problems with employee Cancel The title field is required!

1. Jennings Dustin T

   
   2/19/2013 10:02 AM

   I have an employee who shows up late consistently and never calls to let me know. He is 20 yrs older than myself and has a very hard time taking orders from someone as young as myself. He has no respect for me, hard-headed and stubborn and never listens to any of my instructions and refers to me as "college boy". When I confront him about some of his downfalls he goes into a raging fit and is impossible to argue with. The worst part about it is he claims he always "has my back" when the owner comes around and makes sure he tells the owner how good of a job I am doing. Frankly, I don't need him to inform the owner of my work ethic, hopefully he can see that for himself. The point is, my employee thinks he is helping me out when in reality he causes me more stress. I do not have a submissive personality and am not one to let people walk all over me, but this one is proving to be difficult. Firing him is not an option because I do not have the authority to do so. I've talked to the owner about the whole situation and he claims that he will talk to the employee about it. Nothing is working. He continues to get worse. Sorry for venting, but I need some suggestions on how to deal with this issue. any advice?

   
   
   
   
2. Timothy Walker

   

   0 posts
   
   2/19/2013 10:02 AM

   If you can't fire him get him to quit by giving him lousy jobs and not scheduling him to work...you can't have this guy around your shop...

   
   
   
   
3. Sean Hoolehan

   

   0 posts
   
   2/19/2013 11:02 AM

   Dustin,
   
   Almost 30 years ago I had the same sort of employee, and similar circumstances (I did not have the authority to fire him). I assigned him relevant work, and did my best to ignore him the rest of the day. Eventually he just went away. He did not want to be there no more than I wanted him there and I just let him make up his own mind. I never let him know how much his attitude, caustic language, work ethic bothered me (this was not easy for me). By giving him relevant work he could not hide so his problems surfaced. It was either quit or be exposed. Good Luck!
   
   Sean

   
   
   
   
4. Jennings Dustin T

   
   2/19/2013 2:02 PM

   Sean Hoolehan, CGCS said: Dustin,
   
   Almost 30 years ago I had the same sort of employee, and similar circumstances (I did not have the authority to fire him). I assigned him relevant work, and did my best to ignore him the rest of the day. Eventually he just went away. He did not want to be there no more than I wanted him there and I just let him make up his own mind. I never let him know how much his attitude, caustic language, work ethic bothered me (this was not easy for me). By giving him relevant work he could not hide so his problems surfaced. It was either quit or be exposed. Good Luck!
   
   Sean

   
   
   I wish that he didn't want to be here, but he does. According to him he loves his job. He thrives on making me upset and claims that he "thinks its funny". Just today, he never came back from lunch and didn't call to say where he was. Often he doesn't come in when it's raining because he assumes we aren't working. This kind of employee would be fired immediately if he worked anywhere else. I did not hire him, then owner did because he is a friend of his family. It's sad to say but I think I am stuck with him. I need to find a way to gain more control over him and get him to start treating me with more respect. His problem with me is he cannot stand that I have a college education and have earned an authoritative position as a 26 yr old (he thinks I don't know anything about what I'm doing). I do my best to hide how bothered I am but as the little things pile up it makes it more and more difficult.

   
   
   
   
5. Gary Carls

   

   19 posts
   
   2/19/2013 2:02 PM

   Dustin,
   
   Document everything he does to show how disruptive he is to the entire operation. He needs to follow the same rules all the other employees are subject to or you could open yourself up to all kinds of problems if one of the other employees were to complain. Just the short bits you have mentioned here would seem to indicate that he has no respect for the rules and will be bad for the morale of the entire crew. How can you possibly schedule your staff if he just comes and goes as he pleases? The sooner you take some sort of action the better it will be for all. I can't believe any owner would be supportive of his behavior as you have outlined it above and I would think that he would actually expect you make him aware of and take action correct the problem before it causes a much bigger issue with everyone.
   
   Good luck.

   
   Gary K. Carls, CGCS, President - Oakland Turfgrass Education Initiative
   
   
6. Sean Hoolehan

   

   0 posts
   
   2/19/2013 3:02 PM

   Dustin,
   
   Does he just show up and do what ever he wants? It sounds like your are loosing sleep over a situation you have no control over, and you are giving him more control by letting it get under your skin. There is very little room for advice here. Document the behavior and your actions/conversations with the employee, schedule a sit down meeting with your owner to talk about it, not a side bar conversation when he is golfing or visiting. You need to decide how far you want to take this, it could cost you your job. You are young and trust me during your career you will have even greater personnel challenges than the bosses friend on your crew. Ask anyone who has had the bosses kid on their crew.

