What does it take to find a decent worker?

[GregMember]

white rocket wrote:

sounds like you may be a good boss but it did not sound like it in your first post bitching about australians and there rights some of us may be a bit touchy on this subject and over it .its the internet and you just take things on face value.

Good stuff everyone

[alanMember]

[AlexMember]

Fark I had to watch that a few times. And here we are too chicken to ride our bikes up a ramp…

[Dave WigginMember]

white rocket wrote:

sounds like you may be a good boss but it did not sound like it in your first post bitching about australians and there rights some of us may be a bit touchy on this subject and over it .its the internet and you just take things on face value.

No Worries Mate.

The only Australians I’ll be bitching about are the Socceroos at the World Cup. Unless they win it of course.

Wigster

[scott bockingMember]

To suggest that there are no employable Australians and that you have to import workers is hard to believe. If the type of worker you are looking for is someone who will say “yes sir, no sir” then this may be the case. Just look at what happens in the US with Mexican labour. Over the last few generations Australians have taught their kids that they have choice and should do something that they love. Go back three or four generations and the message was “be thankful for any work you can get”. If the middle aged employer has the expectation that a young employee is going to have the same mental approach to their job that did did as kid, then they will be sadly disappointed, because we do not live in that world anymore. It is not the kids fault as it is us who taught them to expect the best. When the day gets long or the work seems tough then they can fold.
Jacko summed it up well with his experience. He made his apprentice part of his business and they work for a common goal. I currently employ a 65, 32, 19 and 15 year old and the only thing they seem to have in common is the fact they want work best when given responsibility. I sit right in the middle of this age gap and it is very interesting to watch the dynamic. The one consistent thing I am noticing is that we all work better when the focus is us working for the business and not working for me. I go out and crush cardboard while they sign for a delivery or I clean the dunny while they serve a customer. All of a sudden they are not working for me but working with me and the whole vibe changes. It becomes their choice to get involved in the business and this is what we have taught them to do.
Our kids have more skills than we had at their age and more potential to be great. We have also unfortunately set them up for disappointment should they fall short of the ideal that we have preached to them. It is our responsibility to include them and nurture them rather than to expect and be critical.

STM

[GregMember]

Lots of good things here from everyone. Respect is a two way street STM you have that happening which makes for a great work place good on you for managing that. I judge at the Australian world skill
Olympics every second year (this year Perth is the host city). The young people that display their trades there is amazing and worth seeing. It is great to see, maybe I sometimes let other younger ones affect my judgement but it is hard when you put much into them and watch them disrespect the chance they have disappear and listen how it isnt their fault!
Maybe it’s a big smoke city problem :unsure:

TB

[Eric SmithMember]

Hi guys, seems I have touched a nerve and opened a can of worms. Just to explain my problem with my ex-employee, he was 18, did work experience with me and did genuinely try his best. BUT: he was constantly forgetting instructions, leaving tools behind, damaged equipment and didn’t have the strength, coordination or fitness for a full day of fieldwork. I hoped his computer skills would mean I could use him for CAD drafting, but his problem with taking instructions meant it was quicker if I had someone else do it, or do it myself.

In this case, I think the problem was directly related to this individual’s mental acuity – or lack of it! There is just no way to make someone perform above their limit. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to train someone who is a slow learner. I have suggested to this kid that he try the armed forces, and I believe the discipline will be what he needs.

I have had two other young blokes in the past who both ended up making a go of it and one went right through university, the other is in his third year of uni. Both are scholarship winners.

The ratio of good young (smart, fit & practical) kids to the poor performers is not great.

[Dan BatemanMember]

A good thread and made for an interesting read.

I’ll leave you to ponder the youth of today with this simple quote

You can’t teach stupid !

[scott bockingMember]

wazzup wrote:

A good thread and made for an interesting read.

I’ll leave you to ponder the youth of today with this simple quote

You can’t teach stupid !

Yeah, next time you need help with your computer or your smart phone ask your Grandad because those kids are dumb :laugh:

STM

[Matt BakerMember]

You were all young once too. Try and remember how “hard” you worked when you were young and had no debt, responsibilities, worries and were just concerned with having fun.

Shit, I’m 33 let alone 18 and still sometimes show up to work hungover/tired prepared to put in as little effort as possible just to get the job done Today is a perfect example, lucky I knock off in an hour :laugh:

[alanMember]

:woohoo: :silly: :laugh: well said stm my eldest bloke is a wiz on the computer and stuffing with mine now from his bedroom :blink: only way i can beet him is turn the router of

[Grant BlackerMember]

singletrackmind wrote:

wazzup wrote:

A good thread and made for an interesting read.

I’ll leave you to ponder the youth of today with this simple quote

You can’t teach stupid !

Yeah, next time you need help with your computer or your smart phone ask your Grandad because those kids are dumb :laugh:

STM

But STM computers and smart phones have a lot to do with some of the issues mentioned in this thread.

[alanMember]

LC4skin wrote:

You were all young once too. Try and remember how “hard” you worked when you were young and had no debt, responsibilities, worries and were just concerned with having fun.

Shit, I’m 33 let alone 18 and still sometimes show up to work hungover/tired prepared to put in as little effort as possible just to get the job done Today is a perfect example, lucky I knock off in an hour :laugh:

thats the go :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

[AndrewMember]

Got a young bloke who comes into work on weekends and washes 4 sets of bdouble trailers, does a bang up job think he’s 15..youth of today arent all bad,mabey old matey was slacking off so you’d sack him eks..gotta wait 6weeks for benefits if he quits…

[EvanMember]

Burnsy wrote:

Got a young bloke who comes into work on weekends and washes 4 sets of bdouble trailers, does a bang up job think he’s 15..youth of today arent all bad,mabey old matey was slacking off so you’d sack him eks..gotta wait 6weeks for benefits if he quits…

That will be 6 months soon that should make them keen……or desperate

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