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Duncan Wilkie
aka signdogwww.commercialsigns.com
Edmonton, Alberta
Home of the 2001 World Athletic Championships
My brother in law has been working for a high rise sign shop for years. He designs, he welds, he fabricates, he runs the crane he runs the shop, he runs the router and the digital printer, puts up the neon....he does the whole deal.
Because this is the internet I can't tell you how bad the person he works for is! But I can tell you the only reason that he keeps working for the guy is the insurance benefits. He takes a lot of abuse for the his high skill level return and ability to do everything, even sign painting.
If I were you, I would look around in other shops for a person who has this level of skill and is treated like horse manure and offer them a good deal.
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Go Get 'Em..... :)
AKA Raptorman on #Letterheads mIRC Chat
Draper The Signmaker
Bloomington Illinois USA
Proud 2-yr. $upporter of this Web Site (May 1999-May 2001)
Finding competent, dependable employees has always been a problem in this, or most any other, business. They're sort of "wherever you find them". The art student at the local community college might make a good designer. The kid that works in the gas station and builds hot-rods as a hobby might make an excellent fabricator/installer.
Something a lot of shops overlook, is hiring someone who has retired from the trade, but might still like to work a couple of days a week. In your situation, where you don't have the time to train new employees yourself, an old timer like this would be a tremendous asset in training new help.
I have a friend with a silk screen shop that hired an 80-year-old gentlemen to work part time. Some of you old timers here on the left coast may well remember Gordon Fish. At that time, he had over 60 years experience in the trade, and there wasn't much he didn't know about making signs.
Gordon has passed on now, but in the time he worked at my friend's shop, he was able to pass on a virtual fortune in knowledge that might otherwise have been lost forever.
More important than anything however, is keeping good employees once you have found them. Since you already have a staff of reliable employees, it appears you have this part down pat. I've heard shop owners complain about how hard it is to keep good help, yet when you see what they are paying their employees and the conditions they are expected to work under, you can see why someone with anything on the ball doesn't stick around very long.
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Jerry Mathel
Jerry Mathel Signs
Grants Pass, Oregon
signs@grantspass.com
The best part of what I have said here is whe you get a "bad one" you know you've done your part and cutting them loose is easy...soon you will be known as both fair and competent,(you probably are already).
It takes some time but it's worth it in the long run (of course surviving this time span is the real trick isn't it).Good luck, just to question this means you are on the right track.
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Monte Jumper
SIGNLanguage/Norman.Okla.
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Robert Thomas Creative Signs In Beautiful Naples, Fl.
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Ronnie Conrad
Augusta,Ga
706-793-3838
RonniesTintSigns@aol.com
I remember at both the colleges I went to there were postings on the walls in the commons areas, just huge long lists of jobs and career opportunities available to students. That's how I landed my first "career-aimed" job. You might want to contact local colleges and see about posting with them.
You could post with local newspapers, or even check out websites like Monster.com and other online resume' sites.
Just make sure whoever you interview, they bring in samples/photos and be sure to ask them how long each one took. A great layout isnt worth anything if it took 'em a solid 40 hour week to do it. =)
Better yet, put 'em to work for a few days. There's nothing like a trial run to find out if they're gonna be worth it.
You could pay them for their time, but at a lower rate until you decide if they're gonna work out. After you find the one you like, bump up their wages a bit and put 'em on a 60 Day probation. If they get through the probation period chances are yer gonna keep em as long as they want the job or til they screw up big-time. =)
When I worked at an engineering firm, I wrote an exam that we used for hiring AutoCAD draftsmen. It was a short exam containing 20 questions and five exercises using the software.
Being an AutoCAD instructor, I made it super-tough. Anyone that got at least five of the questions right was a potential hire and all other applicants were eliminated. Anyone that didnt get 5 questions right had no chance with the computer exercises so they werent even given the exercises.
The trial/probation setup works pretty well. One thing I've noticed with new hires is it takes 'em a few days to find their "groove" and adjust to a new surrounding and co-workers, in the meantime they're a nervous wreck.. =) Trial/probation gets them into work so they can earn some money, yet it gives you an easy way out because they understand you can pull the plug any time although you'll give them a fair chance.
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Mike Pipes
Digital Illusion Custom Graphics
Lake Havasu City, AZ
http://www.stickerpimp.com
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"If it isn't fun, why do it?"
Signmike@aol.com
Mike Languein
Doctor of Letters
BS, MS, PhD
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You know what BS is, MS is More of the Same, and it's Piled Higher and Deeper here
