I’m tempted to sack the lads, weigh in all my kit, ditch the wife and kids, move house and come and work for you tbh!!!
Don’t lose hope - there are brilliant people out there (I’m lucky enough to have amazing guys working with me) but there are also many who just don’t ‘click’ (we’ve had our fair share of those too)...
Some very good at what they do, but just don’t ‘fit’ (in extremes they can be terrible for team morale - we’ve had a couple of excellent climbers who nobody wants to work with). Others who you’d be best mates in the world with outside work, but can’t be relied on to turn up when required/not wreck kit/etc etc. Others still who talk a good game and have everything possible on paper, but simply can’t do the job.
There are also guys out there who arguably aren’t the best in the industry but I’d employ them tomorrow as they get stuck in, get on with everyone, don’t need watching and can be relied upon. There are yet others who could probably run the business better than me in reality, but I wouldn’t even employ them as brash draggers through direct or word-of-mouth experience of their work ethic.
We’ve had work-experience lads here that you simply can’t believe are functioning human beings, yet I’ve crossed paths with others (admittedly not many) that I’d employ on the spot even though they have no tickets or industry experience (sadly I have a strong moral compass and won’t poach staff off anyone!).
@Gray git - I wasn’t aware of your family situation and understand your need to fill the gap ASAP to give yourself some breathing-space. Talk to your customers and explain your situation - they are human and will no doubt be invested in you and what you bring to the table. The ones that have no compassion you don’t need anyway so don’t lose any sleep if they go elsewhere.
Try to ‘triage’ the workload so your guys can handle the immediate stuff that can’t wait whilst you are focussed on much more important family matters.
Don’t take on a totally new member of staff that you aren’t 100% happy with whilst you are spinning so many plates, it’ll just add to your workload/stress-levels. The right person will come along soon enough.
(If you are really in the mire with a job before ‘Mr or Mrs Right’ appears give me a shout - I’ll send you some cracking lads up as long as you promise not to steal them!).