Slow employees

[Richardtheelectrician]

The only jobs that are not a race to the end are the ones for Joe Homeowner and his wife..

Most jobs are bank financed and the owner looks at interest payments as his bottom line..

A store or business doesn't make a dime till the OPEN sign goes up and nobody cares about your problems with slow help..

The cheapest (lowest) bid wins the job 99% of the time from what I have seen that will never change back to where "craftsmanship" was worth something..

In order to be lowest bid.. workers have to produce more with less hours using the same materials list.. rabbits win over turtles at the end of the day..

This is exactly why I started RM Electric. Slow, quality work never gets a callback.

 

[jmellc]

That one hits home. I have never been the fastest and am slowing down now due to age. However, my callbacks and complaints have always been low and minor in nature. A few speed demons do good work but many do not. They cut corners left & right. I worked with a guy who could get lots done, but he left gaskets off of covers, backstabbed his devices, left loose connectors on conduits, never caulked boxes subject to weather or other water sources, etc. He had learned the trade working on mobile homes, getting paid by piece. He was a smart guy but highly motivated to skimp.

Some people are slower because of socializing or other distractions. I try to avoid that & would get on someone about that. Customer nor I want to pay $10 a word for his conversations.

Have the slower guy do repetitive things as much as possible; hanging lights, installing devices, etc. Devices are one task at which I can move faster, doing many of them. Can carry all I need & seldom have to run to truck, etc.

 

[hillbilly1]

Some guys actually work slow to make the job last longer, they know that once the job is done they will probably get laid off, or sent back to the bench. Working slow does not always mean better quality of work.

 

[tyha]

The thing is it all depends on what perspective your looking at it from. Company owner, foreman, crew or customer. Slow is a relative term. Im an owner and I have had my share of "slow" workers and a few are still with me because these ones were some of the best. Not to say slow is best because my attitude is the complete oppisite and all my employees know this. We have several 4-5 man crews working commercial jobs and theres one slow one on every crew but hes the type that doesnt make mistakes and you dont have to walk behind him. To the OP, talk with your slow guy and explain that the company making money and staying in busines is directly tied to how quickly they can get the job done and move to the next one.

 

[stevenje]

How do you deal with slow employees? I have one but He is very compitent and reliable but slow. I do not know what to do. Do I charge less? I am starting to feel like I need to.
Thanks.

I have been called slow at work and they tell me it has nothing to do with how fast I work. I just don't get it. :huh:

 

[jmellc]

Some guys actually work slow to make the job last longer, they know that once the job is done they will probably get laid off, or sent back to the bench. Working slow does not always mean better quality of work.

Agreed there. A guy milking a job is another story altogether. I have never done that and never will. But in my case, I just don't move as fast as some people, never have. Just not "wired" that way. I always knew I couldn't make my fame with speed, so I had to do it with quality. Even the foremen who complained always admitted I did good work and had few complaints or callbacks. They often sent me to fix other peoples' screwups and/or soothe over angry customers stuck with the bad work.

As an owner the last 3 years, I've tried to push myself harder and keep reasonable speed in mind. I understand time being money. But I still move slower than some, while I still deliver top quailty work. My complaints remain very few and very minor.

 

[jmellc]

The only jobs that are not a race to the end are the ones for Joe Homeowner and his wife..

Most jobs are bank financed and the owner looks at interest payments as his bottom line..

A store or business doesn't make a dime till the OPEN sign goes up and nobody cares about your problems with slow help..

The cheapest (lowest) bid wins the job 99% of the time from what I have seen that will never change back to where "craftsmanship" was worth something..

In order to be lowest bid.. workers have to produce more with less hours using the same materials list.. rabbits win over turtles at the end of the day..

That may not be so bad if so many EC's did not cut quality to the bone and bring the whole system down to the lowest quality denominator. Decent quality work pays off in the long run and IMHO saves far more lives than AFCI breakers, UL labels and smoke detectors combined. A conduit should not come apart for loose fittings, a box should not pull out of the wall, a device should not malfunction for loose connections or burn up from backstabbing. The switch on the left should not control the the light on the right, etc.

Yes, the store owner will gripe if he can't open a certain day. He will also gripe if things don't work or act up the first month or so. Slop the job too badly and he won't hire you for any future work he needs.

