult thing about managing others is that 1) not everyone will do the work exactly like I would, and 2) that's not the end of the world.

As for someone who forgets to pick iup and carry his tools is to not let him use yours, and instead make him go back to the truck and get his. Every time.

 

[readydave8]

From the description, I'm curious about the job he had for so long and then got laid off. Did everyone get laid off? Or just the least productive workers?

 

[SPARKS40]

Copper....i am still eagerly awaiting your response to my post......in spite of the naysayers who are advocating getting rid of the guy, thinking he is untrainable..........lemme guess......all who have responded could bend a perfect saddle or offset the first time out with no direction.........all you needed were the inches, correct???

 

[SegDog]

toughest part?

toughest part?

After re-reading the original post, I have concluded that you have decided to fire the man. As some of the other posters have inferred, proper training and instructions go a long way to help access the ability of the employee. Documenting the training and instructions will keep you out of trouble with lawsuits and similar scrutiny.

More than four decades of working on every level has given me the view that most people have very narrow work experience. The same narrow work experience gives way to narrow managing insights.

Everyone can use some improving. People with ingrained work habits and attitudes often need a wake-up call to get with the program.

Dog

 

[yankj]

let him go -- today. For your own good, and eventually his.