Employee management/ problems/ solutions

[SouthSoundTree]

Hey all, just thought this would make a good consolidated discussion, allowing August's Driver's License thread to be uncluttered. One rant thread to blow off steam, another thread in a slightly different vein.

Sena's help immensely. I have such a hard time with getting information back, Call and Respond.

Being a two man and Ogre crew, mostly, Erik has a lot to do. I figure that the best way for us to stay coordinated is to communicate.

I've found so many times that he doesn't understand what I want because of X, Y, and Z.

Sometimes I think I should scare him. Like if he comes under the tree (death zone) without Call and Response, that I should start yelling on the Senas to RUNNNNN, except that it could get him hurt by falling or whatever.

Its a tough gig being a groundie. I did it for another company for about 3 months before knowing I could make more money and be safer and learn more by freelancing and getting my own thing going. But the stress of business ownership...

I've been on Erik for a LONG time to take the ISA CA exam on my dime, and I'll pay him more. No real interest. He's been doing trees for 10 years, with a philosophy degree.

So often things are as good as I can expect from a groundie, and other times he does exactly the opposite of what I say (yes basically that means doing it as difficultly as possible). I know that I'm more likely to get what I want (job task done, at the moment) by being a tyrant and 'yelling' at him to Respond with exactly what I need, and getting him to repeat it back like a child. Not a good system.

For example, dumped a maple in an open field, with a drainage ditch along the road bed. "Cut the 4" and smaller stuff off for chipping and leave the trunk as big as possible." I get an "okay" for a response, then watch him set up for a 6" trunk cut. He thought that it would the same amount of work to cut it up, meaning I'd have to deal with ditch. He gets stuck in the, "well, we usually do it this way, don't think too much" approach.

I ask him what is going on. He says he was wrong in planning to cut that lead off. Ya no Sh0t. We had just gone over it twice.

If he can't be situationally aware enough to do those things, he's surely not going to run the Ogre.

I'll be getting Wraptor asap, along with truck ramps to load the Ogre into my chip truck, making me a one man, one rig, chipper, dump truck, Ogre hauler.

 

[Tucker943]

Start chucking shit at him if he makes a habit of running under the tree uninvited. Pine cone, piece of food, chapstick, etc. He will catch on without being injured.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

ya.

The "coming under", "yes, come under" is better than a lot of times, like go to the truck and get x, y, z gear from the truck (from the normal space where it is always meant to be stored) and a water bottle. All I want to hear is "x, y, z, and water bottle". Helps him to remember all 4, let's me know that my 5 steps ahead planning is not going to be interupted by another trip to the truck to dig out Z.

Standing in spurs in the sun is not a time I want to sit and do nothing for a few minutes when I'd really like to down on the ground sooner, eating and drinking, rather than hauling even more food/ drink up in the tree, further delaying getting down, and adding more work (I guess I need to find a bag to send up more food, let me go look, now how am I going to attach this to the rope? Oh the F#$%ing clip in loop on the bottle, huh, instead of a clove hitch, which is common if there is no clip in loop?). I eat and drink in the tree all the time, but not for leisure.

The sooner I get down on the ground, the sooner I can help on the ground.

 

[Mick!]

I'm lazy and mean but I'd always have another guy with me, for safety and clear up and someone to talk to.
Even when grinding.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

ya.

Standing in spurs in the sun is not a time I want to sit and do nothing for a few minutes when I'd really like to down on the ground sooner, eating and drinking, rather than hauling even more food/ drink up in the tree, further delaying getting down, and adding more work (I guess I need to find a bag to send up more food, let me go look, now how am I going to attach this to the rope? Oh the F#$%ing clip in loop on the bottle, huh, instead of a clove hitch, which is common if there is no clip in loop?). I eat and drink in the tree all the time, but not for leisure.

The sooner I get down on the ground, the sooner I can help on the ground.

This will change with a Wraptor deployment.
Clear and all clear signals.
I feel your frustration though brother.
This is actually easier for me with three of us. The rope person really does help with being a safety person. There are other frustrations though. Lack of attention to detail is mostly what though. Being the leader of the crew, we are the ones that pay attention to detail. The other just try to follow our lead and get frustrated that they can't meet out level of expectation.
I try and practice a lot of patience with people. There are times I want to huck something in compliance to gravities wishes for down ward momentum just to get the point across. Instead I take a water break, turn off the mic... sigh deeply and try to figure out a better plan of action.
Sometimes I will "just cut smaller", just because it is not flowing right. Same rule applies to hoping people will think for themselves. I just cut smaller the expectations.
Katy almost got beaned by a 5/8ths steel block the other day. Been telling her, stay out of the death zone when I call loose equipment as well. Just missed her. I doubt she will forget that for a while. She had her helmet on. But it still could seriously fug a shoulder. Now maybe she'll stay clear of being under a hanging pole saw.
So much can go wrong in this game.
So many just don't get it.
All we can do as leaders is find a way to work around.
Even if it means coming out of the tree and maybe coming back the next day,
Sometimes the wallet speaks clearer than my voice.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

Good thoughts.

So often I could do things more efficiently, with a lot less work if I could just say, set up the Simple 3:1 Portawrap for speedlining. Groundie will drag less, maybe stand in shade running the POW. God how many times do I have to be the one to arrange shade (should we do that tree next? the removal in sun that will be in the shade in 3 hours)?

Cutting smaller due to poor technical skills on the ground crew sucks, but is life.

I train on the clock, too. Some days I feel like saying to go tie a running bowline 200 times in a row, here's your tally sheet. Come back when you are done. I never want to hear that it is going to take 60-90 seconds to tie a 5 second knot.

 

[jefflovstrom@sb]

Sounds frustrating, you seem to handle it well.