 

[jaylectricity]

I have been called slow at work and they tell me it has nothing to do with how fast I work. I just don't get it. :huh:

I see what you did there.

Some guys actually work slow to make the job last longer, they know that once the job is done they will probably get laid off, or sent back to the bench. Working slow does not always mean better quality of work.

True...having worked for the US Census as one of the leaders I noticed a lot of people wanting to keep the work going. They were reluctant to hand back unfinished work to distribute to other enumerators, but our goal was to have everybody working on everything until all the work was done.

 

[jmellc]

The rabbit always finishes first but rabbits leave droppings wherever they go. Find lots of poor splices, crooked boxes, sloppy pipe, etc. and you will find a rabbit nearby.

 

[DARUSA]

What is a 'proper work completion schedule'?

A schedule that is 'proper' to the workers may be entirely 'improper' for the customer.

I am currently the foreman on a 4 story office building fit up for the new building owners, they gave us about a month to make happen what should take two months. That is the schedule they want and that is the schedule we accepted. Now it is a race to make it happen.

This happen in any work that I was involved !!!! We always running to finish.

 

[Strife]

There's fast and there's productive.
I've seen many fast workers. They leave the job with cover missing, straps missing, they put in 5-6 orders a day, and their job was NEVER neat. AND NEVER DONE.
If someone would watch me do a job, they'd see me standing around for couple hours doing nothing. But then I do it in 6 hrs and one trip to the supply house VS 10hrs and 10 trips to the supply house, and the job is DONE, DONE. Not "done except".
Most of the people I worked with have been conditioned under the "busy body syndrome" by their previous employers. Heaven forbid they look at a job for 5 minutes and plan it. YES, even running 100' of conduit and one box takes a little planning:"what fasteners I need here, what straps, what is the most efficient way to run this? should I put an LB here or make a bend? Is it worth making 10000 saddles if I could make it a straight run just by using unistruts?"
Heaven forbid that happens. Most EC's I've seen would rather see their worker go 100 times to get a strap, to get a tap con, to get a box then to see them standing around for 10 minutes making a list of what they need. BUT HEY, it looks like they're working.
That's why I call it the busy body syndrome.
I always tell people this analogy:"I need to move a 100lbs rock from here 100 miles away" I have two options:
1: Put the rock on my back and take it there. It'd take about 30 hrs of hard work.
2: Spend an hr to rent a truck, spend another hr to go pick up the truck, drive 4 hrs, spend another hr to return the truck. BUT....BUT...BUT, you only "really worked" for 10 minutes, how do you expect me to pay you for 7 or 8 hrs? Does it matter? Which scenario is more productive?

How do you deal with slow employees? I have one but He is very compitent and reliable but slow. I do not know what to do. Do I charge less? I am starting to feel like I need to.
Thanks.

 

[jmellc]

Seen that too, & variations of it. I remember a lighting job where we were hanging lots of high bay lights, using cord/plugs. We made them up on the floor, then took 5 or 6 at a time on the lift and hung them, however many we could easily load. Foreman assigned job to us just after lunch, 3 of us. We made up 30 lights or so by 3:00 or 3:30. We'd been told we may have extra help next day, so we wanted to make up as many as possible ahead. Foreman came in about 3:30 & blew his top because we didn't have any in the air. "I don't care how many you made up, they aren't finished until they're hanging." From then on, we made up 5, hung 5 & made less time overall than we might have. I did same pattern with any job I worked for him later too. That was just the way he thought.

 

[ritelec]

Almost a month later..............wonder what happened to the "SLOW" employee?

Is "slow" an ok term to use now adays......??? Or would he be "challenged"?

 

[jaylectricity]

Almost a month later..............wonder what happened to the "SLOW" employee?

Is "slow" an ok term to use now adays......??? Or would he be "challenged"?

Productivity challenged.

