How long do you keep trying with a trainee

[matelot]

perhaps starting a thread criticising an employee says something about your people skills?

 

if I was an employee and read on a internet forum that my boss considered me useless I would be furious. It's not fair on the guy if his mates/ college mates read this forum and slag him off about it.

[White Noise]

I have signed a contract to this effect. It's fair enough. My employer spends time and money training me, I return with hard work and loyalty. If I leave within a certain amount of time I cover a % of the training cost.

 

In your case however, after 6 years I would have expected your climber to have paid off his debt and been earning you money for a few years. Besides, it's not like he left to set up on his own or work for the competition. It's not ideal I know, but at least it was nothing personal

 

Fair play I can see your point . He did earn me money and also did very well out of the arrangement himself . I took him from school when he just turned 16 . A month or so later we all sat down me , trainee and his family . I proposed a deal where the trainee would get full training at college . Supply him with all new ppe and climbing kit and his own saw . If he would stay and become in time my main worker climber , groundie maintenance helper , log delivery man etc etc . He had use of a paid vehicle from the day we got him through his test . We even had incentives such as pay increases through out his whole 6 years . What upset me was the fact that he had been thinking of becoming a chef for a while . He just never told me and then one day turns up and basically said I,m off going to be a chef now . No notice was given he didnt even give me a chance to find a replacement . Yes he did six good years for me . Just really annoyed me that he didnt even work any notice or help ease another worker in . He was just under 22yrs old when he left me and became a chef for 6 months

[JimM]

Everyone can be taught something. But it's how they are taught and by whom that is important.

When I did my Air instructors course in the RAF we spent a week on the psychology of it all. They ran us through a Myers-Briggs test that is a system of defining your personality. There are other variations of it.

What came out of that very clearly is that some personalities just can't train others if their traits are different. Or they can, but have to accept what they are and amend the way they teach, which is very hard.

As a simple example, if you are one of those people who do things straight away, then you will be absolutely exasperated trying to teach someone whose trait is to do things at the last minute.

So it's perhaps not a question of who is at fault in your situation, but more how you or he adjusts so that learning is achieved.

[Chris Sheppard]

 

I hate being shouted at,

 

Me too. Most people grow out of having tantrums as children, unfortunately a few don't.

[Ian G 2]

Me too. Most people grow out of having tantrums as children, unfortunately a few don't.

 

You said it there some people need to grow up

Shouting and balling just gets people's backs up and then the job goes down the drain

[Tim Stobart Tree Surgery]

I was thinking about going down this route but i am starting to re-think now after reading this thread. Trying to teach someone something simple like using a shovel!

 

A tricky and complex bit of kit a shovel. I wish my groundie could master one!

[Tim Stobart Tree Surgery]

On a more serious note, what is the banter like. If you enjoy working with him then it makes it more worthwhile perservering. If he's a x who does your head in, less so.

[Gary Prentice]

A tricky and complex bit of kit a shovel. I wish my groundie could master one!

 

Step 1. How to use a shovel.

Step 2. Learn not to use it to put sweepings up in the chipper.

[GordonRochdale]

Whatever you do don't be that boss who picks them up for everything, I've only been doing trees for around 2 years, ex mil engineers so not stupid, and a hard worker. As soon as I left my first boss (who would moan and cry about something as petty as laying a saw on it's side rather than stood up?!) I felt more confident and my skill base shot up as a result of working for someone with good communication skills and plenty of praise. One thing I've noticed is that some people are very set in their own ways, there's a million different ways of skinning a cat.

Give him praise, if he's got a strong work ethic and something about him then he will be a good worker with the right encouragement, I presume it's completely new to him? And mate his first manual labour job

[DanClimbsTrees]

Fair play I can see your point . He did earn me money and also did very well out of the arrangement himself . I took him from school when he just turned 16 . A month or so later we all sat down me , trainee and his family . I proposed a deal where the trainee would get full training at college . Supply him with all new ppe and climbing kit and his own saw . If he would stay and become in time my main worker climber , groundie maintenance helper , log delivery man etc etc . He had use of a paid vehicle from the day we got him through his test . We even had incentives such as pay increases through out his whole 6 years . What upset me was the fact that he had been thinking of becoming a chef for a while . He just never told me and then one day turns up and basically said I,m off going to be a chef now . No notice was given he didnt even give me a chance to find a replacement . Yes he did six good years for me . Just really annoyed me that he didnt even work any notice or help ease another worker in . He was just under 22yrs old when he left me and became a chef for 6 months

 

Bloody hell 6 years is pretty unheard of for a trainee staying on, surely.

 

I would also be unhappy about him not working any notice though.