What to Do When a New Hire Isn’t Working Out

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What to Do When a New Hire Isn’t Working Out
Not every new hire pans out. If you’ve onboarded a new employee who’s struggling to hit their targets, how can you decide whether to invest in them further—or whether it’s time to terminate their employment?

  • Reevaluate their onboarding experience. After their first month, ask yourself: Did you set clear expectations? Have you given them the tools necessary to succeed? Have you been available and accessible? If you identify gaps in their onboarding experience, it’s your responsibility to fill them in and chart a more successful course forward. Reset expectations, reopen the lines of communication, and ensure they have all the tools and support they need to succeed.
  • Communicate with your manager. Keep your boss up to date on your concerns. This way, you’ll not only get the benefit of their advice and support, but you’ll also ensure they’re not caught off guard if you end up deciding that the new hire isn’t the right person for the job.
  • Check your gut feeling. Knowing what you know now about the role and the employee, would you enthusiastically rehire this person for the same role? If you had a whole team made up of this employee, how strong would it be? If they walked into your office tomorrow and quit, would you be relieved?

DISASTER RESPONSE PLANNING

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It sounds awful, doesn’t it? Disaster, that’s something we see on the news, nothing that will ever happen to me or my business, right?
Over my 33-year career in the waste and recycling industry, I experienced a multitude of disasters. Our office burned down, 4 trucks had crippling fires onboard, trucks went over on their sides, accidents, disposal sites shutting down, and others I do not care to recount. One night while walking out to my truck, I watched a tornado across the street narrowly miss our property where all our carts and trucks were parked. Take it from me, it can happen to you.
I hope none of you ever have to experience any of these things but if you’re in the business long enough, something is bound to happen. Are you ready? Let’s take a look at a few things you can do to make sure you are prepared in the event of such tragedies.
First off, how’s your relationship with your fellow haulers? If you haven’t made an effort to reach out to a competitor who could be an ally, do so. Talk about these things and what you could do to help each other in the event of an emergency. Some will be uninterested, but others who are willing to talk with you may turn into a great ally in the future. You may even work together to secure contracts you would not otherwise have been able to secure on your own. Recently, one of the members of the Facebook group Mom and Pop trash business for dummies experienced a heartbreaking fire. They reached out to the friends in the group and were met with help from all sides. This is an incredible way for all of us to help each other no matter where we are located.
Second, build a relationship with a heavy equipment dealer who has equipment similar to what you are using close at hand. Open an account with them if you haven’t already so if disaster strikes, you don’t have to wait for credit approval! In addition to dealers, find out who the closest refuse equipment rental company is to your location and again, open an account. In our industry, you can’t just go down to Main Street and get a truck, they are sometimes hard to come by.
The most important part of a disaster response plan is to document what to do if and when disaster strikes. My friend and business partner can laugh now about putting our plan together. We sat down, locked the door, turned off the phones and brainstormed every potential disaster that could befall our humble company. You have to know us to understand how much laughter went into that process but suffice to say that we came up with quite a list. Fortunately, not much of it ever came to pass but we were ready! We had documented everything from loss of equipment or offices to loss of life and what we would do step by step following any of the occurrences. This plan was put in print and all of our employees had access to it. After all, it did include the possibility of John and I perishing while in the same vehicle on our way back from lunch at Five Guys.
I hope none of you has to deal with the worst of what can happen but if you do, be prepared. If you would like to talk more about how to put together a disaster response plan, we would love to talk with you!
Ed Dryfhout
ed@vantholenassociates.com
vantholenassociates.com
#afriendinthebusiness
Below is a picture from 1989. It is a route sheet that survived a fire. While this was before the common use of computers, it is a good reminder to have your data backed up in multiple locations. Fortunately, only the edges were singed. The route sheet was just legible enough to stop follow. More to come on fire in future episodes.

Insurance Broke?

