The objective of most employees is earning a living doing what you enjoy doing. The objective of most businesses is building a competent and professional workforce able to respond to customer’s needs. AND, the objective of all concerned is the steady flow of work and manpower.
Since most jobs these days have evolved into areas of specialty, the narrowly trained professional will do well when his or her expertise is needed, but might find oneself on the sideline or sent home if unable to contribute. So, to keep things on track for all concerned, the best scenario would be to have everyone trained in all phases of the work. Reality shows this is impossible, but we can do what it takes to approach this goal by cross training.
We all want to improve ourselves and advance in life. A company that doesn’t keep training ongoing will find their people moving on down the road to another job that will allow them to advance. Allowing employees trained in one area to Read more »
In our current economic situation, when money is tight, most subcontractors face the same dilemma. The owners are demanding the least expensive project cost all the while believing that the project will be built "Per Plans & Specs", and "On Time." Each general contractor has their own set of safety and quality standards. The sub then has to submit their proposal knowing the material costs are almost the same, the labor hours somewhat comparable, and the equipment similar. Really, the main variables are overhead and profit. Now that general construction jobs are limited, the profit is minimized or set at breakeven and overhead has already been cut to the bone, so where does that leave safety and quality? It takes money for employee training sessions, meetings, and safety equipment. Quality comes from attention to detail and an employee mindset where craftspeople evaluate their own work and ask "would I buy this?" 
