Originally posted by treeman82
I was working for a "friend" today and was thinking about different employers I have worked for over the years. Most of those people treated me / other employees like garbage. How would you guys characterize the experience your employees have during the time they work for you (on a general basis)?
Two out of three companies I have worked for treated their employees like garbage though in different ways, and the third was great except they were going broke and closed the door before the bank did.
A few ways to really impress your employees(from my personal experience):
Be late with , or bounce, paycheques, and offer not a word of apology or explantion;
Pay them peanuts, and then do not understand why they have no loyalty, and leave at the first opportunity for more $$$$$,
Treat them generally like idiots, and then be surprised when they walk away (fortunately I was only about an hour walk from home and not fifteen miles out like mentioned above),
Use out of date techniques (eg spike everything, do not believe in mulching, fertilizer etc) and then wonder why you are not perceived as being a professional;
Disregard safety regulations. common sence regarding "housekeeping", insist they wear safety gear when you yourself do not (ever), provide no safety intro for new employees at all, and again wonder why you are not perceived as a pro;
Treat your customers like dirt, do not do that extra effort to leave them happy, and wonder why your employees are disgusted with your p*ss poor attitide about life in general, which seems to revolve around making as much money as possible with the least amount of quality service;
Have a whole pile of equipment, most of it broken, worn out or repossessed by a mechanic's lien. Make no effort on your own part to maintain it at all.
Do not recognize or utilize the potential or past experience of your employees, be it directly or indirectly related to tree service. Offer no opportunity for education or growth;
Do not supervise your employees at work....I am not talking about being there all the time in a larger operation, but it is amazing what a short visit a couple of times a week to a job site can accomplish, in terms of moral, equipment problems, problems with the job at hand etc. When I was in the Army these were called Platoon Commanders visits, and it gave me an opportunity to see what my men (and women) were up to. It also give the appearance (perhaps erroneously) that you actually give a sh*t about what is going on in your company. It helps to visit on a really cold or miserable day, and perhaps consider bring some coffee along! Maybe actually get your hands dirty helping with a task that needs a little extra "grunt".
My two cents worth.
