[Nebraska]

Have a situation whereby two employees on a mowing crew can not get along.....one guy is real headstrong and obnoxious and his crew leader is coming to me on a daily basis telling me that he's basically a pain in the a%$, can't stand him etc.. He came to me and said that he is going to quit if he has to work with him any longer. This crew leader would be able to get along with about 95% of folks out there....this crew member who's causing the problems would be able to get along with about only 40% of folks out there. Advice on handling a situation like this would be greatly appreciated.

[Stonehenge]

I guess my first thought is, do you really have a crew leader? Sounds to me like a bit of a whiner if he's threatening to quit. Sorry to be blunt.

IMHO, I think one of the roles of a leader is to figure out a way to make things work. As I know you are finding (and I've found, too), getting the perfect people for every position is darn near impossible, so if you have people that show up on time and do the work they are asked to do, and do it well, then there's got to be a way to make the personality thing work out.

Is there any training you can send the foreman to? Why is he unable to control this situation?

Worst case, your state may be an at-will state (most are), so you don't need to have a reason to fire someone - you can just let the difficult one go. At the same time, I can almost guarantee that you will visit this issue again with this foreman at some point in the future. Forcing him to make the tools to deal with it, or giving him the tools might make him a real leader, able to handle difficult people like the other guy.

That's my $.02, anyway.

[jwholden]

Some people are just a pain in the ass.

I've worked with guys like that at other jobs and had guys like that work for me. You spend more time with the people you work with than your family, you darn sure better get along.

Perhaps the PITA is annoying the foreman for kicks, been there too. I don't have a specific answer, but it would be something along the lines of decide which employee is more valuable to you.

[Bill Schwab]

they either learn to get along and make rate or you loose the crewman first, and if it still does not work, loose the foreman. We had a little pow wow a while back when the Guatamalans started in on the Mexicans. They all buckled down and work very well now.

[Nebraska]

Great points to ponder.

Do I really have a crew leader??? Hmmm? Of course he has a "good friend" that's interested in a job. Time to refer back to the job description.

He is annoying him for kicks...

I'm getting really tired of being a "baby sitter" and hearing the "he said" crap.

[Bill Schwab]

Then you have to step up and put a stop to it. If you think you have a problem now, consider if you hired this guys buddy. They would attempt to control your company. I had a crew who did that years ago...On Monday they all came in and in formed me they were going to see the Jerry Springer show, live in Chicago.....I say who will do your work? They told me they did not care. Then they expected to have a job the next day...

I wrote it up as they walked off the job, and hired more to fill the gap. When they aplied for unemployment, I contested, because, they disapeared. By choice they walked off the job. Thier unemployment was declined.

[Stonehenge]

Bill, my fear of your exact scenario is what prevents me from hiring people who are friends with each other.

[Nebraska]

No...I'll never hire a guys "buddy" for the same crew.

Often I find that many of the problems that develop quite honestly can be blamed on "vascilating" leadership. In this case, again, I'm to blame for some of the crew "leader's" lack of leadership, partly because of his "green-ness" in the position. He has now been given full leadership capabilities and if his crew member is not the right person to help him get the job done then we adjust the crew "membership" (period). Both have been talked to and the crew member knows that the crew leader has the say in if he stays or goes. By next Friday the crew leader will either give a literal "thumbs up" or "neck thrashing" and we'll go forward.

Onto the issue of getting along with others......why do some people never figure out that this is the key to success in anything in life even when bluntly told and thoroughly explained this. No matter how fast, efficient, or great you are; if your an asshole to others you're worthless.

[AZTLANLC]

Well I have a different take on this, I would hire anyone no matter if their friend of someone alredy working for me, but to put someone in as a foreman he or she would have to prove being capable of it.

I have a crew leader I give him all the right to fire soemone if this person is not performing, first incident I would write a letter and let him know he is on probation, second he is fired, if my foreman wants to replace him with his cousin friend or sister I don't care I just know how long things take to acomplish, and if they're trying to play with me, they get fired no matter if it's a friend a brother or my foreman of 4 years, if they can't keep up with the work they're gone.
I'm in business to make a living and money not to make friends.

[Bill Schwab]

One of the biggest signs a prospect for employ is going to be trouble is when they ask during the interview if they can be a foreman, or if foremen positions are opened.

It is a way in so many words of saying they don't want to work and will feel important by telling others what to do.