Hiding in the bushes

E

Eric_E

Location
USA
Since this is a personnel management thing, I though I would post it "Behind the Desk".

For those on the management side, Have you ever spied on your crews? For what purpose? What were the reactions of those being spied on when they found out? Did it work out as a positive thing?

For those of you being spied on, Was it a motivating experience? What was the final out come? Did it work out as a positive thing?
 
Never been spyed on, never will spy on.

If you start spying on you guys it will not turn out positive.

Think of an over bearing girlfriend that has to know everything you do when she's not around and is willing to do anything to find out.
 
I used to work for a guy who would do that.
We had no respect for him at all.
Thats why he had to do it.

I think its quite unnecessary if there is mutual respect and clear communication between an employer and their employee.
Why whats going on? Quotas not being made? Rakes disappearing faster than you can buy them? rocks in the chipper? 1/2 full loads going to the dump?

If you want a productive crew, work with them, set the pace you expect, and they will follow.
Whips work better than binoculars.

my 2 cents
 
unless theres REALLY good reasons as in theft of some sort, then no.

if you want to be sure safety standards are being followed, or other parts of the job are coming out how you would expect, just show up unannounced. you would be surpised how easy it is to show up, walk up the other side of the house, and stand there right in the open with noone noticing you for a few minutes. gives you a good idea of what the crew does when you're not around.

if you can't trust your guys get rid of them!
 
I used to work for a guy that pulled that crap. I kept telling him he needed to drop by the job sites more often because I needed more backup when dealing with the crew. So his answer was to hide in the bushes and then freak out later at the office and not dish out any consequences for anything. It did absolutely no good and just pushed his good employees out the door. He had major trust issues and I kept telling him what Bostonbull just noted, but alas he wouldnt listen or fire anybody.
 
For the record, I didn't ask the questions because I was considering this type of management.

I did do it once when I suspected a couple of guys of drinking on the way back to the shop.

Good replies, please keep them coming.

I have now had 2 superiors spy on me.

One job almost everyone slacked so I kinda understood it. No one liked it and it made them work slower and try to get away with even more, union work.
 
Last year I worked on a contract as a field safety auditor. Because of the nature of the work I would sometimes stay out of eyesight to see what was going on naturally. this didn't go on for very long because I could see what I needed to very quickly. The crews were told that they were being audited and for the beginning I was 100% out in the open. What I found was that the crews rarely even saw me when I walked up even if they weren't following their own company procedures. It felt like I was using a cloaking mechanism :)

For me own crews I never spied. I did drop in on them unannounced and rarely was surprised by what was going on. That was what I expected.
 
I can't say that I would spy, but like Tom, sometimes I'll hold back to see what the natural order of things are.

Face it, people tend to act differently when the boss is around. So sometimes it is good to get a handle on how things are going.

That said, I am usually part of the crew so my my not being there is more unusual than me being there.

Monitoring employees is one of those areas where I think no body wins. When left alone to their own devices too many employees like to put it to the boss.

At the same time management often does not trust the rank and file and that comes across in a degrading way.

It then becomes a self feeding disease.

On the other hand, when stuff goes missing other issues arise, I don't see any reason why an employer cannot implement security measures.
 
Too often the problem lies in the lack of consequences for issues that compel an employer to spy. Employers have to spell out clear code of conduct rules and outcome of not following them. It is then up to the employer to stick to the rules. When exceptions are made over and over again these rules lose their meaning and value. I've seen it on a number of sites where behaviour changes for the worse when the boss isn't there. The boss is aware but does nothing for any number of reasons. In the end though, all that happens is a loss of respect and the downward spiral of the employer-employee relationship.
 
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