   
   
   
   
7. Timothy Walker

   

   0 posts
   
   2/19/2013 4:02 PM

   The hard part of working for single owners is this particular situation is far too common. Documentation does not necessarily get the job done. If its a friend of the owner - this person is there for the Long haul. Been Down this road before. The problem is the owner doesn't see this person in the disruptive position and you're young. The owner may tell you be will talk to him but chances are it never happens.
   
   I had a pt mechanic who was a friend of the owner and would no show over and over with an occasional excuse. Now as a side note this man was self employed as an equipment and cart repair tech. Things steadily got worse with absenteeism and nothing ever changed.
   
   All you can do is keep telling your owner and documenting the issues.
   
   Good luck!

   
   
   
   
8. Keith Pegg

   

   0 posts
   
   2/19/2013 5:02 PM

   Dustin T Jennings said: I have an employee who shows up late consistently and never calls to let me know. He is 20 yrs older than myself and has a very hard time taking orders from someone as young as myself. He has no respect for me, hard-headed and stubborn and never listens to any of my instructions and refers to me as "college boy". When I confront him about some of his downfalls he goes into a raging fit and is impossible to argue with. The worst part about it is he claims he always "has my back" when the owner comes around and makes sure he tells the owner how good of a job I am doing. Frankly, I don't need him to inform the owner of my work ethic, hopefully he can see that for himself. The point is, my employee thinks he is helping me out when in reality he causes me more stress. I do not have a submissive personality and am not one to let people walk all over me, but this one is proving to be difficult. Firing him is not an option because I do not have the authority to do so. I've talked to the owner about the whole situation and he claims that he will talk to the employee about it. Nothing is working. He continues to get worse. Sorry for venting, but I need some suggestions on how to deal with this issue. any advice?

   
   
   Get a time clock for all, and then you have records on his work habits. Then put him on a job (rough mowing) or other that keeps him busy and out of sight.
   After 40 years I have had a few of these myself and in the end he or you will be gone. Make it him.
   
   Keith
   Japan

   
   
   
   
9. Paul Carter

   

   0 posts
   
   2/19/2013 5:02 PM

   Hit him where it hurts...in his wallet. If he comes in late or does not return from lunch or breaks then he does not get paid and without prior written, signed permission from you or your assistant (if that is an acceptable option) then he does not get paid. Create a "Time off request sheet" which has to be filled out and presented to you for your approval 24 hours before the time to be taken off. Without this form then time off is not approved and therefore the employee does not get paid. Most important is to keep it the same for ALL employees so you do not wind up in hot water.
   
   Most of all, do not let the "inmates run the prison". Other employees are watching how this employee treats you and disrespects you and is not an acceptable situation. Document everything and then the next time the owner is around, take the employee and your evidence and sit down with both of them and discuss the situation. When the owner realizes how much of his money is being wasted on this employee, in both salary and your time, hopefully he will come to your defense and straighten his family friend out.
   
   Best of Luck,
   
   Paul L. Carter, CGCS

   
   
   
   
10. David Brandenburg

    

    3 posts
    
    2/19/2013 7:02 PM

    I have learned life is to short you need to get rid of this guy. Have you tried talking to the owner? Family friend or not this guy is not playing by the rules and is a cancer on your staff while he undermines your work with the rest of the staff.
    
    If the owner is not fully convinced ask to let the employee know he has one more chance. Tardiness and no-shows are horrible for maintenance operations.
    
    As a piece of advice the hours before I fire someone are the worst of my life. The hours after, I am the most relieved.

    
    
    
    
11. Jeffrey Gyselman

    

    2 posts
    
    2/19/2013 8:02 PM

    When it is time for the morning meeting, lock the door and put a sign on it saying"if the door is locked, you get to go back home for the day.". If a person can't work, they can't get payed. Never give a person like that a significant job. Do not single that person out, but rather address it to everyone in the morning meeting. This is what will happen if they can not be reliable. Maybe even give the crew members three strikes and your out or something. Maybe even come up with something that each employee must sign before continuing to work at your establishment. Let us know what you have come up with and what of the outcome.
    
