On Oct 12, 10:29*pm, "Steve B" wrote:
I'm the wrong guy to ask. *I was supervisor on an offshore oil drilling rig
for a few years. *Laborers are a group that you have to establish absolute
dominance over from the start, or you will have problems from there out. *If
you do establish dominance, you can get a remarkable degree of production
out of them.

Handymen are another matter. *Just a laborer with slightly more skills.
Takes a dominant hand from the start, and no assuming, hyphenation not
needed. *Micromanagement of handymen and laborers is about the only group it
is productive for.

Steve

I have found micromanaging to never be the solution.

Setting expectations is.

I make it clear from the start...no alcohol, no drugs, on time and if
you make a commitment you damn well better keep it.

Any deviation from that and you are history.

Many times what appears to be inept work is the result of management
not doing their job.

When you hire anyone and give them no guidance of what you expect, one
should not be surprised to get less than what you expected in return.

In machining, one expects to work from a blueprint that has undergone
hours of thought, dimensions, tolerances, material selection,
etc...and you get what you expect.

In many other disciplines, the employee is expected to read the mind
of management and to pull off a miracle.

TMT