Processes are valuable. You have a hopper - feel free to check it regularly. Our front area has an inbox, outbox, and a pending basket. It's the first thing all of us see, so it gives a visual cue as to workload. Our spreadsheets, log books, phone logs, checklists, etc. all assist our collective memory. We have a dedicated staffer who logs work in and out, and notifies "clients" (We're a public agency). My ultimate responsibility is the smooth functioning of the unit for all of our clientele. This includes identifying bottlenecks and working to mitigate them. Mentoring is also part of this - partly the technical surveying aspects, but also the team effort.
You're right to hone in on a staff member who may be part of a disruption in your workflow. Find a constructive way to make him feel included in the overall mission that your company strives for.
Does he have similar problems with his personal items and affairs? That would suggest something much more serious than a lack of interest in your work.
I find that it is much easier to change myself than it is for me to change others.
I might be a mamby pamby wimpy supervisor, but to me, if an employee is hard-working and has a good work ethic/attitude, You find a way to make things work with their particular handicap(s) or weakness(es) and strengths. One guy has great memory, and/or is extremely organized, utilize their organizational skills. If someone is good @ sniffing out old stones or simply @ digging holes, but has a bad memory, just show them where to dig.
Maybe think if it as if you had a weakness like a poor memory, what would you do as an employer to make up for that difference? Maybe that's what this thread is all about; but my only point is that you need to work with the workforce you have and recognize that everyone has quirks or imperfections that can get in their way, and you need to work with those imperfections.
I have been accused of having a bad memory myself, and I guess it's true to some extent but often it's because of misunderstanding. I had a former employer who would sometimes come in and ask me a question such as "Where is the legal description I requested for Bill Roberts?" Often he would get a blank look from me because I didn't know Bill Roberts. If he had said "Where is the description of the 40 acre boundary we did on Center Hill Road?" I would have known exactly what he meant and given it right to him.
That reminds me of my days designing irrigation dams. Margaret, our primary secretary/accountant/gofer, was a preacher's wife. Once in a while we would get lucky when she would ask something like, "Where is Ed Schmidt's dam file?" The response from the whole crew would be in unison, "MARGARET!" It took a couple of times before she realized that we were accusing her of using improper language in the office. Deep down she thought it was funny but she did her best to not let that show.
A search will find many a bar or restaurant in the vicinity of an aquatic impoundment with the claim to be the "best by a dam site."
Peter Ehlert, post: 350406, member: 60 wrote: maybe have another look at the routine in your office and field operations...
establish (and document) a clear procedure and workflow, for all work and all staff.
This guys head may just be so overloaded with the minutae that there is nothing left for the important stuff. Not using F2F? That alone would swamp my "buffer".
Bill93, post: 350860, member: 87 wrote: A search will find many a bar or restaurant in the vicinity of an aquatic impoundment with the claim to be the "best by a dam site."
Everyone near Sardis Lake in Mississippi knows where "The Dam Store" is.
Does anyone remember what this thread was about...............................without starting over at the top?
Do employees fill out a daily time sheet on a daily basis?
Does your office protocol include a documented QA/QC process?
Developing some of these office procedures will help your employee remember AND help the firm with historical data.
R.J. Schneider, post: 350111, member: 409 wrote: I'd have to wonder how the questions are phrased. If you've ever worked for a registered that queries you about "that thing you were working on a couple of days ago, on that project, did you ever figure out that deal.. ?" "Do you have the stake-out coordinates calculated ?" "Where did that deed for that tract disappear to ?"
Sometimes concise answers require concise questions.
Amen Brother!! I used to do programming work for a feller who changed subjects constantly without me knowing. Sometimes falling back to a subject we'd discussed days before. It often made me look like an idiot since what he would bring up would entirely irrelevant to the matter at hand. In is mind we'd finished on the matter at hand, so on to something else - without me knowing. Horribly frustrating - for both of us.
Completely forgetful people are another matter. I have carpentered with and for others that constantly misplaced tools and would "borrow" mine.
E
On the one hand, often highly intelligent and capable individuals can be absent minded and quite "task focused" often to the exclusion of what they consider extraneous thought, this is part of what makes them what and who they are mentally, on the other hand often times excessive memory lapses in an individual that is an otherwise competent employee can be indicative of on or off the job recreational activities impinging on short term memory, could be time for a "random"...
Randy
Recreational Activities? maybe
The mind/brain is a very complex thing. Memory and Executive Functions can be hampered by many things, sometimes radically, sometimes minimally. The effect of a single "event" can show up many decades later, and then those effects can disappear.
have a quick read over here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_traumatic_encephalopathy
there is a new movie out, Concussion. Will Smith ... should be interesting
Mike Falk, post: 351526, member: 442 wrote: Do employees fill out a daily time sheet on a daily basis?
Does your office protocol include a documented QA/QC process?Developing some of these office procedures will help your employee remember AND help the firm with historical data.
I have my timesheet open constanly. As soon as I complete a task or move on to something else I eneter my time and a short description of what I did. Saves loads of time AND doesn't rely on my memory.