IDEAS ON HIRING GOOD EMPLOYEES - Oldie but Goodie

Great old topic - please add to it!

FRANK - We are a small residential shingling and property management firm. Roofing-2/3 work, propt. mgt.-1/3. We want to hire one more employee. In the past, we have went through the usual group, picked one and he might work 3 or 4 weeks, then quit or miss a day and we would dismiss him. Wondered if anyone has any ideas on some kind of solution to this. I was thinking of maybe offering 2.00/hr. under what his pay would be and telling him that this 2.00/hr. would come to him in a lump sum, say in 90 days if he was not late one time or missed one day. Does anyone have any suggestions? THANKS.

DARRYL - Frank, before you hire someone ask yourself, why did the former employees quit or get fired, perhaps you already have the answer but you may not be seeing it. We operate in a very Transient area, employees come and go just like a revolving door, all we can do is provide the work place and its settings the rest is up to the new hire. Why hold back, just set up an additional bonus plan for continuous attendance, personally I wouldn't like to have my pay held back and then given to me at a later date, if I had earned my pay I want it now.

MISCREANT - Frank, I got more questiond than answers , but two things I learned so far. 1. You can't get class A employees with class B wages. 2.You'll know the first day wether or not you got a keeper.

FRANK - Darryl, the last employee quit after about 3 years with us. He was not too bad of a laborer but we were pushing him to get to the next level, and he just could not get the job done when we would give him a task on his own. We DEMAND employees on time and will not put up with an employee that is absent without prior notice. Maybe your idea of calling the holdback a bonus would be a better way to look at it. We are not looking for the run of the mill laborer. We want someone willing to learn and do whatever we happen to be doing that day.

BULL - It's a tough process that's for sure. I find that a drug free policy, excellent health insurance, 401k, and good wages, have really filled our ranks with some quality guys. However you will always get the guy who quits and wastes your initial invesment on him. I do as you mentioned to help offset the cost a little. I hire at a particular rate, and give them a .50 increase at 30, 60, and 90 days. At 90days their probationay period is up, and their raises are merit based.

FRANK - Bull, what changes when their probationary period is up? Are they less easily dismissed, do they qualify for fringes, are they allowed to miss work or be late with less repercussions? How often do you do a merit raise?

BULL - Frank after their 90 days they are infact less easily dismissed. The normal disciplinary procedure kicks in, which for me usually entails, a write up, a write up with suspension, then termination. If I feel he is a good guy, I may add another write up into that equation. After 90 days they join the random drug testing pool, instead of the test any time i want pool, and they gain some other rights as listed in our drug policy. They can then also request days off in advance. During the probationary period, they cannot miss work. If they do, they had better have a damned convincing reason, and some proof, but for the most part their canned immediately. I try to treat every situation fairly, but I feel the need to set a strict precident, as to avoid seeming partial. Also after 30 days they qualify for health insurance. And after 90 days they get uniforms, and can purchase tools on payments through the company.

GRUMPY - don't believe you can tell the first day if you have a keeper or not. My first day at this job I was unsure of what my job duties were so I kinda held back. Then my boss asked "Why didn't you call that customer?" I said "I don't know how far you want me to go." He said "Don't hold back, go all the way." Now I do almost all the sales and at one point my ideas kept the company above water during a few month period that was a very hard time... If my boss had said the first day "he can't do this job" I would have been gone and maybe my bosses company too. At the same time I believe in giving warnings. An employee may not know they are doing something wrong or may not know you expect more. I think you should tell them at least once, probably twice... Three strikes yer out. I've fired employees when I end up carrying their weight, but I always tell them they need to work better, harder, faster etc... before I let them go.

FRANK - grumpy, I try to remember what it was like at the first day of each of my jobs. It was tough to tell what was expected. Usually, in the first few weeks, we give them some nasty jobs to see how well do what needs to be done, and their attitude towards it. The very last thing we want to have around is a complainer.

