It's not too much to ask for a person to do an internet install in 2-3
hours.
They ought to be able to hit that goal in 90 days or less. If they
couldn't I would try someone new.
If their full time mission is doing new installations, then the goal
should be to give them 3 per day IMO. Drive time is a big wild card
here of course. If you had the luxury of installing people who are all
within 5 minute drive of each other, then you could do 4 or even 5 per
day**. I know because I've done it, and I'm not a super man. I'm
motivated, but I've seen people more motivated than me.
My preference would actually be 2 per day. It's achievable. The
installer has time to do a really nice job and make sure the customer is
happy. It's not overly stressful. He's likely to have some extra time
which can be used for a last minute service call, or to reorganize the
van, or whatever.
**I'll grant you I could not get up tomorrow and do 5 installs. I'm
older and fatter and out of practice. Just saying it can be done.
------ Original Message ------
From: "Brandon Yuchasz" <li...@gogebicrange.net>
To: af@afmug.com
Sent: 4/23/2017 7:37:11 PM
Subject: [AFMUG] installer hire / training process.
I was going to type a long PC type post about this (which I did anyway
sorry) . But instead I am going to just ask how you guys go about
trying to teach / train a new installer to work faster?
We have a guy right now that was hired to be an installer with other
duties as assigned. He is good at the other duties and has a good
understanding of networking, computers and even RF. The problem is that
he is very slow on installs and the primary job he was hired to do.
I spent quite a bit of time with him last week trying to figure out
where the speed issues were coming from. So I took him on site surveys
ahead of time with me and we laid out the entire installs during the
survey. Install here, wire down here, across here in through wall here
and terminate. You could see the tower from these sites so hanging and
tuning the radio was a breeze.
I sent him out on two installs the day after that. First one I
considered a hard install. The second one easy. They took him over 10
hours not counting drive time.
I spent the next morning doing site checks on them with the customers
permission. Both customers were happy with him and his install and not
a single thing on the install was done incorrectly I took another
installer with me and asked him to run the time frame in his head. He
came up to 3 hours for each install. So had I but we are both
experienced.
So I talked really briefly with the new guy about getting faster and
then took him to an install I had surveyed myself. Ran him through the
entire install. Radio here, wire down here….. in and terminate. Install
router. I left the more experienced guy with him to answer questions
but told him to not physically help and explained to the new guy that
if he had questions to ask because the other guy is there to help him
figure out a faster process and would be talking with me after the
install about ways to speed up the process so we can help him. I should
mention the experienced guy is a supervisor so no hard feelings should
be had here. I left him at 9:00
I was thinking that maybe I was being unrealistic in my time frames on
installs since normally I have a helper on my installs and we knock out
three to four a day. I felt like I got my installs done in 3 hours max
when I was alone but never really timed them. So when I left the new
guy I drove a half hour to what I considered a hard install and did it
alone. Was done at 12:30 and driving back to check on the new guy.
When I got there he was just about done with the install but the truck
was spread around the driveway ( not throwing stones I have been known
to do this). So he was going past hour 4 at this point with paperwork
and packing the truck he was going to be at 5 for sure. I stepped in
did the paperwork and quietly asked the other guy to pack up the truck
some. This was done for selfish reasons ( its Friday and I have a
family) and also because we had a between 1 and 3 to hit for the final
install of the day.
Grabbed subway. Scoffed it down. I bought and we headed to the last
job.
I had the supervisor guy in my truck and we have worked together a lot
100s of installs together. So on the way to the install which he had
never seen I prep him on it. Big ladder ( 32”) up on the gable on the
back of the house. Take the little giant around to the deck so I can
access the roof. And it’s a tripod install. So when we pull into the
drive I point to the back of the house “that’s the back” he says okay
and I go to ring the doorbell and say hello. He has the new guy with
him so he told him to help with the ladder and then instructed him to
start an rj45 on a wire. When I walked out the ladder was up and the
supervisor was at the top screwing down the tripod. I grabbed the mast,
mounted the antenna and put the wireless unit on it to tune and
scurried up the small ladder and up the roof. Ill make this short. We
hung the gear and tuned and marked the tripod and I went down and he
had just finished the RJ45. In his defense he had put one on a 3 foot
scrap piece that he had confused with the rest of the wire in the box(
I don’t know) so this was his second end. Anyway we just ran the job
and he stayed out of the way. This was a hard roof, tall and not LOS
and we were done in the truck heading home in just under two hours. But
that was two guys and we ran.
Ok so this is getting long sorry about that but I just am at a loss
with this guy. I did realize on that last job I run on job sites. I
always run to the truck back from the truck and I think ahead. This guy
defiantly does not run and nothing is done with any sense of urgency.
He is certainly smart and I hate to let him go because he has other
values but I don’t know what I can do to help him. He was hired to take
the load off of me and I realize at the beginning new guys are work but
its been over two months now he just recently took on jobs alone and he
is not taking the load off. He is adding to it.
Thoughts?
Is to wrong to say, your slow I don’t know why but I am going to fire
you if you don’t get fast. I wish I could tell you how to get fast but
Its lots of little things. Start with running everywhere you go and see
if that helps?
Seriously…. I do want to know from those of you that have hired lots
of guys what are your thoughts? Should I not be running one man crews
with the expectation of two installs in an 8 hour day with an hour of
drive time in there?
Thanks,
Brandon