Employee Management 101

By George Witt. Occasionally, all shop owners have to deal with personnel problems of one sort or another. It may be keeping the shop clean, work quality, attendance or any of a number of other things. 

Traditionally, many shop owners are ill-trained to deal with this, so when things come up, they bite their tongue and stick the problem in a bag. This continues until the bag is so full, it explodes and an unpleasant scenario unfolds. People who behave this way are called “baggers.” They’re always sticking problems in a bag.

Ken Blanchard, author of the “One Minute Manager” calls this management style, the “leave alone—zap” method. Workers are left alone until they finally do something bad enough they get zapped. They aren’t praised for doing good things; they’re only zapped when they do bad things. Therefore, if you haven’t heard from management in a while, you must be doing OK. After all, if you didn’t get zapped, you must not have done anything too bad, right?

Psychologists will tell you behavior-modification training isn’t that difficult. The best punishment must have 3 qualities: it’s immediate, it’s consistent and related to the crime.

Consider the infant who is always learning. One of the first things a child learns is the meaning of the word “hot”. Whenever a child touches something that’s too hot, what happens? They get burned. Do the burns show up 3 months later? No. Do they sometimes get burned and sometimes not? No. The resultant burn is most certainly related to the crime. The hot surface ALWAYS produces the same punishment: it’s immediate, consistent and related to the crime. That’s why almost every child knows and respects the word “hot”.

Now, before we get too carried away with the punishment phase of this, let’s consider that the ratio of “pats-on-the-back” to “kicks-in-the-butt” should be roughly 5 to 1. In other words, workers should be praised for doing a good job when they do it.

OK, let’s say there’s some behavior going on that you need to modify. It only involves one worker. DON’T take them to your office; you go to their work area. The first conversation is best held on “their turf”. Tell them you’re in a pinch and need their help. For one reason or another, a certain behavior pattern has developed and you need their help to correct it. Explain calmly what they’re doing. Explain why this isn’t acceptable behavior. Explain what you expect them to do and ask them if they can do it. It’s very important that all conversation address itself ONLY to the behavior itself, not to the worker personally. Whatever you do, stay calm and don’t raise your voice. Don’t threaten them with their job.

It’s basically “you’ve been doing this and I need you to do that” type of conversation. Finish it up with a positive reinforcement of them as a person. Phrases like, “you’re better than to behave like this, this isn’t like you” and “I know this is no big deal for you to correct” can be appropriate. “I have confidence in you and I believe in you” can also be powerful motivators.

Our goal when we’re all done is for the worker to focus their thoughts on what they’ve done, NOT on “how they were treated”. Abusive language on the part of management only breeds resentment and that won’t change behavior, it only makes it worse.

Write up a summary of what you talked about and date it. Put it in their file. This is documentation of a “verbal warning”.

Next, we need to watch carefully for evidence of new behavior and to compliment it as soon as it happens. “Thanks for doing that” are great words to hear. Positive reinforcement is a must. In most cases, that’s all there is. Problem solved.

If not, a second verbal warning might be in order, similar to the first. Check and see if the correct behavior is addressed in the job description. If it isn’t, it’s time to update the job description. Print 2 copies of the new job description (or bring 2 copies of the existing description). Bring them with you to the second verbal session. In the second, make reference to the date of the first. “We talked about this last Tuesday…..” Again, be firm and explain that there is no compromise on this issue, it must be addressed and corrected. Be sure you tell them you feel they’ve let you down and you’re disappointed about it. Hand them a copy of the updated (or original) job description. Read over the important part with them. Again, finish it up with positive affirmation. Write up another summary and put it in the file.

If these steps don’t work, write up a “Written Warning” documenting the dates of the verbal warnings and summary of what they were about. I generally do written warnings in my office, with no interruptions. Carefully outline what is expected and what is unacceptable. The job description must be cited and attached. Include a line for your signature and 2 places for the worker to sign. The first says, “I agree with the above statements” and a place for them to sign. The second says “I disagree with the above statements for the following reasons” and a place for them to sign and room for them to write underneath. They must then either agree or explain in writing why they disagree.

There should be 2 copies, one for each of you. Give the worker his copy. Tell them that if this fixes it, this document will be destroyed and off their record in a year. Again, it’s important that you follow this up with praise for the new behavior if it occurs.

If the behavior isn’t corrected by now, you have a decision to make. If it’s really important, you may have to let the worker go. If that becomes necessary, write up another “Final Written Warning”. Cite dates of previous verbal warnings, the date of the previous written warning and the behavior in detail.

Explain that this continued behavior may result in termination if it’s not corrected. Again, have the 2 places for them to sign. It’s best to have another supervisor or someone you trust sit in on the session as a witness. Explain to the worker why the third party is present and that the witness is not a participant, only a witness.

Go over this one more time. Explain that this simply cannot continue and must be addressed. Finish with a positive affirmation. Get the signature.

After that, it’s “SEE YA” if it’s not fixed. You have all the ducks lined up; you’ve given them every chance you could reasonably be expected to.

Don’t let the inmates run the asylum. It’s YOUR business, your money and your butt on the line, not theirs. If it’s gone this far, you’re better off without them. This generally helps the overall morale of the group. Never discuss that worker’s situation with others. It could get you in trouble and isn’t necessary. Everybody already knows what’s going on.

Depending on the behavior, this doesn’t have to take months. This could all be done in 4 days or less.

I had a problem with work quality with one of my guys a while back. Apparently, he was going through some personal issues at the time and never did tell me what they were. We finally had to do a written warning. That fixed it. The other day, he caught me at his tool box, whipped out his copy of the written warning and said proudly, “You said if I went a year, this would drop off my record”.

I grabbed his copy and agreed. “Come with me” I said. We walked straight into the office, I stuck it in the paper shredder and as it was being shredded, I waved at the disappearing paper and said, “Bye-bye”.

I turned and shook his hand and thanked him. It was a bonding moment for both of us. This stuff works if done right and this is one way I know to do it right.

Children are most comfortable when they know the rules and the rules are enforced. So do adults. It’s your job as manager to see that all rules are enforced and that those who do obey the rules are rewarded.

Just remember the “hot” rule: immediate, consistent and related to the offense. Works every time.

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George Witt is the owner of George Witt Service, a Honda and Acura repair shop. He is an ASE certified Master Technician and service advisor, an AMI Accredited Manager, and an AMI Approved Instructor. He has presented management training classes to thousands of shop owners from coast to coast.