 

[cowboyjwc]

There's fast and there's productive.
I've seen many fast workers. They leave the job with cover missing, straps missing, they put in 5-6 orders a day, and their job was NEVER neat. AND NEVER DONE.
If someone would watch me do a job, they'd see me standing around for couple hours doing nothing. But then I do it in 6 hrs and one trip to the supply house VS 10hrs and 10 trips to the supply house, and the job is DONE, DONE. Not "done except".
Most of the people I worked with have been conditioned under the "busy body syndrome" by their previous employers. Heaven forbid they look at a job for 5 minutes and plan it. YES, even running 100' of conduit and one box takes a little planning:"what fasteners I need here, what straps, what is the most efficient way to run this? should I put an LB here or make a bend? Is it worth making 10000 saddles if I could make it a straight run just by using unistruts?"
Heaven forbid that happens. Most EC's I've seen would rather see their worker go 100 times to get a strap, to get a tap con, to get a box then to see them standing around for 10 minutes making a list of what they need. BUT HEY, it looks like they're working.
That's why I call it the busy body syndrome.
I always tell people this analogy:"I need to move a 100lbs rock from here 100 miles away" I have two options:
1: Put the rock on my back and take it there. It'd take about 30 hrs of hard work.
2: Spend an hr to rent a truck, spend another hr to go pick up the truck, drive 4 hrs, spend another hr to return the truck. BUT....BUT...BUT, you only "really worked" for 10 minutes, how do you expect me to pay you for 7 or 8 hrs? Does it matter? Which scenario is more productive?

:thumbsup:

 

[kwired]

Productivity challenged.

I see a lot of that many places I go. Then they all get mad at the one newer guy that has a lot of energy, gets things done, normally is efficient, and wonder why he gets promoted so quickly.

 

[petersonra]

Seen that too, & variations of it. I remember a lighting job where we were hanging lots of high bay lights, using cord/plugs. We made them up on the floor, then took 5 or 6 at a time on the lift and hung them, however many we could easily load. Foreman assigned job to us just after lunch, 3 of us. We made up 30 lights or so by 3:00 or 3:30. We'd been told we may have extra help next day, so we wanted to make up as many as possible ahead. Foreman came in about 3:30 & blew his top because we didn't have any in the air. "I don't care how many you made up, they aren't finished until they're hanging." From then on, we made up 5, hung 5 & made less time overall than we might have. I did same pattern with any job I worked for him later too. That was just the way he thought.

The vast majority of managers and supervisors think this way. I think it is the MBA mentality of counting every day to see how much work has been done. There is a place on the form to fill in how many lights got hung today, and zero is not a good enough number to enter there.

Sadly, there are an enormous number of workers who could otherwise be far more productive who have learned to look busy rather than to be productive.

 

[kwired]

The vast majority of managers and supervisors think this way. I think it is the MBA mentality of counting every day to see how much work has been done. There is a place on the form to fill in how many lights got hung today, and zero is not a good enough number to enter there.

Sadly, there are an enormous number of workers who could otherwise be far more productive who have learned to look busy rather than to be productive.

Looking busy just gets you off the hook when the boss happens to walk through. How much got done by the end of the day still has some meaning. Of course there are guys that are good at goofing off yet can work hard for a couple hours to get enough done to make it up without much notice.

 

[Strathead]

The vast majority of managers and supervisors think this way. I think it is the MBA mentality of counting every day to see how much work has been done. There is a place on the form to fill in how many lights got hung today, and zero is not a good enough number to enter there.

Sadly, there are an enormous number of workers who could otherwise be far more productive who have learned to look busy rather than to be productive.

Funny, I worked for Helix temporarily in the late 90's The had a form for time that had like 20 different catagories. They had on for conduit and it asked for hours and feet. I was assigned to a lareg building and I spent the first 2 days laying out and boxing. I wrote down 8 hours and 0 feet. I got my ass chewed, but since I knew and he know I was temp, I refused to change it. I told him I hadn't run 1 foot of conduit and if they wanted me to put down otherwise they needed to rewrite the time sheet. Of course, the next 4 days were much more productive than their standard. Long story short, when the Supt went on vacation a month later, he asked me to fill in for him.

There was a lot of talk here about slow, productive, fast, careless, lazy. I suspect that the OP was referring to a good employee, not lazy, who wasn't quite as productive as desired. IMO, any resolution for that is a personal decision whether his good traits outweigh his bad. A one on one decision.

 

[ritelec]

Sadly, there are an enormous number of workers who could otherwise be far more productive who have learned to look busy rather than to be productive.

...........and still have job.