Hiring and training versus hiring experienced

[DRobs86]

Who here has had luck hiring a non-machinist off the street and getting them up to speed with machining concepts and equipment?

I need to make a hire "NOW" and I'm debating between finding someone who shows some general aptitude with no experience that I can maybe get immediately versus holding out on someone who has been around the block.

I've done it both ways. Hiring an unexperienced person can pay off, but it always seems to be a much harder road as the concepts can be complicated and I, admittedly, tend to assume people know more than they do and can learn faster than they actually can.

If you do hire folks that are non-machinists, is there a particular approach you take to training them? Is there a particular yardstick by which you measure them on if they are going to be able to get it or not?

 

[DouglasJRizzo]

The problem with hiring someone who is a "blank" is that you will, quite literally, be teaching them how to "walk" from start to finish.

 

[alek95]

Depends on what type of resources you have for training.

Usually guys with no experience take time away from people who could be doing work.

If it's just some rando who walked in off the street, there is no guarantee that they will even stay after 6-12 months.

 

[cg285]

employees
the bane of our business
i went through a lot in my time. had one real good one (yugoslavian) , a few that knew their stuff but had emotional issues, then all the others. good luck

 

[jccaclimber]

The problem with hiring someone who is a "blank" is that you will, quite literally, be teaching them how to "walk" from start to finish.

This is what trial periods are for. If you can't evaluate an employee during an interview and can't evaluate them in the first few weeks then the problem may not be with the employee. I've been told (and had to learn) a few times now "Your process is *perfectly* designed to produce the results you are getting."

 

[DouglasJRizzo]

This is what trial periods are for. If you can't evaluate an employee during an interview and can't evaluate them in the first few weeks then the problem may not be with the employee. I've been told (and had to learn) a few times now "Your process is *perfectly* designed to produce the results you are getting."

Trial periods are great for more experienced help. But a total "green?" Kinda tough, I think..

 

[jccaclimber]

Trial periods are great for more experienced help. But a total "green?" Kinda tough, I think..

I worked landscaping for a summer, and most of the employees came from the temp agency regardless of physical condition. I learned two things:
1. I can carry bricks all day long, but I hate digging holes and I'm also not particularly good it it.
2. We could tell by the morning of day 2 who was going to make it and who wasn't. Some people showed up on time because they wanted the job, others showed up late and talked about how they would do better the next day. A few turned things around on day 3, but there was a clear pattern by the end of the first week.

At totally green you're hiring for attitude, motivation, and ideally ability to learn quickly.
I'm sure most of us have taught a pile of people how to use common manual shop tools (lathe, mill, drill press, whatever). Some people are clearly quick learners, ask relevant questions as they go, etc. Others drill a hole into the table right after you tell them not to and set the stop for them. It doesn't take long to see which is which. If you aren't getting any applicants who pass this test, or they never tend to stick around, that's another problem.

 

[Comatose]

If you hire someone totally green, and you're good at teaching, you can end up with someone worth keeping.

Many of my best hires have come from working in kitchens. Line cooks understand getting things out on time, following directions and cranking through production. They're used to standing. When they come over to manufacturing, the hours are better, the work environment is better, the pay is typically better. Plus, this country has an inexhaustible supply of restaurants, and restaurants go under all the time, so you're not necessarily hiring someone who has been run out of every other machine shop in the area if they're looking for a job.

If you aren't or don't have someone good at teaching, then hiring someone green is setting them up for failure.