[Stonehenge]

Today I had to carry out one of those jobs that's no fun. Firing.

I was really disappointed because I had such high hopes for this guy - was going to take steps to make him salaried, invest in classes/schooling, have him running at least portions of a project by year's end. Instead, after 1/2 day of employment, he's out of a job.

Turns out there were a couple things he neglected to mention, or more accurately, lied about. As that part of the story unraveled, so did a few others.

So he went from my future right hand man to mud in just one weekend.

BTW, a hearty thanks to Lanelle for staying up late to listen and give me some ideas on how to approach this. It helped a lot.


Jeff

[Bexter]

Don't ya just hate when guys make an excellent first impression and then turn out bad. It happens to all of us I'm sure.
I hired a couple of guys that I thought had excellent character and they didn't show up for our training on Saturday nor have the nerve to call me.

[site]

It seems hard at the time, but unloading the dead wood on the first day is the best way to do it. About 1/2 of our new hires never make it past the first day. I have gone against my instincts on occasion only to regret it later. Good luck on the next try.

[Stonehenge]

Yeah - I hate it a lot!!!

And here's the funny part - a new guy started today, one that I considered to be slightly higher risk due to past problems. He was very up front about the problems, and I though he seemed like he'd work out, but it was cautious optimism.

In his first day, whenever he needed a tool, he jogged to go get it. All day. If his first day is indicative of what he'll be like the rest of the time, this kid should be great. Polite, extremely hard working, comes with a good foundation of construction knowledge.

Seeing him work certainly made the day better - and also told me that I wasn't totally incompetent when choosing employees (don't you start to ask yourself that after big flops? ).

[Stonehenge]

Oh - and he brought his own tape measure!!

[Stonehenge]

site - you're right. It did feel better handling that issue now, rather than turning a blind eye, only to face a larger problem later.

[Bexter]

Well, in my case I'm new at the hiring ...not new at the firing. I always figured if I'm the one doing the firing than I should also have say in who was being hired, so this year I did most of it.
Just between a couple of us we have gentlemen’s bets on who will make "the spring cut" as we call it.

[site]

I hired one of my best guys last year without even meeting him. We had a bunch of sod to lay and I just needed a body. He called about an ad, and I said can you start tomorrow. He said yes- then worked smart and steady for the rest of the season. If I had interviewed him I would have passed on him. He wasn't much of a talker, and he looked like the kind of guy who would quit on his first payday. I guess I was wrong on that first impression. Of course I have had the opposite happen more than once too. You never really know until you give someone a chance.

[Stonehenge]

The thing I really tried to do and stick to this year was creating that standard list of interview questions and sticking to them, then taking time afterward to fill out more of the form with my feedback. Too much was done by seat-of-the-pants interviewing, and I think I then neglected to ask some very important questions of some candidates.

Clearly it didn't make the system fool proof, but I think it helped a little.

Bexter - what % of your workforce do you typically replace each year?

[Bexter]

Well this year we are bumping it up another crew ... so out of around 25 all but 8 are new. Out of that, probably around 5 won't work out and will need to be replaced.

[Stonehenge]

Wow - That's a pretty big number. How long have the core 8 been around?

[Bexter]

1-5 years ....total years of experience of the 8 ? ...off the top of my head around 75.
Some of the new guys seem very knowledgeable with many years of experience also.
Time will tell.

[Pelican]

I find myself in the same position as Jeff. The guy I hired as a foreman is only giving me the work of a laborer, and a poor one at that. I've received quite a number of complaints from good customers, I've talked to him about my expectations three times, but nothing is getting better. Rather than see my reputation jeopardized, I'm going to replace him. I placed an ad tonight.

My question is should I let him know on Monday he will be finished Friday, or just tell him Friday? He seems to be a decent guy, he's just not leadership material.

Thanks.