Shop Staff

[Gary Birch]

Hi Jason
Until June this year I was all on my lonesome and couldn`t cope with the workload so decided an apprentice was the way to go as I daredn`t go with the extra overhead an experienced person would cost.

The first one was 17, was good on the design software, was getting there with the installation and had the makings of a good lad, that was until I caught him doing jobs I knew nothing about. He had to go!! and that was after just 11 weeks (inc 2 and half weeks holiday).

My new lad started at the beginning of September and is doing well too. The main problem I find is that with youth comes an attitude and the difficulty is finding someone that fits in with what you are trying to do and who can portray the same professional image as you.

Whichever way you decide to go I wish you all the best with it.

Cheers

Gary

[Philip Houston]

Hi Jason!

Me & the missus work together until I needed more help.
I contacted the local college to see if there was a sign course on for school leavers. There was so I then advertised for a trainee in the local paper. Day release for 18 months.
They paid him while I trained him.
I also gave him weekly cash to keep him interested.
By the end of the term he was worth employing fully.
Been with me 3 years now.
On minimum wage + £20 per week Plus extra £100 on top of that when we hit £2000 weekly target.
Works well for both of us.
Good luck!!
Employ slow – fire quick!!
Philip

[John Childs]

I’ve seen ’em come and I’ve seen ’em go, and there isn’t an easy answer. I know there are exceptions but, generally speaking…..

An experienced person can be immediately productive but, on the downside, they bring their bad habits with them. They’re never as good as they say they are at the interview, making it too easy to pay them more than they’re worth.

A youngster can have attitude problems (as can some older people) but you can help them get over that with a bit of coaxing and encouragement. The benefit is that you can train them exactly how you want them to be, so that from day one they are working to your standards and to your business methods.

My usual practice is to start someone on minimum wage, irrespective of age, and gradually increase their pay as they prove that they are worth it and their output increases. That way they get compensated properly for the work they turn out, and I don’t pay them more than they are worth.

There’s the other question, although I don’t know if we’re allowed to talk about it these days, and that is male or female? I always used to bear in mind the adage about employing females of child-bearing age, but over the last few years my attitude has changed. I find females more careful and conscientious, and better workers and I am now of the opinion that, despite potential maternity problems, they probably make better employees.

That’s me in trouble with the PC police then. 😀

[Shane Drew]

I have employed many staff in the past, and can’t really add more than has been said already.

Had young blokes that do their own stuff after hours and on weekends, see nothing wrong with using my gear and material, but I saw none of the money. They all got the sack as soon as it was discovered.

Had others that claimed they were better than they were, others that wanted more money or they’d walk, and usually did taking a % of my client base with them, others used my business to train them, then went out on their own. I have 5 opposition sign shops here, all my old employees. All know my pricing structure, client base etc.

Its a tough call Jason.

I agree with John though, of all my staff, the younger women were the ones that were generally worth keeping. Only problem we had to contend with sometimes was the testosterone of the young males on staff often caused havoc if the young woman was between boyfriends 😕

[Jason Xuereb]

Cheers guys,

A female would add a good touch to our business. Sometimes I think it would be good to have both sexes in the business. I know there are pros and cons in employing any employee.

In terms of employees being young I am 24 and my brother is 19 so we are pretty young as is. I don’t know if we’d have issues having someone older then us having to work under us. I know in my my previous jobs when I was supervising people who were older than me they felt they were owed that added responsibility due to their age or length of time they worked at the company.

I’m not too concerned about employees leaving with our client base. At the moment that’s solely built on relationships with mainly with my brother. That will become a concern when we need more customer relationship staff but for the time being this position will be more of an in-house position with minimal client interaction.

I know what you mean about maternity leave. I have a casual accounting job (yes I know I did study accounting) with a clothing manufacturer and they’d have three staff leave with babies and two more on the way within an 8 month period now. This is from a staff of 10 excluding me. Something is in the water over there.

Thanks again for all your feedback.