PEMBROKE, Mass. — As dry cleaners, we hire lots of people. Some are fantastic employees, some are average, and some leave much to be desired. It’s my hope that we don’t allow the poor performers to remain long, and we try again with new blood. But, maybe, just maybe, part of the problem is that you owners are unwilling to work with a staffer and to put forth extra effort to see that the individual improves.
One dry cleaner told me, “I hire the best candidate, put him through a one-week training, and see how he works out. If he works out, I have a new employee. If he doesn’t work out, I get rid of him. I’m just too old to spend all my time trying to get employees to do what they should be doing.”
Perhaps spending some time and doing it in such a way as to impart real knowledge would result in less staff turnover.
Employee rehabilitation has two parts. First, convincing the employee that she’s doing something incorrectly, and second, giving her the tools to improve. One prong is just as important as the other. In my business career, I can’t count the times I have heard an employee say to another staffer, “Ten minutes late, and the boss is incensed. Ten little minutes. What a neurotic he is!” This attitude needs to be adjusted.
SPECIFIC ISSUES
Let’s take a few specific problems, and suggest how they might be handled.
A staffer comes in 10 to 15 minutes late once or twice a week. The first thing is to emphasize the importance of being on time, whether the person was opening up, relieving another staffer, taking over a new shift, or pushing out the work in a timely fashion. All depend on the staffer being there on time.
Nothing works like a visual explanation, so act as a customer coming to the store at exactly 7 a.m. and finding the shop closed. Pitch a fit in front of the store. Stomp around. Swear. Show the anger and frustration. Then have the staffer open the front door. Walk in, sour-faced, as if one false word from the staffer will make you explode.
Point out that this is a normal reaction from half the paying customers, and rightfully so, because they get up early and they expect the shop to come through with its part of the bargain.
Alternately, be a worker who had to stay late because the next staffer walked in 10 minutes late. Role play. Yell at the tardy staffer, don’t accept excuses, kick cans around. Indicate that you had somewhere to go tonight and will now be a half-hour late. In these dramatic examples, the staffer will get the idea that she can’t be late.
Next, provide aids. Offer to phone the employee for the first two months of her trial period, acting as an alarm clock. Or offer to buy the staffer a good alarm clock. Or give the worker preferential shift treatment, and see how she does. Or suggest she advance all her clocks by half an hour. One of these devices will cure the problem, if the individual wants to solve it. Point out that being late is a curable bad habit, and with some effort and focus, lateness can become a thing of the past.
What about the counter staffer who, despite a computerized cash register, makes a lot of mistakes when it comes to making change? Maybe she’s dyslexic, but is loathe to admit it. For starters, talk with the staffer about the complaints. Point out that such errors are symptomatic of a loose, inefficient company, which sends a bad message to customers. State that customers will take advantage when they can, and the company will lose money. Establish that you insist on running a tight operation, and she will have to improve to continue employment.
Then give her the tools to improve. First, help her become more comfortable on the computerized cash register. Frequently, this is the problem. Offer her some after-work sessions during which she can play with the machine. Give her drills to improve her comfort level. Even pay for a course. Then improve her counting skills. Teach her to count money like bank clerks do. Add two or three piles, then compute the sum of the piles, then double-check by adding each bill. If she is dyslexic, provide clues as to how to distinguish a $1 bill from a $5 bill from a $10 bill from a $20 bill. For instance, look for the curling bottom of the $5 bill. Recognize the picture of Andrew Jackson on the $20. Role play until both of you are confident that she is improving her skills. It’s a matter of determination and practice.
What if the production staffer is slow? First, emphasize why speed is important. Point out that the difference between a slow worker and a fast worker can be the difference between profit and loss. A staffer who presses 30 garments vs. a standard 60 garments per hour results in twice the press cost and, if followed through in all stations, will turn a profitable situation into a loss catastrophe.
A brisk, energetic presser infuses the entire plant with energy. The worker’s enthusiasm helps everyone else in the production process speed up, if for no other reason than to keep up. Finally, the last thing the production process needs is a bottleneck, and one staffer being slow can create that breakdown.
Show the presser how to do tasks more speedily. Man the press. Move with alacrity. Create a pile of work ready to be processed. Demonstrate creating a crease by holding up the garment and letting it fall naturally.
Show how to flatten out a garment on the pressing board with a movement of the hand. Make your movements sure and swift, from button to press bar.
Demonstrate how to remove a garment from a machine in one motion. Suggest that the staffer develop a rolling motion so that the work can be done without thinking. Perhaps counting—1 … 2 … 3 … 4 … 5—is appropriate. Sometimes a flowing motion is what is needed. Then have the staffer press outfits while you watch and critique. Over the next several days, go back, and make sure the work is being done correctly.
Of course, no staffer likes to be constantly criticized. Follow up each critique with a compliment. Make sure the staffer understands that you are trying to help him become an exemplary worker. In that way, you will eventually have an excellent workforce.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Dave Davis at [email protected].