How to Motivate Employees to do Good Work | Machine Shop Talk Ep. 71
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- Getting new people into the trade is one struggle we’re all facing as machine shop owners at the moment, but once you get them in - how do you help motivate them toward excellence versus mediocrity?
On today’s episode of MACHINE SHOP TALK, Ian Sandusky from Lakewood Machine & Tool is heading back into the Practical Machinist forums to answer a user who came on with exactly this question.
When it comes to accountability and taking pride in one’s work - it can often feel difficult for shop owners and managers to foster the kind of care and attention they are looking for out of their staff. However, it’s often because they are overlooking three key areas in their manufacturing business - stay tuned to make sure you’re not making any of the critical mistakes outlined!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Practical Machinist is the largest and most engaged metalworking community across the web. With more than 160,000 registered members and 400,000+ social media followers, Practical Machinist is the easiest way to learn new techniques, get answers quickly, and discuss common challenges with your peers. Visit Practical Machinist today to join the community and start connecting with your peers.
Become a Practical Machinist member (www.practicalm...)
Like us on Facebook ( / practicalmachinist )
Follow us on Instagram ( / practicalmachinist )
Follow us on Twitter ( / prac_machinist )
Follow us on TikTok ( / practicalmachinist )
Connect with us on LinkedIn ( / practical-machinist )
Connect with Ian Sandusky on LinkedIn ( / ian-sandusky-3a223227 ) or learn more about Lakewood Machine and Tool at
lakewoodmachin...
sales@lakewoodmachine.com
(905) 853-6194
Instagram: / ollow Ian
Lakewood Machine (lakewoodmachin...)
#machineshop #metalworking #machining
Work 50 hours a week, interpreting prints, setting up fixtures, tooling and measuring devices…..programming conversationally or g code to make the part. Earn enough money to become lower middle class. While a purchasing agent, HR rep or mid level manager works 36-40 hours a week and makes 10-30k more than you do, with half the brain power. Hard to stay motivated.
Every shop in my area that has an employee ownership program is very successful. I worked at such a shop for almost 10 years and had 100% vestment after the first 5. The longer they stay the more vested they are, when the company profits so do they, so they are motivated to stay longer and work more productively.
A dear friend of mine, her daughter cleans houses. She charges $30.00 per hour. And the incentive to be a Machinist is what ?
Exactly.
LMFAO exactly....youll be happier not doing it.
The trade doesnt pay what is should and there is no incentive anymore.
@@halcyonoutlander2105 I had some moron offer me less then Harbor Freight (to sell chinese wheelbarrow tires) to program cnc machines and design industrial equipment.
One thing I have found is it only takes one toxic supervisor to bring down the moral of a large team.
Too many shops just train folks to be button pushers and don't teach them when or why. I talk to owners and they say they teach just enough to get the job done, and they're tired of training their future competition and that's why they do what they do. As an employee, it's just another dead end job.
This right here! 100% spot on. I've seen so many guys with potential get stuck at operator level for far too long. A lot of Production shops are just looking for part loaders that can do simple attribute gage checks. Also the introduction wage (locally) isn't enough to entice guys with competence to learn this somewhat difficult trade.
Pride in workmanship is gone unfortunately.
As corporations display more and more greed the workers surrender to it, why care if I'm treated as dispensable.
Profit sharing, a piece of the pie nurtures responsibility and concern.
Good pay and the possibilities of a future.
Employers need to care more about people not just making their own mortgage and such.
I've worked for the cheapest people who cried poor until it was vacation time and the owner took 15 people, family members to Norway for 3 weeks.
Dude had plenty of money, just greedy.
When owners dont care neither will employees
Went to a different shop for a higher wage, come to find out they have a terrible work environment due to upper management, don't have any worthwhile benefits (not even a Christmas bonus), and just use people. I'll send through parts that shouldn't be because if they don't care about me why should I care about them?
In my case it would be better wages. I've been in the trade for 12 yrs and my current job for 10 yrs. I've had to rely on government welfare programs to help support my family. This is very demoralizing especially for someone working in a skilled trade.
Please pay your employees a living wage.
In this area...
The machine shops are some of the lowest paid jobs in the area. As low as $11 an hour doing light setup, inspection and running a cnc machine while lifting 30+ lbs. Many expect you to run multiple machines. One of the places typically wants you to run 3 while inspecting the output...