NEWKID - This works good. BONUS PROGRAM: After 30 days of showing up for work ON TIME they get an aditional 1.00 per hour that they work on each paycheck. Will except time off for personal reasons IF scheduled two weeks in advance. Helps a lot on trying to schedule crews. Its self monitoring too! If a man comes in late for work, the ones that were there early to make sure they were still on bonus status will let everybody know (even if for some reson you arn't there) Its all up to them it's not a raise it's a bonus. If they decide to stay home or come in when they want they can still work, but not on bonus for another 30 days. Have also had to offer another program for Driver's License holders but thats a different story!

ANITA - Frank, In the insurance world, I interviewed hundreds of applicants, and hired just a few (lack of employee turnover prevented hiring more). After going through 3 applicants / new employees (quit after working a short time, one worked half a day and did not come back from lunch) that I was positive were going to work out during the interview process I changed the way I interviewed / hired. I am aware Roofing is different than insurance, but the concept is relative. (insurance industry is extremely stressful, and constantly changing takes two years to train for one line of business etc). After the normal testing and first interview weeded out the people that did not fit what what we were looking for, I would have the promising applicants come in for a second interview. During this interview, I emphasized the worst aspects of the job.... I would explain to them how stressful it was, how the customers do not like the industry, thinks we are criminals, the fact that everything has to be done perfectly, no mistakes or the agency could be sued people could be harmed without coverage... etc etc. Construction related, you could explain to them the worst parts of the job they are applying for; Labor intensive, dirty, hot (or cold depending on season), extreme work environment, (up in the air in the attic, in the crawl space) training intensive, work must be precise to avoid problems, etc. Ask them leading questions as to thier intent, are they looking for a career? A craft? A long term employment? Or just something to pass the time till they find the job they really want. You will be able to see by thier response to your statements whether they are truly interested or not really sure about going any farther. The benefits you offer can be the best in the state, but if they cannot handle the work, they will not stick around. After I changed the way I interviewed / hired, the only problem I had with keeping employees long term were personal conflicts with other employees, or they moved out of state.

GRUMPY - Newkid that's a neat idea. I'm filing that one in my memory. Hiring good employees and retaining good employees are two different things. FInding a good employee is hard enough, but keeping them is a whole other ball game. Just the other day I called our old office manager to ask her what it would take to come back to us. To be honest none of our other office help has ever been worth their wages... she was worth twice her wage.

BOB T - Newkid, We have a written policy on hiring in our company manual. It covers all the steps in the process of how to hire new employees. Cost of new hire and ROI, Where to find, Media Ads, Application and Evaluation forms, Interview questions, background checks, drug testing, job descriptions, job advancement, training, company history and finally if needed how to terminate. I would suggest putting a written process together so you don't have to fly by the seat of your pants each time you need to hire new people. Wish you the best, with your new hire.

TROOP - As to trying to push someone to better themselves knowing they have the ability, I gave that up a long while ago. Some people have no desire to be anything other than what they are. I apply the Peter Principle, i.e., when an employee reaches his level of competence, I accept that, and leave him there, rather than pushing him to his level of incompetence. Once he is pushed to his level of incompetence, I have to make a decision, do I demote him back to where he was competent to perform the duties? Or do I fire him and start over. Demoting an employee invariably results in that employee looking for work elsewhere, because once he gets that raise for the promotion, losing it causes an immediate feeling of being treated unfairly, and nothing is going to convince that person he deserved the demotion and resulting pay cut. Even if the promotion was on a trial basis, nothing will make him/her believe he was not handling the job properly.

BOB T - Troop, Very sound advice. Your right about the Peter Principle, It took me a long time to understand not all employees want to advance.

TROOP - Bob, have had many employees over the years that were exceptional roofers, they were good. They quit me to start their own company and compete, they are no longer in business, being a good roofer does not make a good business owner/operator. I did nothing to put them out of business, I did not have to, their own incompetence did the job. Managing a business is an acquired accomplishment, a learned occupation, not a gift of God.

Thanks for sharing this wonderful post.

The best way to hire good employees is to do a little research. If you have time, check out the resume they submit and call their previous employers. If you don't have time, ask them for references who can check and attest to the quality of work they did in their previous jobs. But never hire someone without an interview first. You must be able to size up your potential employee on more than just what's on paper or in person.