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We have all heard the term, “Insurance Broke.” But have you ever heard of anyone going “broke” due to not having the right insurance? Today, we are going to look at required and recommended insurance coverage. Each state may have particular requirements or regulations, so always speak with an insurance professional well versed in your state’s insurance rules before making any insurance decisions.
INSURANCE COVERAGE THAT IS NECESSARY IN THE WASTE INDUSTRY
• Business Auto, coverage to protect you and your employees driving company owned vehicles, covering bodily injury and liability, property damage and other risks associated with operating vehicles in your business. EXAMPLE: Your driver cuts a corner short and damages a customer’s building and landscaping. This coverage pays for the damage to be repaired.
• General Liability protects you company if your business is involved in bodily injury or property damage. This coverage is often part of a larger “Commercial Package.” EXAMPLE: A customer slips and falls in your parking lot and receives a concussion. This coverage will pay the medical bills and defend your company in a lawsuit.
• Worker’s Compensation, pays medical expenses of employees injured on the job, replaces most of lost wages due to a work-related injury, and provides life insurance benefits after an on-the-job loss of life. Workers Compensation also covers ongoing care such as physical therapy. EXAMPLE: Your driver gets his arm caught in the hopper of your truck and requires extensive surgery. This coverage will pay the medical bills and provide compensation to the driver while he is off work.
• Inland Marine, many times a part of a larger commercial package, provides coverage for equipment that is transported over land, or is at a location other than your address. In the waste industry this would apply mostly to carts, containers, compactors, and other equipment installed at a customer’s location. EXAMPLE: a rolloff container at a remote location catches fire and the paint is burned off and the walls warped. This coverage will cover the cost of needed repairs to the container.
INSURANCE COVERAGE STRONGLY RECOMMENDED IN THE WASTE INDUSTRY
• Business interruption. Will pay the extraordinary expenses to continue operations in the event of a loss which otherwise will cause interruption for the operation. This could be part of a larger “Commercial Package.” EXAMPLE: A worldwide pandemic occurs and your whole staff is out sick. This coverage would cover the loss of income incurred due to the inability to perform services for your customers.
• Umbrella Coverage extends the coverage limits for many liability policies. Umbrella Coverage is often required under certain commercial, industrial, and municipal contracts.
• Pollution Liability, also commonly referred to as environmental insurance, helps protect businesses from unexpected pollution exposures that may not be covered by standard casualty and property policies. In the Waste Industry, Pollution Liability Insurance can be important in the event of a diesel, hydraulic oil or other leakage that can potentially cause an environmental cleanup. EXAMPLE: One of your trucks has a leaking hydraulic hose and sprays several lawns in a high-end HOA. This policy would pay for the cleanup and the replacement of the damaged lawns.
• Cyber Coverage, Protection for liability if confidential information is stolen via an intrusion into your computer network.
• Key Employee. Covers the loss experienced by the company in the unexpected death of a key employee who may be difficult or expensive to replace. EXAMPLE: your lead mechanic dies, and you now need to out-source equipment repairs until a replacement is found. Proceeds from this policy could be used to pay the additional expense of the outsourcing.
• Buy – Sell agreements funded by life insurance. This coverage enables shareholders to pay the survivors of a shareholder who has died for their portion of the business.
• Employment Practices Liability. Protect the company from inappropriate conduct, misrepresentations, or dishonesty on the part of an employee. EXAMPLE: An employee flirts with a customer’s employee and you are sued for harassment. This coverage would cover your expenses to defend this case and pay any damages.
• Employee Benefits Liability. Covers the company’s expenses in the event of an error in administering employee benefits. EXAMPLE: When a new employee was hired, a health insurance application was lost, and they were never properly enrolled. This policy would cover your expenses in covering any health expenses this employee had while he was not covered when he should have been.
• Employee Dishonesty. Protects the company from loss due to the dishonest of an employee. EXAMPLE: an employee services customers using your equipment and pockets the money. Once caught and prosecuted, this coverage would compensate for the loss the company incurred from providing the work and not seeing the income from that work.
SPECIAL COVERAGE
• Bid Bond. Often required by municipalities, a Bid Bond is a guarantee that a bid that is provided by a contractor is a serious bid. If a company is awarded a bid but fails to fulfill the terms of the bid and commence certain activities by a certain date, the bond holder (the municipality) can collect on the bond to cover expenses incurred due to the inability of the contractor to meet its bid commitment.
• Performance Bond, Often required as part of a municipal bid, a Performance Bond is a policy the contractor will provide to the municipality which will pay the city’s expenses if the contractor defaults on the terms of the contract.
So, insurance is a major expense if you want to conduct you business at the highest level of quality and professionalism. Do not get caught short. Having the wrong coverage or being under protected can cost thousands and thousands of dollars, or even your entire business. As a company grows, the risks only get greater. Do yourself a favor and review your coverage with an insurance professional soon and make sure you are adequately covered.
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Safety, Fleet and Driver Audits

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I know this is from Canada, but similar regulations exist in the US as well. This company had the unfortunate experience of two fatality accidents recently, which triggered an investigation of the company.

As you can see in the article, these incidents caused a great deal of grief and loss for the families in the community and the drivers who were involved, but also time and expense for the company.

This article proves once again the importance of a company’s 100% commitment to safety, proper safety training of employees, the documentation of these practices, and the proper procedures and documentation of equipment maintenance and repair. When the auditors come knocking at you door, its far too late to scramble to get this put together as they are sitting in your office going through you whole operation with a fine tooth comb. It doesn’t matter if you have one truck or one hundred. these proper procedures may someday save your business.

I am familiar with a similar audit several years ago where the officers conducting the audit took an entire day just to calculate the fine to be levied on the company being investigated. Fortunately for the company in this article, they had the proper things in place, and while it wasn’t perfect, because of their sincere efforts, it sounds like they came out in as good of shape as could be hoped.

