My party chief with over 30 years experience is on vacation this week.?ÿ He is and always has been a very difficult employee, but I've known him since I started surveying about 25 years ago. And at one point was his I-man for a period of time.?ÿ And I knew how to take him.?ÿ He has run off every I-man?ÿ I hired to work with him over the past few years.?ÿ And now I have an entry-level mid 30s employee that is very enthusiastic about learning surveying and the hardest worker I have ever had and has a great attitude.
Well he's almost quit a few times do to the constant berating from PC.?ÿ I have had many discussions with PC and his attitude improves for a week maybe.
Well I think I'm at the end of my rope.?ÿ Today while covering the PC in the field, I returned to two city jobs to set rods that he didn't find.
First job he found 1 out of 4.?ÿ The left rear.?ÿ I walk the small lot to get a look at things.?ÿ There is a chain link fence (neighbors) at the right rear.?ÿ I can tell that this corner has not been looked for without the metal detector, as the dirt was not disturbed.?ÿ I get the shovel and start to dig against the fence corner and DING rod found an inch deep and an inch off fence corner.?ÿ So I explain to the newby the importance of not relying on the sole use of the metal detector to find corners.?ÿ Now I go to the left front, which has a sidewalk in regards and a row house on the left line.?ÿ I take my foot kick the grass away, pull some with my hand and start sweeping the dirt away with my fingers and guess what.?ÿ ?ÿDing ding ding a lead hub and tack in the side walk.?ÿ Walk to the right front, follow the same procedure and you guessed it LH&T.
So after finding the 3 corners he didn't, I decided to check another job a few blocks away. That he only recovered 2 of the 4.?ÿ On a corner lot.?ÿ I start at right front, pull the distance and dig.?ÿ Nothing...I note the offset distance from the sidewalk and pull down the walk and pull the offset.?ÿ The point hits on a conrconc apron that is covered with weeds.?ÿ Again I could see that there was no effort to find this point.?ÿ Kick away the weeds, sweep dirt and you guessed again a LH&T.
?ÿOh and by the way he didn't have put a stake or flag the corners he did find.
I think his vacation is going to become permanent.?ÿ My trust in his work ethic is now broken.
I guess I'll return to those 12hr days.?ÿ Field during day office at night.
?ÿ
It sounds like the stress level around your office will go down when you have done what needs to be done. No one is irreplaceable.
Or, perhaps,?ÿ"It's better the devil you know ..."
My trust in his work ethic is now broken.
Your PC being cantankerous and lazy may be irritating, but if the above is true you only have one choice.?ÿ All you have left to do is determine the amount of his severance pay.
I hate to hear stories like this. The attitude is one thing, not doing your job is another. I wonder how someone with 30 years experience all of a sudden becomes negligent?
Also, I cannot imagine not looking thoroughly for a corner. That??s the fun part.?ÿ
The challenge is to discover how many other jobs have been mishandled because your neck is on the line. ?ÿCorrect all you can find.
Suprised you put up with it that long. I would have fired him long ago. People like that will ruin your business. Don't ever put up with employees that think they control you.?ÿ ??ÿ
I don't know why he has become so lazy.?ÿ It's like he doesn't care about his work anymore.?ÿ ?ÿEvery job is a bitch fest.?ÿ It's either muddy, dusty, wooded, too hot, too cold.?ÿ
I have to precalc everything which eats a couple hours a day.
I was much happier when I was in the field a few days a week and the in the office a few.
Hell yesterday I worked in the field from 7 to 3 and the office from 3 to 10.?ÿ Can't do that to much longer.?ÿ But I'll work it out.
?ÿ
Maybe he needs glasses.?ÿ Those tacks are pretty small to spot.?ÿ However, his experience should compensate for some poor eyesight.
He's?ÿburnt out but probably keeping up appearances for the money. I worked with an older?ÿguy like that in his late fifties. One stressful day while I was struggling to keep my head above the waves I walked over to his work station to ask him a question about a job and he didn't see me coming. My jaw hit the floor when I saw what he'd been doing all afternoon. Pictures of wooden boats, not one, but hundreds and hundreds he'd been collecting off the internet. All the while I'd assumed he'd?ÿbeen working all he was doing was dreaming of sailing off into the sunset in his little wooden boat. He later ended up imploding in?ÿa rather?ÿspectacular fashion.
