[Jewelry making - Article 00295] - Re: [Orchid] Just what is a Qualified jeweler?

[richard hart]

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David,

    I agree with your post and do much the same when training someone,
    however, after training quite a few people and allowing them to try
    doing a job their way, I have resorted to telling an employee that I
    appreciate creativity, however with this process I want it done my
    way, that the results need to be the same results I get, and that the
    way I do it is the way to get the same results. Funny things is when
    I let people try their own way, they usually ended up doing it the
    way I showed them, and after a while, I just needed the results to be
    what I needed without the learning curve and the time wasted by a new
    employee, as the way they did a process needed to be consistant so
    any employee could pick up from where one person stopped and
    continue. Different methods of doing a job ended up with one person
    having to reorganize and that was a waste of time. I once had a guy
    who had worked for another jeweler and thought his previous knowledge
    was superior to what I was trying to teach him. I asked him to set a
    small faceted stone in a tiny four prong earring, showed him how to
    do it with a small file, took about 2 minutes. 

    He wanted to use a setting burr. I knew what was going to happen,
    but I gave him the part, he came back having destroyed the setting, I
    gave him another one, he destroyed the second part, I gave him
    another and he destroyed the third part. He was determined to do it
    his way regardless of the results he was getting. Ended up doing it
    myself, and he never had the opportunity to learn more about setting
    or setting another faceted stone. Found out what he was good at, and
    left it at that, any attempt to train met with resistance. This
    particular person worked well with women, but was stubborn,
    obstinate, confrontational, argumentative (on a daily basis) and
    unappreciative of the opportunity he was given by me as I was the
    one who hired him, to assist me. 

    My process with employees is to give them several chances to do
    something and if they have a lack of appitude (or common sense) I
    move them over to another task and find out what they are good at and
    limit what I have them do to what they are good at. I also cross
    train employees to be able to cover for each other where they can.
    Keeps things more interesting for my employees and if someone is out
    sick, the job gets done. This covers my need for production,
    assembly, and retail sales. I have really low turn over of employees.
    I hire women, train them, they tell me what to do, I do it and
    everything works out well. 

    P.S. I always have a two week trial period with a new employee for
    both of us to see if it is going to work. After two weeks we review
    needs and expectations. 

    And have you heard about the jeweler who hired someone for retail
    sales, and found out after a few days that this person was going to
    need constant help, as she had not mentioned...she was color blind.
    Happened to me. 

Richard Hart
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