    Jeff Gyselman
    Black Bull Golf Club
    Bozeman, MT

    
    
    
    
12. Justin VanLanduit

    

    0 posts
    
    2/19/2013 9:02 PM

    As someone else stated, hit him where it hurts: the wallet. Instead of getting signed permission from you though he has to have it from the owner. If he doesn't have signed permission from him then he is docked. Make it a relevant $ issue to the owner, show him how much money he is donating to an employee who doesn't come to work on time or just doesn't return after lunch. This is assuming he's still getting paid full days or he just doesn't care if he is light on the paycheck. Good luck!

    
    
    
    
13. Adam Stottlemyer

    

    0 posts
    
    2/20/2013 8:02 AM

    There are several ways I think you can go about dealing with this issue.
    
    1. Time clock - I assume you may have one? If not, I would look into getting one, so you can have proof of him coming in late/taking long lunches/etc
    
    2. Bad Jobs - Not the ideal choice, but it's something that a superintendent I worked for got rid of people he wanted to, without having to fire them and pay unemployment. Assign him boring jobs, jobs that take the least amount of skill and also is just repetitive. Make him do the same types of jobs day after day. Assign him jobs that he has to do on his own, excluding them from working with others so he doesn't get the opportunity to talk with someone else while working. People will realize when they are getting the short end of the stick, and he will either learn to treat you better so he can get back to doing different tasks, or he will probably get sick of it and quit
    
    3. If he comes in late all the time. I'd simply pull him to the side and explain that it seems he is having trouble being able to wake up and get to work on time. Tell him to take the next 2-3 days off to catch up on sleep, think about if he wants to continue working here, and come back on time!
    
    4. Document everything. If you're having chronic issues with this individual, you need to document everything, so then you can talk with the owner and have everything planned out and have proof. It's best to come in prepared with all the right items
    
    5. You may need to give him a bit of a reality check, that you're not going to tolerate it. You have authority over him, and you need to maybe let him know it. It seems this guy has saw a weakness in you, and now knows he can get away with it. I've had the same issues myself, as I've had employees who I either become more of a "friend" too, or they see I was a bit of a push over, and once they know this or see this, they will use to their advantage. I had employees who thought since I talked with them more the others, and got along with them that we were now buddies which means they can get away with slacking off and such because I wouldn't rat on them or punish them. Once you get to that point, it's hard to change it...and the only real way I found is sitting them down and having a serious talk. Explain that I've witnessed them doing this or that, and It's not going to be tolerable, and if it continues they will be written up or be given days off of work without pay. Sometimes the only thing you can do with some employees is fire them if they get to this point, but I've found that a serious sit down conversation can help drive back into their mind, this is a job, you're their boss, and it's not going to be tolerated

    
    
    
    
14. Jennings Dustin T

    
    2/20/2013 11:02 AM

    Thanks to everyone for the advice. My fiancee is a licensed professional counselor and has told me it sounds to her like bi-polar disorder, based on the things I tell her. Whether or not that is the case, I don't know. Now, I will not say that all of the incidents that have occurred with this employee are directly a result of his "disorder" because as I analyze things further, I myself am to blame for some of these misunderstandings. I have found through this experience that better communication skills are needed and are highly important in the workplace. The employee and I had a very long meeting late yesterday afternoon and set some things straight. Hopefully the words that were said hit home with him. I asked him what I needed to improve on and told him I will work on those things. That is all I can think of to do for now. we will see how this works out and hopefully I will see some improvement in the coming weeks. I'm glad to hear though that I am not the only one who has had to go through this type of stress in the workplace.

    
    
    
    
15. Border Ricky H

    
    2/20/2013 11:02 AM

    One thing is for certain you will be a better super because of this.
    Employee relations are in my opinion the most difficult thing we deal with. I try to express to all of the golf maintenance staff here that; they do not work for me, they work with me....I need them more than they need me...I will help them out in any way that I can (minus loans and anything illegal)....and most importantly the fact that their success is our success and our success is their success.
    I know it may sound corny. But when you really mean it, produce results and are committed to follow through with what you say It becomes easy for people to buy in.
    
    Ricky Border
    Wheeling, WV

    
    
    
    
16. Christopher Boldreghini

    

    0 posts
    
    2/25/2013 3:02 PM

    Try to earn his respect. If he has been there longer than you have, explain things you are doing so that he can understand why you are different from past supers. If he knows your letting him upset you he'll keep doing it. Act like you like him for a couple of weeks and see how he responds. If he and the owner are friends you need to get him on your side, right now he is just trying to get you to quit.
    
    JMO,
    Charlie B.