One of you said I must be a an insufferable bastard to work for, and I considered the possibility, and made the decision to hire my neighbor to hire employees and act as manager to the prospective employees. I allowed my neighbor to handle the training of our first candidate since the change. I managed to scare off one good candidate by not being enough of a people-person. So, it is true, I am an asshole as a trainer. As a boss, I'm actually too nice. My manager has to prevent me from paying too much too soon. I fail to understand the concepts he imparts to me concerning the employer/employee dynamic. For example, some employees can get a big head if you reward them too early and then expect similar gains in perpetuity. These employees will feel as if they are cheated if their raises diminish in size as they approach the limit you can pay them. I've been self employed so long that I don't remember what it's like to have to wish I could make more per hour. I just work faster at the projects or charge more when bidding so I don't have to change my pace. I've lost work by bidding too high, but I've also gotten work I didn't want to do even though I bid it super high. So I was out of touch with how it feels to be an employee and therefore, it was time to try a new approach.
My Neighbor thought of another candidate and in 15 minutes he had arranged for me to pick him up at 8:30 this morning. We devised a plan to have me pick him up and then my neighbor would arrive shortly after on the project to train him. His plan worked flawlessly. He told me to tell him at lunch break (Only if he was doing well,of course) that I was going to call my neighbor and see about getting him a raise since he had "proven himself", which was the promise my neighbor had told him as far as pay. To be honest, the kid sanded floors on his first day ever at a pace comparable with someone who had been doing it for 2 years. And I never actually saw him working, so he must be flying with sander. Every time I checked on him he was taking a breather, which is within the rules of the job. You can stop to rest all you want as long as what you accomplish meets the needs. (Like I said, I actually really good to work for, but I demand your concern for the project, and some people just want a buck).
I already want to pay him 20/hr so he wants to keep working for me, but my neighbor insists I have to roll out raises slowly to maintain the proper balance. I understand what he's saying yet I fail to understand it personally. If the kids works out, and it looks like it will, I'm going keep track of the extra amount I wanna pay him and slip it to him anyway in cash. Anyone who works as hard as this kid did today needs to get their fair amount.
I love how my neighbor was correct and what I love about it on the psychological level, but I'd rather pay the kid by piecework so he could realize he was doing about $50/hr worth of quality work on day one.
He said it was his daughter's birthday tomorrow and he wanted to work so he had some money to get her a present... some doll house and he mentioned it was $250 or something that it cost. Well, if he busts ass tomorrow again, which I know he will, I'm going to give him a pretty good bonus that will help him make his daughters dream come true. I'm going to give him an extra 100 dollar bill after I pay him tomorrow and tell him it's a extra bonus from the company. LOL
My Neighbor thought of another candidate and in 15 minutes he had arranged for me to pick him up at 8:30 this morning. We devised a plan to have me pick him up and then my neighbor would arrive shortly after on the project to train him. His plan worked flawlessly. He told me to tell him at lunch break (Only if he was doing well,of course) that I was going to call my neighbor and see about getting him a raise since he had "proven himself", which was the promise my neighbor had told him as far as pay. To be honest, the kid sanded floors on his first day ever at a pace comparable with someone who had been doing it for 2 years. And I never actually saw him working, so he must be flying with sander. Every time I checked on him he was taking a breather, which is within the rules of the job. You can stop to rest all you want as long as what you accomplish meets the needs. (Like I said, I actually really good to work for, but I demand your concern for the project, and some people just want a buck).
I already want to pay him 20/hr so he wants to keep working for me, but my neighbor insists I have to roll out raises slowly to maintain the proper balance. I understand what he's saying yet I fail to understand it personally. If the kids works out, and it looks like it will, I'm going keep track of the extra amount I wanna pay him and slip it to him anyway in cash. Anyone who works as hard as this kid did today needs to get their fair amount.
I love how my neighbor was correct and what I love about it on the psychological level, but I'd rather pay the kid by piecework so he could realize he was doing about $50/hr worth of quality work on day one.
He said it was his daughter's birthday tomorrow and he wanted to work so he had some money to get her a present... some doll house and he mentioned it was $250 or something that it cost. Well, if he busts ass tomorrow again, which I know he will, I'm going to give him a pretty good bonus that will help him make his daughters dream come true. I'm going to give him an extra 100 dollar bill after I pay him tomorrow and tell him it's a extra bonus from the company. LOL
