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Dealing with derelict fab shop employees like abandoned boats

How manufacturing business ownership is similar to boat ownership when it comes to worker management

Businesswoman on sinking boat

Manufacturing business owners and managers, similar to boat owners, make a significant investment when hiring an employee, considering wages, benefits, onboarding, and ongoing training. Leaving a foundering employee to sink is like watching money go down the drain. Getty Images

My in-laws live in Fort Myers, Fla., and over the holidays they took us on a boat ride through the Lee County waterways. I noticed several derelict boats floating in the bays and asked my father-in-law for the scoop. He said sometimes when boats have mechanical problems or quit working altogether, the owners drop them in the bays and leave them to sink instead of taking responsibility for them. I was shocked, but my own research into the Lee County boat graveyards confirmed it. An article published in November 2020 stated seven boats had been removed in the previous 45-day period alone.

The boats pose several problems for the bays: Garbage gets strewn around, fuel and oil leak out, and they create a navigation hazard for other boats. And angry property owners have to deal with a blighted view and suffering home values. It sometimes takes months to years for a boat to finally go down.

It’s hard to believe these boat owners are so willing to throw away money invested instead of fixing problems. I can’t believe they don’t consider the negative impact on the environment and Fort Myers citizens. I can’t believe they don’t consider the cost to taxpayers (themselves included) of removing the defunct vessels.

It started to sound just like a problem that repeatedly surfaces in my consulting business. Underperforming employees, left unaddressed, become the sinking ships of a business, and they leave behind excessive collateral damage.

Unrecovered Costs

Manufacturing business owners and managers, similar to the boat owners, make a significant investment when hiring an employee, considering wages, benefits, onboarding, and ongoing training. Leaving a foundering employee to sink is like watching money go down the drain.

Why is it easier to turn the head than to face the situation head on? My observations usually determine that the company has insufficient planning and no process in place to manage problem employees. Most companies have defined recruitment and hiring processes. Few have strategies to address or exit employees that don’t meet standards.

Hazardous Waste

Many companies fall into the trap of keeping an employee because he is producing something, even if it isn’t useful or, even worse, it’s harmful. This is honestly the number one objection I get when I recommend an exit plan.

I tell my clients it is better to have no output than bad output. If the underperforming employee creates extra work for his department, makes repeated errors, or misses deadlines, then it’s costing the business money to retain him. This negates any small amount of work he may complete on a weekly basis.

Bad Morale

Just like the disgruntled property owners and taxpayers, nothing kills morale for A-players faster than an underperformer who is allowed to underperform. When someone isn’t pulling his weight, a good employee will naturally adjust his workload to compensate and make sure things get done. Top-performing employees want to see the company succeed, and while they may tow the extra line, in time they will grow resentful and may seek employment elsewhere.

Developing a culture of accountability, teamwork, achievement, and reward takes significant effort and planning. If the management team makes the effort to build the framework, they shouldn’t let one employee knock it down.

Deal With It

In my 20-year career, I have watched subpar employees get moved around from one position to the next in effort to make them someone else’s problem. Eventually, they land with the least-resistant manager, left to slowly sink into a long-term career. Sometimes someone will step in, similar to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit, and fix the problem. More often, this does not happen.

I loved my stay in Fort Myers and look forward to years of visiting my in-laws and taking boat rides. I’m grateful, as are they, that the Marine Unit is taking the initiative to clean up the waters surrounding the area. Business owners should feel as protective of their own companies. Building a process to address failing employees is critical to long-term success. You want your company to run like a well-organized port so everyone can get their jobs done, and navigation should be easy. Ships moving through your port shouldn’t have to maneuver around a handful of rudderless, unpredictable hazards as they go about their business.