Moving from a one man to a 2 man shop?

[CJC5151]

I have recently decided to get some help in the shop because of the ammount of work i have.  My question is any of you guys done this before.  Since ive been doing this by myself for a few years now i have a process i go through.  Im having a hard time hitting that grove with anothers person in the shop.  I guess im having a hard time allowing myself to delegate work...anybody else go through this and what did you come up with

 

 

[dwacker]

Having an employee changes the game. You need to understand productivity. If your employee is not productive he is a loss. That starts with you, if your not producing 100% then you need to make changes before ever thinking about employees. First your shop has to be equipped for you to produce alone at 100%. If you could be more productive by buying a particular machine rather than putting out site insurance, L&I insurance payroll taxes and payroll your better off with the machine as an asset. For example if your doing cabinets and find you need a guy to help with sheet goods then you are better off buying a affordable panel saw. If your using router tables instead of shapers then your costing yourself time and money.

Dont let employees become a loss. They are there to make you money.

[Mike Frank]

it takes time to find a groove with a new guy

 

if you dont feel the groove with the guy pretty quickly and he cant seem to think on his own or you have to keep telling him what to do all the time and he cant find what to do all the time it time for him to find other work

[Tpt life]

If you are a one man shop, I would not recommend hiring an untrained helper. Don/PB has the concept nailed. Only big shops have the buffer to absorb the loss that happens during the training phase. If you cannot handle the loss then you cannot afford to hold anyone's hand. The first time the employee looks at you for direction for anything less than a complicated task then you have to let them go. If you need to tell them how to do the job (this includes safety) then they are losing you money. The best employee in this shop would be one who only comes to you for QC once the assigned tasks are completed. This QC helps you align your standards focused on excellence.

The one exception is the young employee with burning passion (hard to measure.) This employee will self improve at a fast rate and/or donate resource to make a project right (hard to find.) This employee will limit the loss and move quickly to making profit.

I saw these issues in my own journey. By my third year in building, I recognized the loss I caused in training. By the fifth year I had fixed this and began to increase my crew's profit rather than just pulling my weight. With all that experience I would still slow a small shop down until a rhythm could be found. I think based on all of this that I'd suggest finding someone to sub your batch operations out to. Such a person would employ themselves and carry their own liability but could save you time as you need them. You could pay for higher quality work without needing to maintain a payroll.

[AceHoleInOne]

Hiring a helper...you get what you pay for...simply put! If you want an equal in the shop who is just like you, he will be running his own business. Delegating is hard to do, fear of loosing control, spending more time fixing what the helper has messed up????????????

You may be one of those guys who has to work alone, they are out there you know.    So it takes you longer to get the work out, is that such a bad problem?

 

 

 

-Ace-

[CJC5151]

C shaffer hit it on the head and I'm starting to see it these past few months...I have a young guy helping out who has a great work ethic and seems to have the desire to learn...we have started slow, literally he was stacking wood and pushing a broom, but the kid is here every day and not just watching for the clock to strike 4pm...it was tough at first but so far he.has.progressed to sanding. And he does a good job, I don't have to go over what he does...and let's face it we would all like to have a guy come in and sand for us...lol. I think this one is gonna work out. thanks for all your imput

[Spencer_J]

That is great to hear! I have learned many things over the last two years of having helpers and employees. I try to remember all of the people i have worked for and how it was working for them. Obviously, if the employee is slowing your operation down to the point of no return then its not a good fit, however going slow is pretty key for building that groove we all dream of. I think its important to praise them for good work. I also think that its important to be critical and establish high standards. I keep my praise and criticism until the end of the day so that he can have perspective at the end of the day. Sometimes being in the thick of it and stopping to make a big point can disrupt the flow and throw the day off. Dont forget to challenge them! I always want my employee to be trying new things to keep our work exciting and make him feel like he is contributing in a major way. Building a team is such a wonderful thing when it comes to making things with our hands.