I am co-owner of an embroidery and screen-printing shop. We employ a screen-printer and a customer service, sales, etc. person. My partner and I do the embroidery although I have another job so I am not there much. The screen-printer has been making a lot of mistakes. I have told him twice now that he has to have someone sign off on all of his jobs before he prints them. Major problem is my partner thinks he is irreplaceable. I have talked to her about it but she just says everyone makes mistakes. This is costing us money and customers Can we legally dock his pay or make him pay for the ruined shirts? I don't know how to get through to my partner that he is just not working out.

Sylvia

Welcome to the forum Slygal. I think its pretty normal if the printer misprints 1-2 shirts out of every 100 or so. If it is much more than that I would suggest asking him to slow down a bit. Has he had formal training on screen printing? As far as the legal stuff, I can't answer that.

It's not just 1-2 shirts. It's the whole order. So far largest loss was 50 shirts. Some orders he was able to salvage. He does not double check the art work or makes changes without the customers approval because he thinks "it will look better his way". Also he does not pay enough attention to placement. I know I just have to get tough, document his mistakes, and convince my partner he has to go.

Oh wow. Yeah, I would document everything and maybe put a monetary value on it to show your partner. That may help to put things in perspective. Have you looked for a possible replacement for your pressmen? If he's changing things on his own, I see where your coming from with wanting to find someone else.

Operating a business under a "PARTNERSHIP" is a bad management problem. Management whether a large mega corporation or a local small business need only one manager. Too many managers make the business operation difficult to direct. First off, the employees are ambiguous as to whom they must follow. Second, decisions from one partner should not be questioned when any employees are within ear shot. This type of action creates turmoil that should not exist in a business situation.

After saying all that; you need to arrange a meeting with your partner where decisions can be established delineating which one of you are responsible for specific areas of the operation of the firm. At that point, the person now responsible will make the decision of what to do with your runaway employee.

Now, here is something I would bet you are not doing. Every month you need your accountant to run a P&L statement. A meeting between all owners need to be made aware of the P&L. In addition to the P&L a cash flow statement should be created so that everyone is aware of what is happening to your company. It is common for small companies to grow faster than their cash flow situation. This is a major reason you will see firms that appeared financially secure suddenly go out of business.

If you were doing this on a monthly basis your partner would be aware of the costs your runaway employee is costing the company. I am aware of firms that insist their account provide management with P&L statements along with cash flow reports weekly. In this way management is able to respond quickly to situations that will affect the financial well-being of the firm.

Good luck!

Well he's done it again. I have not seen the shirts but apparently they were rejected by a High School coach. Apparently the placement was terrible, some of the ink was running together. He put the wrong number on 2 of the shirts. He was able to repair some of them. I talked to my partner (who still makes excuses for him) and we have agreed to give him one more chance and send him for training. He does not need a beginners class but something that shows him how to do quality work like when 2 passes are needed, specialty materials, etc. Does anyone know of any classes like that? My partner went to the Ryonet class and she said it was very good but probably too basic for our needs.

Great post Casams.

Send this guy out to me for a few days. I'll put him through screen printing boot camp in my shop. I have a ball and chain left over from my last intern

Mistakes happens. I’ve made them, you’ve made them, we’ve all made them. As a manager, you’re not only responsible for your own dumb mistakes, you’re responsible for every one of the mistakes that each of your employees make.
Employees who make too many mistakes can frustrate coworkers, slow down the workplace and sometimes compromise the safety and security of a company. As a manager, your first impulse might be to correct the worker and warn her not to make the same mistake again. However, some mistakes can be learning experiences, and an employee who views her errors in such a manner is unlikely to make the same mistake twice. Emphasize learning rather than warnings, and you're likely to see your employees grow into their roles.

When going over processes with your employees, don't simply explain how to do it, show the employee how to perform the work and ask him to do it himself. Finally, request that he show someone else how to do it.
Document repeated mistakes and your conversations with your employees about their errors, as you will need this information when it is time to conduct performance reviews.
Deal with mistakes that put safety or security at risk as the circumstances dictate. In rare cases, termination may be necessary.

Examine your expectations and make sure they aren't too high. As a manager, you have such familiarity with the job that it might be difficult to remember your own mistakes when you first entered the field.
Consider the reason for the mistakes. While often due to miscommunication, unfamiliarity and the like, sometimes mistakes are made out of simple carelessness. First counsel, then warn employees who are making lots of mistakes due to not following policy and procedures.

From managing for many years in other industries the one thing learned is PUT IT IN WRITING. Document the mistakes and turn them into write-ups put into a personnel file. Set up rules of so many write ups get discipline action, days off, termination. If you told him to get sign off and he did not that is insubordination. When my dad and I had our business HE was the manager, I was the enforcer but he ran the employee issues so we had no conflicts.
FYI no one is irreplaceable, not even the boss. I know because I managed a business in the 80's and got laid off by owner instead of staff. Was replaced by #2 for $1000 a month less

John

Exactly PUT ALL THE THINGS IN WRITING is really helpful for the future. Why did you got laid?