Masonry Magazine June 1998 Page. 11
I QUIT
If a company owner hires bodies on the job, he will offer employment to those who do not even come close to meeting the employment standards of the company, if any have been identified. He will explain in his defense, "Why, just yesterday, the building owner and architect were on the job grumbling about why production is so slow and why are there so few masons on the job." The job is so understaffed that the foremen and crew have the morale of a bottom dweller fish because of the stress of underemployment and the turnover of employees.
The job foreman would never admit this (he's a great company guy) but he is really tired of not knowing who is going to show up on his job site. The job is always behind and he has to spend valuable time acclimating every new employee to the site. Additionally, more often than not he has no knowledge of the new employees' skills, experience and abilities.
The workers, tired of the revolving door of new employees, could care less about integrating a new guy into the company. They know it is likely he will not come back after the lunch break. They also know the odds of his returning the next day. They do not understand how a successful company is unable to hire people who want to work. They resent having to put up with the incompetence that directly affects their work place. The apprentices are still serving as labor because there is not enough labor to allow them training time "on the wall." They believe their desire to learn masonry is given no credibility by the company who cannot or will not allow them what is necessary to learn the trade. The journeymen have slowed production levels to almost one-half of their capabilities because they know they can. They know they can not be replaced. Throw into this mix the idea of forcing a new employee to pass the "can he handle the mud test", blatant disregard for the safety training of new employees, and the stereotypical treatment of people in construction and you have created a place where most of the people you hire will not work.
What the preceding has just described is the culture of a company. Those who attended any of the workshops and seminars hosted by Al Roach at Masonry Expo are familiar with this term. A company's culture is how a company operates, the kind of people it employs and the conditions provided for its employees to earn a living.
Consider the following. An analysis of one company's turnover problem indicated that of the 69 new hires in 1997, 30% worked less than 30 days and by the end of 180 days all but eight (8) had quit. That figure equates to 90% of new hires leaving within six (6) months. Twenty-three percent (23%) of those hired quit at the 180 day mark, just days shy of eligibility for participation in the total benefit package. The question that must be answered before more time and money is thrown at the issue of recruitment is "Why are these people leaving the industry?"
Nationally, the statistics of available manpower for all industries is bleak
Nationally, the statistics of available manpower for all industries is bleak. Masonry construction being what it is, we must find a way to curb the exodus from the industry or the industry will have to be drastically altered to survive.
Before we proceed to provide reasonable solutions to the problem as identified, let us recap what we have discussed. First, the numbers indicate there is a workforce available to this industry. Secondly, a lot of people, for whatever reason and under diverse circumstances are being hired to work. Thirdly, if we can assume that most companies are managed equally, we can also accept the idea a minimum of 90% of the people we hire today will terminate their employment prior to the 180-day marker.
Changing the culture of an organization requires that the thinking of the ownership/top management change it's thinking. Just as the behaviors of an unruly child are assigned to the parents and their parenting, a company experiencing extraordinary turnover must accept responsibility for its ineffective personnel policies. If your hiring is perceived by your employees as indiscriminate, your people will begin to believe you are hiring a body count, not employees. Reconsideration of the entire employment issue would be prudent since the labor market is different from anything experienced to date. This is difficult to do since in the past, masonry contractors have been very successful in doing business as it has always been done. There must be a different
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