Would your company have the same result?

What Every Waste Company Needs.

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What Every Waste Company Needs.

Communications

  • Develop a strong, consistent brand.
  • Communicate the company Mission Statement to customers, community, and employees in a clear and concise manner.
  • Have a concise message to customers, team members and the community.
  • Commercial Service Agreement that is fair and easy to understand
  • Website maintenance
  • Social media monitor and responsiveness
  • Sales and Marketing

Operations

  • Emergency Response Plan
  • DOT driver qualification files
  • DOT driver alcohol and controlled substance files
  • DOT substance abuse testing
  • Separate personnel (non – DOT) files for each driver
  • Regular driver’s / safety meetings, complete with meeting agendas and attendance documentation
  • Operations Safety Manual
  • Light Duty / Return to Work Program
  • Inventory control of carts and containers
  • Identify and track operational KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators)
    • Lifts per hour.
    • Lifts per mile.
    • Miles per gallon.

 

Fleet Management

  • Pre- and Post-trip inspection procedure
  • Preventative maintenance schedule
  • DOT annual inspection schedule
  • Truck spec files for each vehicle
  • Maintenance files for each vehicle
  • Shop Safety Manual.
  • Identify and track fleet KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators)
    • Preventable road calls.
    • Trucks are serviced when they are scheduled.
    • Repair costs per unit.
  • Have a Predictive Maintenance mindset.
  • Parts inventory control and ordering system.

 

Administration

  • Employee Handbook.
  • Identify and track financial KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators).
    • Monthly billing totals by type.
  • Company Calendar, what gets done when, billing, collections,
  • Procedures manual.

 

Leadership

  • Provide and communicate a culture that is transparent and reflective of the company’s Values, Mission and Vision
  • Core Values – What makes us uniquely us.
  • Mission Statement – What we do and how and why we do it.
  • Vision Statement – Where we are going.
  • Goal setting in the other 4 areas.
  • Industry and Government relations and involvement by City, County, State, Region
  • Financial responsibility as it regards pricing, vendor relationships.
  • Exit / Succession plan

The Game of Work by Charles Coonradt

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A book I have been recommending to all of my clients recently is “The Game of Work” by Charles Coonradt. I learned about this book at a Waste Expo seminar presented by a manager form Republic Services, and contains valuable information any waste company large and small can benefit from. If you want a fresh approach on the old management adage, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure”, this is the book for you. I’ve often said success in our industry is measured in inches and feet, pounds and yards, minutes and seconds. Transforming numbers into fun and challenging objectives is what this book is all about.
 
Available on Amazon:
 
https://www.amazon.com/Game-Work-Charles-Coonradt/dp/1423630858
 
 
Read a great review here:
 
http://geekswithblogs.net/bbrelsford/archive/2005/03/13/26213.aspx

Write a Better Job Description

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If you don’t have Job Descriptions for each of your positions, you should.   Here is an article from the Harvard Business review offering some tips for writing a Job Description that will get you the best qualified person for your open slot.

Today’s Tip

Write a Better Job Description

One of the ways that organizations miss an opportunity to attract top talent is by writing — or even recycling — lackluster job descriptions. Your goal is to attract and invite people to join your company, so the words you use matter. Don’t overinflate the qualifications for the role: You may end up discouraging good candidates from applying. Avoid language that may seem normative or limiting to women or candidates of color. For example, research tells us that women are more hesitant to apply when descriptions include more typically masculine characteristics, such as “outspoken,” “competitive,” and “ninja.” To check your unconscious bias, read your job description through a different lens. If you’re white, how might the job description read for a person of color? If you’re a driven, career person, would what you’ve written invite an applicant who needs to work from home? Consider testing the job description with a diverse group of colleagues before you post it. This may reveal any blind spots. Finally, use language that reflects and promotes your corporate values. People want to feel energized and passionate about what they do, so show them that the job offers an opportunity to contribute to your company’s collective mission. Rather than focusing on specific skills, you can use words like “high-performance creativity” and “optimistic” to describe the kind of candidates you want to apply. Hiring an individual whose values align with your organization is a win-win. It’s worth taking the time to craft a job description to invite those candidates to apply.

This tip is adapted from “Write a Job Description That Attracts the Right Candidate,” by Whitney Johnson

A city finds out the waste business isn’t as easy as it looks.

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Copy and paste this link to read about one city’s venture into hauling their own trash.

 

https://www.standard.net/news/government/north-ogden-halts-in-house-garbage-collection-renews-deal-with-trash-hauler/article_c8fcf89b-d59f-5d3f-bba7-57241e8aac0f.html?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202020-07-16%20Waste%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:28544%5D&utm_term=Waste%20Dive