Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Mix and Match.

I've decided to try something different with employees this time.

I think I'm going to hire two or three young people who can work anywhere from half a day, to a day each; none of which are depending on me for a living, either because they already have another job, or are collecting unemployment, or who are still in school.

I won't expect a long term commitment from them, and I'll juggle their hours so that everyone is happy, but I'm not having to spend too much.

I want to keep a personal presence in the store of at least 4 days a week; which means there may be some overlap with the employees, but I want enough of workers to cover a few longer vacations per year.

I'm hoping that having 2 or 3 young people will bring some energy to the store.

I've already got three young folk lined up, who seem excited to be part of Pegasus. (They'll get over it...but I'd rather they at least start with some excitement.)

Liz has been great so far. She picks up things really fast. I have kind of decided to take a slower pace in training, letting employees learn things as they go, and try not to infect them too much with my attitudes and pre-conceptions.

If I try this method, there will probably be some inefficiencies at first, but there may also emerge some new ways of doing things. I can afford to take a different slant.

With 2 or 3 part-part timers, I can mix and match, and if one leaves, start looking for another.

We'll see.

3 comments:

RDC said...

Starting to look like you are modeling your staffing plan after WalMart.

Anonymous said...

So we've been hearing that the national economy is growing again but businesses aren't hiring. It's good that you're bucking the trend, Duncan, even if it's just part time jobs.

H. Bruce Miller said...

Gosh, let a guy get hold of a little extra money and first thing you know he turns into a fat-cat capitalist!

BTW you need to be a little careful about saying you only want "young people." There are anti-age discrimination laws -- although rarely enforced. But if a qualified and capable older person came in and applied for a job at Pegasus and got turned down, such statements could be used against you.

As we used to say in Jersey: "I ain't sayin' nothin', I'm just sayin', y'know?"