I hired a guy last thursday that has no experience, we work friday and things went ok for someone new to surveying. Monday had a large chance of rain so we did not work. I called him Monday evening and told him to be at the office a 7:00am tuesday (had a meeting with a client an hour away at 8:00am). I sat in waiting on him until 7:15 and left. Guy calls at 7:20 wanting to know where I'm at, I told him that I had to leave and we would discuss this later. I have not called him back yet and wanted to sleep on it. Would you give the guy another chance or call one of the other seven people that applied?
Yes. I would give him a second chance. But, I would listen very carefully as he explained how he confused time by twenty minutes. Bad things happen to good people some times.
I'll never forget a situation where I could have been fired, and possibly charged with a serious legal infraction, at the end of my first day of work. One of the highest level people witnessed my egregious error and could have taken action that would have been very, very bad for me. He turned a blind eye after giving me a very stern warning. That situation never occurred again in over seven years of employment there.
> I hired a guy last thursday that has no experience, we work friday and things went ok for someone new to surveying. Monday had a large chance of rain so we did not work. I called him Monday evening and told him to be at the office a 7:00am tuesday (had a meeting with a client an hour away at 8:00am). I sat in waiting on him until 7:15 and left. Guy calls at 7:20 wanting to know where I'm at, I told him that I had to leave and we would discuss this later. I have not called him back yet and wanted to sleep on it. Would you give the guy another chance or call one of the other seven people that applied?
I suppose it would depend upon:
(a) what I had told him in the way of absolutely, positively having to be at the office at 7:00AM or calling in before then with a really good excuse that wouldn't sound like a lie,
(b) what my assessment of the new hire's prospects were aside from not being able to show up at 7:00AM, and
(c) whether the wage I was offering was likely to attract much better employees.
I mean, $7.00/hr in 2015 dollars is equivalent to about $1.60/hr in 1975 dollars. Something to think about.
a) I was very clear as to what time to be at the office. I explained the situation and repeated myself three times. He told me that he had left is house (20 miles away) at 6:20 but got behind a school bus that held him up only to call me at 7:20 to see where I was at.
b) not really enough time to make to much of an impression other than the guy might have an issue with his alarm clock.
c) I think the wage I offered is on par with other entry level positions.
I also know what some of the guys I worked for in the past would have done, but I'm not sure I want to be the hard arse they are.
I would probably give him one more chance, but that would be it. Lord knows I have a hard time getting out if the office on time sometimes. I'll be late for my own funeral. Just ask Chris here on the board!:-P
Just be glad I don't have ANY employees!
I would give him another chance.
He met an obstacle (bus) and now knows better. He either finds a better route or must leave earlier than that obstacle to get there on time.
40yrs ago, I remember driving 30mi to get to a job. Some days it took 40min and others it took an hour and half along the same path.
To do it successfully, I had to plan on getting there half an hour early just to get past all the daily changes along the way and there were no overpasses for two train tracks and it went thru half dozen diff school zones. Forget about the horse and cow sale days, leave earlier and go another route.
Sounds suspicious, but being his first time I would probably give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he really did get caught behind a bus and didn't realize they were running at the same time he had to make the drive. From now on he should know.
Do you believe that the school bus route was in his path for enough distance to hold him up that long? Or that a school bus started its rounds that early? And why didn't he call you when he realized he would be late (assuming you both had cell phones)?
I haven't been the boss to make the decision, but I'd give him a scolding and ONE more chance.
Reminds me of a time two guys were hired as rodmen at the company I worked for. They were roommates, and it just happened that I passed their apartment on my way to work, so the survey manager volunteered me to pick them up every morning. They didn't have a car. I said fine, but the first time I come by and they're not waiting I'm going to keep going. About the third day it happened. The manager asked me where they were and I said I don't know, but they were not waiting when I came by, so I never slowed down. I think he actually sent someone to pick them up, but it wasn't long before they were both fired for drugs. With some people you just know.
I believe you made your expectations clear when you left without him. I would let him know that this was his last chance. Obviously if the school bus is a problem, he has the option of leaving in time to get in front of it. The only two excuses that are acceptable for not being on time or at least calling in are:
1. Acomma
2. Bondage
Experience has shown that 90% of the attendance problems will occur with 5% of your employees.
I'd give him another chance. Part of being a boss is being a mentor to young guys; explain to him the things people have mentioned above - leave earlier, find a different route, call if you know you're going to be late, etc.