And the poorest working conditions. Poor heat, poor AC. Dirty. Oil mist in the air. Forced overtime. Filthy bathrooms. One of them the owner brings new hires around to introduce. "this guy wants your job. I am going to hire him and at 30 days best one keeps the job". Employees tell me about having to search through the scrap inserts to try to find a usable edge.
Fast food pays $14 with a free meal. Warehouses pay $16-22. One of the larger shops told me "you have to work here long time and be the best to make $35K a year". But charges over $100 an hour rate.
So lets see, why dont employees care?
Truth! One international company I worked for paid a whopping $14/hr after shift premium for working 3rd shift, ran beat up 15 year old machines, and had an incredibly toxic culture. The dept supervisor that hired me got fired less than 2 years from retirement. I quit machining and started mowing grass, Charge $120/hr and nobody bothers me. customers always happy.
@@danosburn80 I quick internet search shows
Commercial mower $10K new
Used truck $10K
Misc equipment $3K
Trailer $4K
So for $27K you can charge $120 an hour. Or you can spend way way more setting up a shop to pay less for clients that pay if you are lucky on 30 day terms. I bet that $120 is cash for cutting grass.
It’s called cockee management, they think they how to do things , and the way they talk to people that’s been in the trade for 37 years
A lot of times you bust your azz year around and when you get to review time the review is stellar, you've maximized profit and they bust out the violin. So why bother at shops like this??
Sometimes being accountable is opposed with the preservation of your position. Especially in a production environment. It’s possible being “accountable” can be used as a guise to place blame for a pitiful in the process. So as admirable as it is to be accountable, it’s not always wise to do so from the employee perspective. As there might be a larger issue at hand.
Also it’s a two way street. If management can hold employees accountable, they also should hold themselves accountable.
Besides the fact employees are sometimes treated as expendable. If the company treats them like they don’t care, what’s the chance the employees will?
I've been told in training that money is not related to motivation. Money is related to SATISFACTION. That's why you will feel a bump if you give the unmotivated guy a raise, but in a minute he'll be back to poor performance. A motivated guy won't perform if he's unsatisfied by his compensation, but an unmotivated guy won't be motivated just by more money.
As my dad always says, "you can't care more than the bossman, if he don't care, I don't care." If subpar work is acceptable then that's what you'll get, especially with the mindset of many today. At the same time, I agree with another commenter on here about it also being down to the individual to refuse such low standards. I absolutely despise low quality anything and the fact that half the people I work with produce such, is infuriating.
Your dad is a wise man! He probably went through burnout like many of who were tought to be over achievers did. I no longer worry about other people's work. I come in, do the best I can and go home.
@@ISILENTNINJAI sounds a lot like my dad. He's at the same point and just doesn't care anymore. It's almost a lost cause trying to help or teach anyone, both young and old, sadly.
I'm not sure if its been touched on, I didn't read back far enough. but when they respect your knowledge. I mean get paid what you're worth but when you say "hey I need this tool, or time, or fixturing" and they listen. That's a game changer.
It is usually training and procedure issues, when managers and owners do not know the work themselves. Also, there is the friends and family that work there, that are not never corrected or reprimanded. Also accountability goes both ways, managers on up are happy to scrutinize the workers, but are never themselves.
Deming ....the 4M's -- 1E......Man,...Methods...Materials...Machine....E....environment Who controls these items, normally management...Hand these item's over to the employee with company expectations....they will feel better and work for you ...not against you. Been there several times and now retired...when the work force can pull the red cord...Management wakes up quick...
Don't hinder their growth, drive or motivation.
Completely understand customer requirements, equipment capabilities and employee skillsets to define the following Before Bidding on Important Contracts:
process routing....including outsourced processes
work-centers
work-holding fixtures
inspection tools for your machinists and quality department.
in-process inspection points....including NDT (retain all quality records forever)
Final Inspection requirements defined by Quality Engineers.
Quality Engineering and the Customer must agree on the process...In Writing
If you win the contract follow the pre-defined process....No Excuses.
Find a tooling expert that you can trust the fate of your company with for consultation.
And then pay a wage lower then harbor freight.
People can get a paycheck anywhere. It has to be more than just money.
