Staff woes, getting ready to chuck it all in

[devon TWiG]

Perhaps this sums it up !!!!!!http://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2017-10-30/bus-companys-website-says-it-has-closed-after-message-from-owner/

[daveatdave]

I think a lot of employees do not have the slightest inkling as to how much it costs there employer to work for them all they look at is you charge me out at 30 pounds and I only get 10 pounds 

[Mark Wileman]

6 hours ago, daveatdave said:

I think a lot of employees do not have the slightest inkling as to how much it costs there employer to work for them all they look at is you charge me out at 30 pounds and I only get 10 pounds 

I know I don't cost my hypothetical employer 200% of what he pays me  

[Gary Prentice]

On 26/09/2018 at 13:29, spuddog0507 said:

was tree ID he new nothing at the start and told me that they had done a couple of hrs on tree ID

In an attempt to help some of our staff, I printed information out once a month for them to read and learn, with a short test after a few weeks. Top scorer got a choice of a crate of beer/bottle of spirits, which I was paying for out of my own pocket. The first test for winter tree ID, ten twigs to identify. Bear in mind that they'd been provided with printouts of photo's, drawings and key identifying features. Top scorer was my missus (secretary in the office) with 7/10. Next best was 3. One identified five twigs as common ash, but not the common ash sample!

 

One excuse was that they could always use Google...

 

Maybe I've got a competitive nature, but if I was offered beer or Jack Daniels to learn something (that I needed to learn anyway) I'd put the effort in and would want to win.

 

After the second go with similar results, I binned the idea and stopped wasting my time 

[Gary Prentice]

On 26/09/2018 at 18:50, westphalian said:

(mind the great manager was someone i took on aged 50. he said he would only stay for 5 years and fank thuck he stayed 10)

I went for three days as a subbie climber, married the bosses sister started to manage the business totally due to circumstances and stayed for over ten years. And it is/was stressful.

[Mark Wileman]

I think the main issue with staff motivation and "I was much better when I was younger" talk is that, as business owners, I assume most of you have always wanted to do that bit extra to succeed/make more cash and generally love(d) the job.

You can't expect an 18 year old on £50 a day (which really isn't a lot, even for an 18 year old, shit is expensive now) to work to your super human levels when they have no intention of starting up a business, some people just want to come and do a days work and go home - it's a wonder ANYONE does PAYE tree work, considering there are so many easier/more rewarding ways to make a lot more money.

 

EDIT: The best companies I sub into are those that obviously price correctly or exclusively work high end domestic/commercial and can afford to 4-5 guys at the job, nothing worse than being the groundie on a 2 man site.

Edited September 29, 2018 by Mark Wileman

[Gary Prentice]

On 26/09/2018 at 19:09, aspenarb said:

I recently spent an afternoon with mine while pricing some clearance work and the poor sod must have taken fifty phone calls, his phone is non stop.  All sorts of shit thrown at him from,  calls for appointments, where is my quote, when can you start, blokes on the phone with queries, cancellations, others chomping at the bit to start early, TO`s  ,bint in the office asking dopy questions and on... To think I used to do all that and work

 

Bob

Phones, email, texts, It's non-stop. 

 

12 hours ago, Baldbloke said:

 

£18.60 a week for me at 16

But you could buy a house for £1000 back then 

[Baldbloke]

1 minute ago, Gary Prentice said:

Phones, email, texts, It's non-stop. 

 

But you could buy a house for £1000 back then 

10 years later I did. It cost £12500 by then.?

[Gary Prentice]

21 minutes ago, Mark Wileman said:

I know I don't cost my hypothetical employer 200% of what he pays me  

Personally you don't. But all the fixed overheads that have to be paid whether work is being done or not have to be covered, repairs and replacements still have to be accounted for, various taxes, NI contributions etc still have to be paid. The list goes on and on. Then wait for payment for 90 days on the big jobs. Running a business is easy and the employer just rakes the money in.

 

When I was managing, the climbers earnt more than the owner and me, and finished work at four PM, job done. No weekend or evenings pricing work, catching up with paperwork and getting back to people.

[richy_B]

Ultimately it lies with the owner. Having staff means having problems. By having staff you can theoretically achieve more work, thus a greater revenue and hopefully a higher profit and remuneration for you. If you find staff too much of a problem then you are not forced to have them. Work solo and accept you can only achieve X amount of work. Being the boss might not always mean you are making the most money etc but you always have the decision making powers. 

 

Two sides of a coin as well. You feel employees are getting it easy. Employee feels like you are making all the money without having to get involved. The grass is always greener...