September 16, 2018

It is Sunday and my work at Treehouse is great. I am supervising the Transportation department.   I have been given feedback on my management skills and need to work on them. My neighbor is Julie. She is also over HR at the Treehouse.  I reached out to her last week as a friend over one of my drivers quitting and another wanting to change to an RC. I knew beforehand that Sam would be moving on from being a driver.  She had expressed her interest in returning to college to get her LCDC. She also has been very eager, sometimes overly eager in her actions at work. Some were brought to my attention by Tyler, others I noted.  I also noticed she tended to hangout in Marias office. That is fine. She is confident and wants to do a good job.  Anyway, during her 90 days, I admit I tended to micromanage her because I wanted her to dot her "i's and cross her t's".  I even told Keller this before ....and he was fine. 
Julie, on the other hand, gave me an assignment to look at all the drivers who moved on over the last 2.5 years...to see what part I played in it, I guessed.  I take it personally,  sometimes too personal.
The excercise was good. The effect helped me realize that I may have been a part of a fraction,  but alot of the reasons for drivers leaving had nothing to do with me personally.  ie: health, geographic change, family, better pay, better hours.
I thanked Julie when I was done,  and then she insisted I share this bc with Keller.  I said I would rather not, because I was thinking of it as a personal excercise.  She informed me Keller was expecting it.
I replied back I didn't understand why she involved Keller, he is a busy man. She went on to say "we want to know why there is such a high turnover in the department "
I bit my tongue, and said yes Ma'am.
I recall my altercation with Cody and with Kacy....our first drivers.  Part of the reason was that we were peers and Keller put it out there for us to work it out, (schedule).there was a transition from that , to my taking on the schedule and the scheduling.  They never looked at me as their Supervisor because I was not. This carried forward with the hiring of Daniel and James. Daniel was from my church,  James was friend of Kacy.  I was "acting Supervisor".  My ordeal with Daniel ended after several verbal conflicts.  He would state he resigned. I finally accepted that.  Kacy changed to be an overnight RC so he could have more time with his Dad. When they gave him a 50cent raise he quit . Should note, that drivers were making 13hr up to hiring of David  (we dropped back to 12 with Tyler forward) .  JAMES had health issues from beginning.  He trained with Kacy, then after super bowl on of his eyes  went blind.  So for next several weeks, he was a semi trained driver off for doctors order. Then, come February,  the expansion of our networking needs took Cody from being a driver, to being  IT.  In a quick decision,  Keller okayed hiring Daniel and bringing on James.  Daniel lasted from March until July. This included his 2 week previously planned vacation in May. Tyler came on as Daniel left. Kacy and James left at same time.  Kacy left a vacuum, James was a backup.
David was my part time overnight driver. Tyler and Royse had my second shift, and Tyler was my day relief.
Royse had his dog business that was going to have to play a big part in his availability.  He changed to become an overnight RC so he could be off weekends. Then there was Al's friend Bill who filled in with working days and a few evenings   I shared my shift with him. I didn't complain.  Bill was good. But he ln left without notice for higher pay at his other job as Maintenance Supervisor.
Before Bill, Daniel left, and it was Tyler,  Bill, David Royse and myself.  Then, we had Danny, Tyler, myself, and Stephen (hired by Keller to replace Royse). Stephen was Cody's friend. He was ok, but not very good at communicating.  He also threatened me (to someone in Management). He was let go at day 89 or 90. Interviewed and hired 2, one being Danny, the other did not pass because he lied on his application. Then we hired Amy, who stayed for several months, but left for personal reasons regarding her home life. Again,  no notice. , we just  hired Samantha,   expanxing to having an overnight driver...but she took Amy's position. And we hired.Misty.  misty quit for higher pay and day hours...initially she gave a short week notice, but quit the first day of her last week.

Do I take it personal when someone quits or moves to another department?  Yes. The excercise (assignment) Julie gave me, helped me to realize it's not all my fault.  Do I need to my communication skills with my drivers and others? Yes, and I am addressing this issue personally. I need to respect my boundaries,  and build trust in my drivers.  It is a process.  Am I the problem? According to Julie and Keller,  I do a fantastic job over at Transportation department.   Am I exhausted.?  Yes. Do I trust Tyler's ability? Yes. He knows I throw my heart into my job.  It is his advice to relax and enjoy my day off that has been so valuable.
Julie may mean well, but often her words are very hurtful. I am going to take Nicole's advice and let it go.