I've been in business for over 40 years and I can tell you a person that is not driven a person that does not have the fundamental foundations that they were either raised with or either they just naturally have to try to be the best that they can be to do a good job it doesn't matter how much you give them it will not change that it might make it look like it's changing something for a day or two but in the long run you cannot give people heart you cannot give people character and you can't buy it neither neither they are you know go getters and go the extra mile no matter what or they're just not and in over 40 years really of working every person young old black white hispanic it doesn't matter if they don't have that natural go-getter attitude that character of just just hard worker and I blame a lot of this on society or at least our political society and a lot on these big gigantic corporations that really don't want people to be nothing more than what the position they put them in I mean I have kids right now that I'm adult sons of mine that work at places and they give 110% because they were raised like that but everybody around them doesn't and it seems like everybody that is mediocre never gets anything said to him but the ones that are go-getters are the ones that always get something said to him cuz let's face it nobody wants anybody else to come in and mess up their gig they got a smooth run this is how the the shopping the delivery department whatever it is made up and you come in and start being this go-getter you looked at like you're wanting to take everybody's job from the smallest man all the way up to the manager they're all scared of you because people don't want to lose their cushy job and so I blame that a lot on big corporations I believe that a lot on obviously our political climate that is Raising weak victimhood type it's always somebody else's fault kind of deal but there's still people out here was raised to be hard workers and their fathers and mothers showed them that when they were working and to be responsible and to give 110% anything they do especially God fearing people cuz of the Bible says anyone that puts their hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God so that's no different anything you do in life everything you do that's what that scripture is talking about if you looking back if you're not giving it at your all of you not invested your 100% with this Parable you put your hand to the plow and then look back you're not fit for the kingdom that shows that there is some straddling the fence there's some some steal some little holding on to the old pass that you supposed to be giving up those kind of things I mean that just pretty much goes in every part of your life when it comes to work when it comes to worship but it comes to live for God when it comes to your family the whole nine yards everything comes down to being completely sold out in 100% in the direction you're going
6:19 MY GOD…… I wish the owner of my shop would watch this….
i am frustrated in this trade at the moment , one customer has got top of the range inspection equipment we do not , we use calibrated thread gauges they use a laser machine , gauges do not check the minor of a thread the laser does, i managed to get the speck on the thread insert tolerance, if the insert wears a bit you can not drop the offset it needs a fresh edge or minor will be undersize, the owner likes to try the blame game on the shop floor , i just say well you need to spend some money if you don't want it to happen. yet the customer does not want to spend the money on the parts they want cheap, 37 years doing this customer want perfect for cheap also boss wants perfect for cheap , the machinist i can't do it .
Come by my shop I'll show you the ww 1 era comparator we get to use
good video
Tool and die is my background and I managed a group of 15 - 18 machinists and toolmakers for 12 years. And for the most part, I was blessed with a very good crew. But it took some work, like a good marriage. I can relate to everything you mentioned in the video. I'll add a little from my experience. One thing I did was every morning we would have a 10 minute shop meeting. I would share any company news I had, talk about a new customer, share customer feedback, talk about hot jobs, and sometimes explain how some parts are used by the customer and their importance. Then the crew could talk about anything they thought was important. I can't stress enough the importance of listening to their ideas and when it's practical giving them a try. And make sure you give credit where credit is due. I would be thanked by upper company management constantly for delivering quality and on time. I always gave the credit to the guys working for me.
On the downside, it only took one individual to set a bad tone in the shop. We all know the guy that no matter what you do or say he'll never be happy. And they have a knack for bringing others down with them. If after all your efforts with making accommodations, coaching, and pep talks fail, you've got to get rid of them. I've had a couple of individuals in the past that were excellent machinists but were such a cancer in the shop it just wasn't worth having them around. Once they departed it was amazing the change in attitude with the others. I should write a book about all my years in manufacturing.
Hi folks! I have a peer (cnc programmer) who's constantly procrastinating. It's like half of the working day. It affects our team because other members should put more effort to manage the work. What should we do?
Boss: We have a quality problem
Me: Have you thought about drug testing?
Boss: I would lose half of my guys
Me: I think this conversation is over 😂😂
For what it's worth, teaching people how to have wholesome aims in life is one of the more better solutions and course it's definitely not a trivial one.
Creating a culture in your shop where being even a little bit better today then you were yesterday might be one simple example of this-- but appealing to this kind of aim is just not in the cards for most.
