tomence
New Member
With $4.50 an hour back then i could fuel my car and buy cigarettes even if i worked only two hours a day.
-
I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...
How do you find good employees?
- Thread starter thewvsignguy
- Start date
With $4.50 an hour back then i could fuel my car and buy cigarettes even if i worked only two hours a day.
WildWestDesigns
Active Member
That really depends on what that average wage is. It also depends on the accolade(s) that they have if there are degree(s) (or not, just depends on the situation as to if they are involved with degrees or previous services) involved in their starting of their career. It also depends on the state of the economy as a whole too. More people now should be motivated by a chance of a job then size of paycheck (once again to a point).
Also, if they just want the opprtunity moreso then the average paying wage, you are going to have to throw them a bone sooner rather then later otherwise you'll lose them quick (relatively speaking). No more then 5 yrs, before they start wondering what they are doing here. It doesn't have to be much, but something that shows that their efforts are appreciated, especially if they are getting less then average pay for the industry.
1984, was that still in the economy was iffy or was that when everything was starting to pick back up? 4 yrs later, managing a crew of 3 would be a good bone to throw under the 5 yrs.
Fred Weiss
Merchant Member
The economy was just coming out of a major recession (Jimmy Carter and "stagflation" • Reagan voodoo economics) and a 15% to 20% growth rate in the local market followed for the rest of the decade. Accolades were of no concern. What I needed were people with ability seeking opportunity. In the next four years we grew to six employees and saw our sales increase 1500%.
I agree completely. But my philosophy was always to hire only career minded people and to provide a growth path in return for full involvement in achieving that growth.
It was a transitional time. The high unemployment, high interest rates and low growth was giving way and my sense was that good times were just ahead.
Gene@mpls
New Member
Hey... watch it there, Ronnie is a conservative hero and near and dear
to my heart.
Fred Weiss
Merchant Member
Hey... watch it there, Ronnie is a conservative hero and near and dear
to my heart.
Absolutely ... but since I referred to Carter as stagflation, Voodoo seemed like a fair and balanced way to describe Reagan's approach and the term was coined, of course, by George H. W. Bush in the 1980 Republican primaries.
cdiesel
New Member
Absolutely. But, this thread is about employees, not owners. Not everyone has the ability or the desire to own & operate a business. You as an owner should see the value in determining up front the mental and problem solving capacity of an applicant.
I don't see what pay has to do with *finding* a good employee. It has a lot to do with keeping them, but not finding them initially.
WildWestDesigns
Active Member
No, but it can affect them finding you.
cdiesel
New Member
True. Maybe that's why we have such good luck. I've been told by many people that we pay much better than other shops in the area.
Most shops pay way below market rate for qualified talented graphic designers and it explains why so many put out bad design work. Many also expect GDs to be prepress experienced/qualified (or expect them to run equipment) which are different specializations and skill sets. See this a lot in smaller shops and I think it's a major reason so many of them can't get over the hump from small shop to growing business.
ucmj22
New Member
What has 2 thumbs and is an underpaid graphic designer...
Attachments
Billct2
Active Member
and yes, in a small sign shop an employee is expected to wear many hats/ that's the nature and actually the joy of this type of business. If you want to sit at a monitor all day the sign business has limited opportunities. Actually the market rate for graphic designers is set by the supply and demand. Around here there are lots of schools (from Community Colleges, Art schools, 4 year Colleges and trade schools) churning out (mostly very mediocre) graphic designers and flooding the market. That combined with the fact that so many with a computer and a program consider themselves geniuses has diluted the value of the trade.
ucmj22
New Member
They havent diluted the trade, just made it easier for some to stand out!
SignaramaFL
New Member
I personally don't like the whole test thing... because I am not good at general testing... never have been, but I was in college during my junior year in high school, and have been able to self teach myself almost all I know about computers, designing and now sign production (with s101's help of course! 
) I think when looking for a potential employee, make sure that their mind set is correct and will mesh into the shop. Make sure they seem to be able to handle what you are going to have them do, and if you happen to work in a shop with 3 women like myself, make sure your shop assistant (who is a male) can handle it lol!!
) I think when looking for a potential employee, make sure that their mind set is correct and will mesh into the shop. Make sure they seem to be able to handle what you are going to have them do, and if you happen to work in a shop with 3 women like myself, make sure your shop assistant (who is a male) can handle it lol!!
Kyle Blue
New Member
Tell me about it. I was floored when I went to school for Graphic Design (about 14 years ago) and noticed the majority of the people taking Graphic Design didn't even know how to draw.
SolitaryT
New Member
I feel like part of it is the industry. I'm a pretty loyal employee, and I've had almost too many jobs in the past 10 years to count. I started out as a production manager for a big company, moved to the big city, where I was with a mis-managed shop and got laid off. Then I went to a shop where I was promised a raise to get me to where I was and it never came through. Moved to another shop where that was the same thing. Then I was with a shop with a good pay-rate and no facilities to do anything right. Then I settled for $10/hour (which was way below what I had been making)... Then RMD signs (if you know it, you'd understand), and it took all that for me to say screw it and move to Alaska. It's been my experience that sign employers aren't usually knowledgeable in signs and don't compensate the people that do know the industry appropriately. Of course there are exceptions, but it took me a long time and a move of 3,000 miles to find my exception. My input on your problem is that if you find a good employee, don't make empty promises, don't expect them to "bear with you because the economy is bad" or some other bullshit. At the same time, don't waste your time with the millennials that feel entitled to 40 hours and sick days.
Rick
Certified Enneadecagon Designer
Designers know sign shops pay is usually low.
Designers also believe that sign shop design work is generally low end design work.
To many designers, it's an ego thing. They will complain and whine and may occasionally spit out a crappy design out of protest, but an underpaid designer that is talented, driven and good, will ultimately give in to vanity and produce good work. But they are probably thinking about, or looking for a better job the whole time.
ucmj22
New Member
... are you spying on me....?
Rick
Certified Enneadecagon Designer
No, well, maybe... :Big Laugh ... thats what I did... I bounced around till I found the right fit, all the while picking up skills. I would have stayed at any of the jobs, but like many of the employed at small shops, they had little to offer as far as advancement.