My son overslept and was very late his second day on the job at a survey company; it was because he had closed at Subway the night before and was trying to work two jobs. He got a stern talking to from the owner, quit Subway, and was never late again. You can't just assume the worst.
Having said all that, if something that egregious happened again I'd probably cut bait.
I once fired my brother for being late. But he was late A LOT LOT. And not by a few minutes but by hours.
I would give him another chance. I used to be late once in a while for work even after working at a place for years. It just happens sometimes. But if it becomes apparent it's his way of going at life then I would let him go.
I was late more often than not at one place I worked. Clear proof of that fact existed as I had to punch a time clock. I also left late almost every day. Significantly more than 40 hours of productive time were recorded by the time clock every week. My boss didn't care. His boss didn't really care. Well, that is, until the department head over the timekeepers made a really big deal of it in front of several other department heads. I was labeled a troublemaker as I was setting a bad example for the 90 percent of the employees who were union employees and would be terminated after just a few days of behaving as I had been. So, the big boss called me into his office for a little chat. We had a nice discussion of the need to appear more punctual, primarily so he could document that he had met with me. He asked what would happen if I had to show up on time every day. I told him I would make sure to leave on time every day as well. He really didn't like that thought because he knew he needed to keep me happy and he knew I was quite possibly his top employee. When something had to be done correctly the first time, it came to my desk. When something was more typical, it went to almost anyone else. He knew that was the case. The end result was that I kept punching the clock but the timekeeping department was to ignore when I did so and make note that every day I punched the clock I was present precisely 8.50 hours which included the half hour lunch we were allotted.
It may help to understand that this was one of those places where almost everyone who was non-union spent the first thirty minutes of the day drinking coffee, swapping stories of last night's adventures, making personal phone calls, wandering around to other departments to swap stories and similar time-wasting activities. Quite frequently, the last fifteen to thirty minutes of the day were spent in similar fashion. You were to do what you were assigned to do. Nothing else. Do not innovate or create. Do not go around seeking out more to do. Spend the entire day working crossword puzzles as long as you appear to be diligently doing something to the casual observer at a distance.
Yes I would, but only one more chance. My crews know that they rarely get out of the office before 7:30 so five minutes isn't normally going to break the bank. However, EACH and EVERY one of them have been left before when I stressed the day before WE ARE LEAVING at 7 a.m. It doesn't happen often that we have to go that early, but, when we do, I was there at 6 a.m. and loaded the truck myself and verified everything was there. All they had to do was show up on time, and get in the truck.
It drives a point home when you leave them and they miss out on overtime that week due to their ineptness.
> I hired a guy last thursday that has no experience, we work friday and things went ok for someone new to surveying. Monday had a large chance of rain so we did not work. I called him Monday evening and told him to be at the office a 7:00am tuesday (had a meeting with a client an hour away at 8:00am). I sat in waiting on him until 7:15 and left. Guy calls at 7:20 wanting to know where I'm at, I told him that I had to leave and we would discuss this later. I have not called him back yet and wanted to sleep on it. Would you give the guy another chance or call one of the other seven people that applied?
yes, second chance.
clearly explain that early is cool, late unacceptable. no third chance.
stuff happens, but the cell phone would have worked at 6:50 just as well as it did at 7:20
tell him to get there 6:30 from now on
So you both had cell phones, and neither one chose to use them until 7:20am?
If I knew I was going to be late at 6:50am, I'm on the phone. If I see that a person that I'm waiting on to travel to a project is late at 7:05am, I'm on the phone.
Sounds like a breakdown of communication from the get-go.
You just won the contest in your mind that "this kid won't call... he'll be late..."
But what did you really win?
If the kid deserves a chance, give him a chance. Especially if he's a day to day sort of thing. Anybody willing to stick around to that sort of unreliable hours deserves a break. Make him understand that being on time is important in the business world.
That's just my 0.04'
Carl
I rolled over and knocked off my alarm, then promptly fell back asleep this very morning.
It happens about once about every 6 months or so.
When it happens I own up to it and make up the time elsewhere.
Every other day I'm in the office usually 5min before start and (beside the boss) I'm always the last to leave. With only 1 day it's really hard to tell his other qualities though.
Personally, I hate mornings, so I would give him the benefit of the doubt and see if this was the exception or the rule.