I feel, it adds up to these basic things:
-You have to get people to walk in conviction (take honest accountability for their mistakes)
-Show them that diving into their resentments and cynical thoughts is seldom beneficial (and often not at all)
-Listen to your people and address their concerns within reason
-Help them understand that nothing is perfect and that we all have an idealization of the perfect workplace but no matter where you go, you will find that your ideals may fall short
-Most important? set the example for the culture of your workplace, not just for workplace standards, but also for how you treat eachother
-Second most important? Get rid of the bullshitters
The funny faces that Ian makes on these thumbnails are hilarious
It really comes down to communication
getting people to care is either there in the person or its not. if you spend time and money training someone then they ask for more money than they're worth and quit only to go to work for your competition. basically the only things you can do is 1: set the pay scale properly. from 1st ops to 2nd ops, buffing and deburring to set up and take downs and responsibility for tolerences. make it clear from the start where you stand and where the new employee stands.
and i say this from the perspective of a screw machine shop pre-cnc. we had 2 cnc mills when i left. turret lathes, mills and no2 screw machines.
Dang, You nailed it!
i applied to a part time lathe guy and they said i don't have enough experience. But they said i could be saw operator for a while the move to lathe. I get to the saw department they have me lifting by hand 20ft bars to the saw and back to the rack. They expected me to cut 40 bars a day that lifting 20ft bars 80 times. long story short i quit.
So at what point is our industry worth something?
So why do I need to Pay a premium to someone else to sweep the floor. When I was learning we cleaned up the machine and floor at the end of the shift.
Try doing that in a union shop!
why would a kid on the floor listen to someone who looks like the lead singer in a death metal band?
You lost me within the first 30 seconds. - More ink on your arms then a Hell's Angle. The flaying arms. the backwards hat. and the beard and T-shirt do nothing to prove credibility and instill confidence from subordinates .
Then babbling for 5 minutes about underpaying people was not the best way to start a lecture on accountability. (Maybe you didn't get the memo but It's a fact that 90% of all employees value job satisfaction over monetary rewards) .... I cannot tell you a better way to instill a 'How much can I get for how little I can do" attitude in your eorkers then the way you are portraying salary considerations.
Another hard cruel fact is there is nothing you can do with 90% of the kids that apply for a job. It's not 1966 anymore. The kids come out of high school today totally indoctrinated with an 'Everybody gets a trophy" and 'Nothing is my fault' attitude and are completely devoid of any semblance of a work ethic. They need to be taken back to square one where they have to be taught that 3 days out of 5, 2 with a hangiover is NOT a full time job. You have to go through dozens to find one who is wiling to pay their dues with a 5 year apprenticeship. - To get one quality welder we go through 10 to 15 people before we find a good one. It's even worse when you are looking for someone that can get to toolmaker level. In all disciplines less then 5% of new hires ever get past a 30 day probationary period,,,,and a super majority of them are people with a minimum of 3 years in the military where the damage done to them by the educations system has been corrected.
Worst you also seem to be missing the concept that accountability is a function of leadership, not the size of an employee's paycheck. If you have a person that is always blaming someone else for their errors GET RID OF THEM and make sure everybody knows why they are gone. You can delegate authority, but you cannot delegate responsibility. Remember Harry Truman. "The buck stops here." it is YOU that is responsible for every screw-up on the floor. Don't expect the deck hands to make themselves accountable. That is your job.
Standing behind an employee is also of tantamount importance. If they come under fire it's up to you to protect them. Yet another thing that is more important then an hourly rate. You can ask any of my guys. They will follow me down a cannon barrel.
BTW, on the subject of leadership; you might think of trying to look and act more like Oliver North and a lot less like one of the Beasty Boys. ,,,,, And overall be more like the Studebaker hierarchy. - " Always give the customer more then he paid for". A reputation for quality work at a good price is no more obsolete then looking like you are a leader when you are in a leadership position.
lmao 100000% not reading all this when you come out of the gate attacking my appearance. ta-ta!
Damn son. This comment longer than the video!
You sound a complete pillock! Attacking the guys' appearance. Ever heard of the saying, Dont judge a book by its cover. Tatoos and clothes doesn't change how you run a business . I should imagine the guys morals and integrity are still good. It doesn't turn him into a Satan worshipper!
The amount of boomer references here are hilarious and intensely sad. You suck, old man.
The biggest lie in this industry the no blame culture..how many times have I heard …this is not a witch hunt 😂 when something gets scrapped… someone always has to carry the can …
I would take pride in my work and full responsibility for scrapped parts even out of my own pocket if I got proper machines and tools to work with. Also I hand code everything, got gibbscam post for the machines to test out and just that made me feel like a damn royalty considering the tools I have to work with. I am actually going to negotiate laser measurement for the machines too so we can actually see how bad they are.