ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Business Related Discussion Employees

Do you prefer hiring employees with a lot of experience, or without so you can train them easier? It seems like experience would be a big plus unless they had their own way of doing things and didn't want to change.

Dave

It depends on what work you have and how fast it needs to be done.

The problem with little exp people is they can take 2-3 times as long, need to be watched, the quality of work tends to be lower, and a better chance of dumb mistakes.

An example:
A $25 an hour guy may pipe somthing in 3 hrs. Cost=$75 (not even figuring taxes & etc.)
A $12 hour guy may pipe the same in 6 hrs. Cost=$72 Some bends may look bad, box hight off a bit, too many pipes in a box, 2x4's cracked from drilling, drill bit dead from nails, etc.

I can see how some Co. on a thin proffit margin can make it work. To me it seems like a bit more $$ payrole per job will give a higher quality.

Good things about an apprentice:
They can do manual labor just as fast or faster than a journeyman.
Apperntaces tend to be yonger and have more engery.
Some journeymen may hate a job with manual labor or unplesent working conditions (attics etc..).
They have more of a open mind on how things can or should be done.

The problem with some experianced guys are they can be set in their ways. Maybe they don't always follow code and just say it's allways been done like that. Or they may not want to go the extra steps to do a good job when the min. is their standared.

Didn't you say you don't network wires? Something like that could drive some JW crazy. They may disagree more a not be happy with the job over dumb things like that. An apprentace just tell em that's how your Co. does things and they are fine.

I would also guess taht apprentaces are a bigger risk of injury. But I think they would be less likely to milk an injury if it happened.

Tom

Tom,
You're absolutely right about the pros and cons of who to hire. Unfortunately, we have had nothing but horror stories with the "Journeyman" who could "do it all". I finally have gotten to the point where I can hire someone with little or no experience and groom him the way I want him. I recently hired a guy who was wiring new homes for about a year and he is turning out to be a great asset. He has some abilities, willing to learn, energetic, knows how to push to make time and now he is becoming very conciensious about his work. This is the third person with little or no experience and they are the ones I kept. Unfortunately, the mechanics I landed were worthless.

I appreciate sharing your experience on this.

Thanks,
Dave