Should a manager manage?

NicksDad1970 · #1 06-21-2007, 11:06 AM

I'm the manager of a dispatch dept for a concrete company. I have 3 dispatchers that work for me and about 50-60 drivers depending on the time of year etc).

For the most part the dispatchers work about 10 hours a day Monday - Friday and every other Saturday. On their Saturday they usually work about 5 hours.

Their compensation isn't important as far as this is concerned except that they're all salary.

Being in the concrete buisness there aren't any absolutes when it comes to times. Everyone that works here has been told that there will be some possible odd hours etc. Of the 3 people one has been here 20-25 year, another 5 years, and the last 6 months or so (There's not an hour of the day that I havn't started my day)

Anyway a few weeks ago I was told that on a Friday night we would have to start a job at 9:30 p.m. I was also told it would only last for a couple houre. We also had another job come up where we would do a job on that Sunday for about 5 hours.

I said that I would work that Sunday. Hoping that someone would man up and volunteer to do the Friday night.

Well that didn't happen and I (on the inside) said f it I'll come in and do it. I did and it was a piece of cake. I came in and worked the Sunday and it was easy as well. I just sat around, made sure the pour went fine, and watched some TV.

The following Monday comes up and I was told we would be open the following Sunday as well. I came back to the office and passed the info on. Noone said a word. So a few minutes pass and I say "Well am I going to work Sunday or is anyone else going to volunteer"? One guy asked how many more Sundays there would be in the near future and I let him know that this was supposed to be the last one.

That was it. Not another word about it for the rest of the day. My wife says I should just tell one of them to do it. I tell her if I say that one of the guys will say he's going out of town, one of em won't say a word and I'm not sure about the other guy.

Sure enough this morning I say in a different way "Well I'm not going to work every single extra pour. is anyone else going to volunteer?"

One guy said he was going to be out of town and the other 2 didn't say a word.

I understand people don't want to work anymore then they are required. But if I had my boss coming in all those extra times I'd know that isn't right and do it some too.

Should I just from the get go said X you're coming in Friday night and Y you'll now be working Sunday as well?

Gordon Scott · #2 06-21-2007, 11:20 AM

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Should I just from the get go said X you're coming in Friday night and Y you'll now be working Sunday as well?

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I think you have to. Be fair and even handed and spread it out. If x is going out of town let it be known that he is next up and set rotation for extra pours. When it's your turn it's your turn. If X will swap with Y because he has a little league game or a picknick so be it but this is the rotation.

GS

Mingdu · #3 06-21-2007, 11:33 AM

Is there extra pay for the strange hours?

NicksDad1970 · #4 06-21-2007, 11:41 AM

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Is there extra pay for the strange hours?

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no

There are many days/weeks/times I go home wondering why I work for peanuts. Then I remind myself when it's real slow and I leave work early. There have been time, few and far between, that I have gone in, got things started, then headed to Tunica and played poker all day.

KurtSF · #5 06-21-2007, 12:14 PM

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Their compensation isn't important as far as this is concerned except that they're all salary.

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Which, you realize, doesn't necessarily make it legal for you to require them to work these hours without additional pay, right?

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Should I just from the get go said X you're coming in Friday night and Y you'll now be working Sunday as well?

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Yep, that's what you should have done to begin with. You've hosed this up royally by creating the expectation that you are available and are the default for extra pours.

NicksDad1970 · #6 06-21-2007, 12:25 PM

"Which, you realize, doesn't necessarily make it legal for you to require them to work these hours without additional pay, right?"

I'm not a lawyer so I can't say with any amount of certainty but when each person was interviewed for their job they were told about the possibility of these type situations. I think I did touch on that in my orig post.

So what about that wasn't legal?

"Yep, that's what you should have done to begin with. You've hosed this up royally by creating the expectation that you are available and are the default for extra pours."

Maybe so but I can only speak for how I have viewed things in the past. I wouldn't let someone else do all the extra stuff while I go home. Maybe a flaw in my personality is hoping/expecting the people I work with to do their share.

NoPoHustler · #7 06-21-2007, 12:41 PM

Since they are salary and it sounds as if they were informed there may be OT as needed then it sounds as if it is time to just delegate out. Of course be fair and do you share, which it sounds like you have. Of course they will complain but that is what employees do. And before the rest of you out there attack me I have worked on both sides. I have been management and also a rank and file guy. Currently, after switching occupations I am a rank and file guy again.

cbloom · #8 06-21-2007, 01:16 PM

Nick, sounds like you just need to man up and dole out the assignments. I've always really hated managers who try that "getting people to volunteer" as it just means that the one hard working responsible guy does all the OT.

The way I would handle these spots when I was managing is to gather the guys together and say "look we're going to have to do some OT in the next few weeks, so let's work out who wants which shift". Then I would usually give the guys the pick of the shifts they want and I would cover the one nobody wanted.

NicksDad1970 · #9 06-21-2007, 01:18 PM

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Nick, sounds like you just need to man up and dole out the assignments. I've always really hated managers who try that "getting people to volunteer" as it just means that the one hard working responsible guy does all the OT.

The way I would handle these spots when I was managing is to gather the guys together and say "look we're going to have to do some OT in the next few weeks, so let's work out who wants which shift". Then I would usually give the guys the pick of the shifts they want and I would cover the one nobody wanted.

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Your post makes great sense. But to clarify if anyone else volunteered I wouldn't allow them to do it again until everyone else had done it. Sometimes I screw myself but i wouldn't do it to anyone else.

ElDuque · #10 06-21-2007, 01:36 PM

First off, my credentials -- I literally grew up on construction sites. My grandfather, father and uncle were all iron workers back in the 70's in vegas. My grandfather started his own steel company in the early 80's. It eventually morphed into a post tensioning company which my father and uncle run presently.

Through my father I know the owners of several concrete businesses. I am as familiar with the work culture of construction companies as anyone I know who is my age.

IMO, if you can't -- for whatever reason -- straight up tell your employees that they are working these extra shifts then you are in the wrong line of work. Construction is a deadline-dependent business. Many times these deadlines require people to work long hours and at odd times.

That said, if you won't make it mandatory that your employees work these long and odd extra hours (at the risk of getting their asses fired) then you better learn to enjoy all that extra time you are going to spending in the office.