The Perfect Employee

As management personnel, I have had a lot of recent conversation about employees and finding and retaining employees.   It’s hard to explain to hires what they are getting into.  Being part of a precast plant and small business is a different entity.  You aren't putting part A into part B, you aren't on an assembly line, your job is different everyday and the work is tough.  I push my employees hard and I expect perfection.  But my definition of perfection is different than most.  I don’t expect everything to go flawless, every product to come out perfect.  How do you define “perfect”?  Perfect is about your relationship with your family, your God and your co-workers.  Being able to be true to your family, true to your religion, and true to your co-workers is perfect.  I always tell my guys family comes first, than Dalmaray.  But when you come to work I expect them to leave nothing unturned to end the day saying there was not one more thing I could have done to be better.  Now it’s easy to relate this motivational speech to sports, but how does it apply to business.  To me business is about succeeding not only for me, for my company, but for my employees as well. It’s about being the best and employing the best. When I wake up every morning, it’s a new game, a new Championship, a new Super Bowl and I’m going to win.  Why do I feel this way?  Simple I have a legacy to carry on, this is my company.  I have more on my shoulders than employees, but I wish everyone would see what I see and feel how I feel.  It’s hard to change mindset, but I wish every day would start with this speech, start with this motivation.  I want people to stay motivated; I want everyone to know that I do everything I do, not for me, not for the company, but for everyone at Dalmaray, for the guy next to you and I want employees to feel that way to.  That’s what the perfect employee is.  I realize it is hard for the guy making the low wage to feel that way, but I think that if everyone looked at a job with honesty in their eyes and say I will do the best job possible and make this happen then we as a company would be perfect.  Eventually good things will happen and times will be better, but for now if we do everything we can to make the day easier on each other with truth and love we will move forward in unison and be perfect. 

-- I will not stop fighting and turning over the stones

I Am Asking for Help

For those of you that read my blog and are part of a large company I need help.  We are a small company (less than 15 employees) and we have been struggling with taking the next step.  We have some in the company like myself who want to bigger and want to better.  Then we have those that are content with where we at right now, staying small and not growing, just remaining stagnant.  I will say that we have this problem up and down the organization.  Take for instance, we implement a new policy, there is an initial buzz and everything goes well.  Then as time goes by employees get lacking and we find that we have to remind and remind and remind.  Does anyone else feel this way sometime?  I think we suffer from that small shop attitude sickness.  I like to think that I really get along with everyone well, but maybe it’s me.  Maybe I should be more of a dictator and less of a friend.  Same the other direction we have higher positioning employees/directors who feel the changes we implement are unnecessary.  “Why do we need to improve?” is a common comment.  Again asking does anyone else have this problem?  Do I feel what we do taking the next step is premature? No.  Maybe it’s the staff.  Maybe we need to re-staff, or find that one member who can step up.  I don’t know.  This has caused me great frustration as of late as I feel we are on the brink of the next step.  I am very goal oriented and I feel that if I don’t have goals I really don’t have any other reason to work.  I have done my research, I know what we need to do, and it’s just a matter of keeping the wheels turning.  I don’t quit, I don’t walk away, I’m just curious if anyone else out there has dealt with this type of sickness and has any suggestions.  Anyone made that transition from a small shop to a larger shop or even industry leader.  Or maybe the better quesiton to ask when do you know you are ready for the transition?

Teamwork

On a production floor you have a lot of things going, a lot of things you have to look out for.  You have machines that can break down, forms that need constant attention, labor that needs to be well trained, and other outside interferences that can really mess up a day.  When all things click, it is really a sight to see.  When everything clicks and your production team is working like a clock, filling in the production holes it’s just awesome.  As a production manager it is really good to hear a production member say next I have to this task and then someone pipes in and says already done!  I love this.  That is when I know we are clicking.  When the production team members are working back and forth completing tasks for each other to get done more efficiently that is when we click.  When we click we are dangerous.  Things get done faster, get done better, and overall morale is through the roof. There is no arguing, quality doesn’t suffer, and costs go down.  Now when the wheels start falling off and some of the harmony fades, that is when problems arise.  Attitudes boil, morale goes down, and quality suffers.  What is my point? Running a production floor is like being on a sports team.  You have coaches/managers, teammates/production members, and equipment.  If one of those three lacks, your team hurts and you don’t click.  Personally, every time I reference my guys they are not employees or workers, they are team members. That word team is a powerful word.  Makes you feel like a part of something.  So whether you are a team member or a coach do your best to operate in a team.  Go that extra mile and think before you act.  Treat others like team mates not co-workers.  Coaches train your team members and continue to let them practice, that is the only way they will get better.  And maintain your equipment so it can work for you.  That is the only way everyone benefits. 

The Man Next To You

Every year about this time I start to get ansy for the next construction season.  Now is about the time the phone starts ringing, bigger contracts are getting secure, and things start moving again.  The one thing I take for granted from time to time is the guys that work with me.  Everybody from the the delivery team, to the production team, to the mainenance crew they do a fantastic job and sometimes that get's overlooked.  This is not a blog to suck up to my guys.  The purpose of this blog is to direct the attention of those that work in a team environment and take for granted the man next to you.  I enjoy everyday I come into work and talk to everyone about everything.  It's nice to hear when someone has a baby on the way, or acheieved something, or even spent the weekend on the couch doing nothing.  I don't care, I enjoy hearing stories.  If you got a story I want to hear it and you know, I think more managers, bosses, owners should be that way too.  I have been on both sides of the coin and still to this day I enjoy someone asking me "hey what did you do last night" or "how was your weekend."  It really makes you feel good.  I have seen too many days where you get lost in big projects and it's like Ok get to work, work, work, work, and go home.  You get lost and derail, forget the man working next to you is are real human being and maybe he had a bad night, maybe he wants to talk, but you get lost and ignore him.  Take the time out of every day to just talk to everyone, it makes a difference.  So in all this is not a suck up, even though my guys rock ;), I just think with the upcoming construction season we can all use a lesson in being human.  Take the time to talk to the man next to you, you may learn something, but you may just make the day of the man you're talking to.  I wish you all luck this season! Stay safe, stay strong!