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Messages - lsargent.21

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment - 3
« on: December 31, 2018, 03:43:31 PM »
Quote from: Haggard on December 12, 2018, 06:44:49 PM
I once had an employee (not at a fire department), that could be labeled in all of these categories.

I was given a middle of the road employee, whom had received okay evaluations year after year, proving she could do her job without direct supervision all the time.  After watching this employee work for several months and not seeing any “actual usable” product from her desk, I realized that this employee’s past supervisors did not help her or any would be supervisor by just letting her skate by.  Her past bosses didn’t have the balls to give this lazy, unaccountable, poor performer the rating she deserved.  This employee had been doing this same job for many years.

I set up a coaching session and gave her exactly what my expectations were from her, I informed her the work she was putting out was not correct, and we would revisit her products in three months.  In three months I met with her again and she still didn’t have a clue so we discussed this issues and set a date to meet again in 3 months.  She did not get any better and I moved her out of my section into an easier and less stressful job.

I learned that by giving people a “pass” and powdering their evals, does not help them or anyone else, even if this troubled employee is no longer working for me.

Tim, I commend you for not wavering in you expectations. You had a set standard that you held the employee to. I think it's easy to sometimes fall into the trap of making exceptions for employees.  Whether it's because they are senior members, they are going through a tough family situation, or any other number of excuses. Sometimes it is the easy way out to make exceptions.  You offered help where you where able, but did not change the expectations. You also followed through with the employee after they failed to meet the standard. I learned a lot from your post.

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment - 3
« on: December 31, 2018, 03:19:24 PM »
Quote from: nullj.21 on December 19, 2018, 06:20:03 AM
The problem:  lazy under performer
This employee is a seasoned ff with many years on the job.  They have a wealth of valuable knowledge and often times could be a great contributor to the crew.  The problem was that this employee seemed to think that since they were "seasoned" and had newer people under them, that they could slack and not meet minimum requirements.  In this case "seasoned" did not imply mastery of skills or high performance as most would think.  Often times this employee was seen in the back of training's and would never participate unless forced to.  When they were forced to participate, their attitude would be terrible and often affect others attitudes.  This could fall into another problem category but to me this was lazy (and selfish) which then lead to under performance. Due to this employee not participating and staying up to date on skills, abilities and new techniques, their performance on actual calls was seen by myself and other members of the crew as poor.  They would use old methods on calls while others were using more up to date methods.

What I learned:
Although i agree that as you near the end of your career you should be able to relax a little and let the new young guys take over, i also feel that you still need to pull your weight and set a good example for the new guys to want to portray.  Once i addressed this with this person, they seemed to understand and not realize that this was happening.  They also did not realize how this impacted others.  No excuses were made.  Performance was brought back up to acceptable and a slight attitude change was noted.

Justin, I think your post is a good example of a "problem" employee we encounter frequently.  In several posts there has been a common theme that the employee did not realize they were not meeting expectations, even when the expectations had previously been clearly defined.  You identified that the employee's performance had fallen below the department standard, and didn't overlooked or shrugged it aside.  You were able to re-establish the expectations and the employee improved their performance with this nudge.  I learned a lot from your post. This was a good reminder to me that perceptive supervision and small adjustments to performance in the present can prevent major issues in the future.

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment - 3
« on: December 16, 2018, 10:37:51 PM »
Since I have not been a supervisor long my experiences with problem employees are limited.  One example I can think of, similar to what several others here have experienced, is a employee that had been in the fire service for several years but had a reputation of being a under performer.  This employee was always willing to help around the firehouse, however, rarely took initiative to complete projects on his own.  On emergency scenes he would fade into the background and only assist when directed by others to do so.  Like the employee Toothman encountered, this employee was surprised to hear he was not meeting expectations.  He revealed that he had always played a supportive role in the fire service, assisting co-workers however they directed him to do so.  He had never been expected to make decisions and perform on his own and now lacked the self confidence to do so.

I learned many things from this experience.  First, I learnt how to set clearer expectations.  I also found that I needed a means to assist employees that were having problems meeting those expectations.  I was mentored in how to develop a performance improvement plan and found it to be a great resource.  The employee worked hard, gained confidence and now is a very productive member of the team.

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment 2
« on: September 30, 2018, 07:08:15 PM »
Quote from: kclary21 on August 28, 2018, 08:03:25 AM
I use these strategies to manage my time, both personally and professionally:  I prioritize tasks based on the necessity and how critical they are to operations or people.  I make sure the most important things come before everything else.   I use my calendar to schedule things at work and at home.  I have a separate work and personal calendar.  I make lists.  I have a daily list and a separate list for long term items.  My daily list may include long term items, but I make one list every day.  If something is not complete, I carry that over to the next day, or I reschedule that task.  I look ahead to forecast and plan.  I get help or delegate items that people can assist me with.  I make sure I have time to take on any task that I accept.  I get assignments like everyone else, but I have to watch how much extra stuff I take on. 

I began using a e-calendar in place of my paper calendar after discussing this topic with you a few months ago.  I have found the e-calendar to be more accessible and easier to keep updated.  It has helped a lot to organize my time at both work and home.

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment 2
« on: September 30, 2018, 06:51:05 PM »
Quote from: slong on August 29, 2018, 09:55:28 AM
What strategies do you use to manage your time effectively? I use the Microsoft calendar to keep track of training and daily duties that need to be accomplished.  At the beginning of each shift before breakfast I sit down and figure out what are the priorities and what needs done but can wait.  I have found in the last couple years what really helps me manage my time better is figuring out what I need to do and what can be done by other members of the crew with little or no assistance from me.

What are some of your biggest obstacles to managing your time effectively?  For me the biggest obstacle to managing my time is feeling the need to be part of the crew when they are working on projects or an improvised training they have come up with.  I let this distract me from some of my things that I'm working on and end up being up at work late catching up on things that got pushed back. 

What can you do to remove some of these obstacles? Again it goes back to making sure priorities get taken care of first.  Determining what is a priority and who it's a priority for are where the obstacles come in.

I have difficulty with this as well.  Trying to find a balance between working on personal tasks vs crew goals is a skill I'm still developing.

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment 2
« on: September 15, 2018, 08:03:15 PM »
What strategies do you use to manage your time effectively?
     I use notebooks and e-calendars, like many others here, to help organize my days and manage competing priorities.

What are some of your biggest obstacles to managing your time effectively?
    One obstacle I have with time management is the tendency to prioritize tasks by my level of enjoyment in them as opposed to their level of importance.  By placing the emphasis on doing what I enjoy or am good at I can leave important tasks to complete at the last minute.

What can you do to remove some of these obstacles?
     Using the quadrant time management system would help to prioritize tasks by urgency and importance.

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