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
I thought that guy retired from us??ÿ I didn't know he took a job somewhere else.
I'm not surprised at all.?ÿ I've met too many of these guys.?ÿ Seems they never find any of the monuments that are hard to get to, in a marsh, thorns, poison ivy, over a fence, etc.
A lot of these guys are bitter bastards who think they're owed something more for still being in the field full-time, while not really getting that it's their own fault for not learning the research, CAD, comps, etc.
When you can no longer trust his work ????. you know what to do.
You can teach skills and gain experience but you can't train attitude.?ÿ People don't fundamentally change from who they are. Sounds like he has had several opportunities to improve and you can't do anything about an individuals choices.?ÿ ?ÿ ?ÿ
"And now I have an entry-level mid 30s employee that is very enthusiastic about learning surveying and the hardest worker I have ever had and has a great attitude."
Perhaps removing the has-been chief is an opportunity for your enthusiastic new employee to grow.?ÿ You teach him the office side on the non-field days, he becomes more capable, you work a little less.?ÿ It could be a good thing.
Ken
?ÿ
That is exactly my plan.?ÿ He just started his survey 1 class at the local community college and is eager to learn.?ÿ And I am eager to teach.
Thanks fellows for your support.?ÿ I've struggled with letting my PC go for a while.?ÿ But it's time to move on and get rid of the stress.
This kind of thing is what keeps me up at nights.
If the new guy is as good as you say, he will fill the shoes quickly especially with your mentoring and the business will run with values you instill not a grumpy PC's.?ÿ ?ÿOn a side note, I recently watched a speaker speaking on board actions of professional surveyors and he said the majority actions seemed to be against older surveyors for some reason.?ÿ ?ÿGood luck!?ÿ Jp?ÿ
Ron,
If the extra long hours are a burden for you, is it possible to farm a few jobs out, until you new guy picks up a few more skills? Do not try to put in 5 days with the new guy in the field and then cover all the office work to boot. Shorten your field day or put yourself on a 3 or 4 day field schedule and have the new guy at your side as you compute.
Are you covering the community college fees? One of the easiest skills to teach is to have him connect the dots immediately after the field work. Field to finish methods help, but still doing the connect the dots teaches him to understand and improve the field work path. Understanding he has to attend classes, carefully include some overtime. With minimum time of instruction you can have him inputting deed and map information into a data collector or into CAD files and setting up survey plats. At this point do not do something yourself because you can do it faster, if he is investing his time in class you match that investment with your time. He does need?ÿto know and learn everything tomorrow but he needs to know how he can help you tomorrow.
Paul in PA
Paul,
With my current work load I am going to have to put in the extra hours at night.?ÿ But my plan is to go back to my roots.?ÿ Work a few days in the field and a few in the office once I get through the back log. The one thing my old pc excelled at was field to finish coding.?ÿ And I forced him to give my traniee the DC to input the codes. And learn what they mean and why we locate the item.?ÿ In his three months he can set up the robot, set up the DC, set up the gps.
The last few days I've worked with him he has run the pole and dc, on topo and stake out.?ÿ To quite honest he handles the pole for stakeout much better than I do.?ÿ I was dancing with that thing for a few minutes and finally said here you take it.?ÿ And he did one hell of a job.
So far this week, trainee has by my side with research, field stakeout calcs, topo and boundary location.?ÿ He is allowed to ask a question, mess up and try to fix with being berated.?ÿ And he's coming back to the happy guy he was when I hired him.
I plan on the days we are in the office, teaching him cad.?ÿ Labeling to start, I'll do the calcs and line work until he's up to speed a little with cad operation.
In regards to his class, yes I paid for it upfront, bought his books, and a new HP35s.?ÿ My goal for him is to be my future and to train any youngster willing to work and learn.
I think in the long run it will all work out.?ÿ Hell just the time I will save from having to do all the job research and calcs upfront so old pc could do the job will help me tremendously.
Thanks again guys, your input is greatly appreciated.