RECORDS OF EMPLOYES
18. In connection with the different time records designed to record hours of service and units of production, there should be a personal record of employes; and the more intimately personal it can be made, the more valuable will the record become.
A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE PLANT OF STUDEBAKER BROS. MANUFACTURING CO., SOUTH BEND, IND.
Napoleon, it has been claimed, could call by name every man in his armies, but, however great value may have been placed on such a memory feat, the manager of the present-day great business organization, who can call by name each of his employes, is an exception.
Fig. 35. Card for Record of Applicants
Fig. 36. Card for Record of Employes
It is not necessary that he should do so, for, as business is now specialized and departmentized, he needs to know only the results of the labor of those employes. By this is not meant that he should not take an interest in the personality of his organization; on the contrary, he should be very much interested, but he can be relieved from burdening his mind with details by means of simple records.
Somewhere in the office there should be as complete a personal record of each employe as is possible to obtain. This record should include applicants, employes, and past employes, and it should be the duty of some person or department to maintain the record. In the smaller establishments, employes' records should be in charge of the chief accountant, office manager, or superintendent; in larger establishments, the employment department will keep these records.
Fig. 37. Card Showing Complete Record of an Employe
19. Application Card. Fig. 34 shows a simple form of application card to be filled out for every applicant who is not hired immediately, but whose application receives favorable consideration. This card is headed with the name of the position applied for, or the trade of the applicant. Following this is the name and address, and such information about the applicant as may be considered of special value.
These cards are filed in a regulation card index drawer and indexed under the trade or position applied for. The index cards are headed with the names of the trades employed, the departments, or such other designations as may be best suited to the business. For instance, one index might be headed Machinists. Back of this index the cards of all applicants for positions as machinists will be filed in alphabetical order.
A form of application card which provides for more detailed information along certain lines is shown in Fig. 35. While this card is headed with the name of the employe, it is filed under the trade, as described for Fig. 34.
The value of these application records is apparent. When a man is needed, reference to this file will show who has applied and assist in getting a man quickly.
20. Employe's Card. One form of employe's card is illustrated by Fig. 36. This card is filed as soon as a man is engaged. At the head of the card is the name of the employe, the department to which he is assigned, and his clock number. Following this is the address and other essential information. Space is also provided for a record of changes in wages, including both dates and rates. At the bottom of the card, space is left for notes on the record of the employe, which can be continued on the back of the card. The final record on this card is the date the employe quits, or is discharged, with reasons.
Fig. 38. Card Record of a Past Employe
Another form of employe's card is shown in Fig. 37. The special feature of this card is that, for each increase in wages, the reason and name of the person granting the increase is noted.
The cards of present employes are filed alphabetically by name. However, in very large establishments, it is advisable to subdivide them by departments and arrange the cards of all employes in the department in alphabetical order. It is seldom necessary to arrange the cards by trades for the reason that the names are, as a rule, so classified on the pay-roll records.
The employe's record proves valuable in many ways. If, for any reason, an employe is away from his work, and it is desired to communicate with him, the address is quickly found; in case of an accident, resulting in injury to the employe, the address is very convenient. Again, when a man is wanted for a position a little above that occupied by the average employe, it is best, if possible, to select a man from the present employes. Whether the position be that of a gang boss, a foreman, or the head of a department, a condensed record of past performance, supplementing the personal observations of his superiors, will be found of considerable assistance in selecting the right man. Many other advantages might be named, but those given should be sufficient to demonstrate the advisability of maintaining these records.
21. Past Employe's Card. In some respects, a record of past employes is as important as the record of applicants and present employes. When more men are needed, it is natural to suppose that past employes, whose services were satisfactory, will be specially desirable. On the contrary, a past employe who has been discharged, or whose work was unsatisfactory, is unlikely to be desirable.
Any record that will show who the past employes are, why they left, and their past record, will therefore be of value. Such a record is provided by the card illustrated in Fig. 38. When an employe leaves, for any reason, one of these cards is filled in and filed alphabetically. At the same time, the employe's card is transferred to another section of the file, and indexed under the name of the department, or the trade or class of employment.
These cards furnish a very complete record of employes, past, present, and future. If the number is small, all can be filed in one drawer, with separate indexes to segregate them into classes. Or a large cabinet, with one or more drawers for each class of records, may be required, but, in any event, the records are complete.