The Qualifications of the Ideal Foreman.
Page 18
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BErORE all other qualifications a foreman must be, first, a man, secondly a lea& r.
If he be a man he will be respected by every self-respecting workman.
If he be an honest leader he will conduct those workmen along the lines laid down by the owners as the policy of the establishment.
Too often the foreman is considered the buffer between the firm and the men, and is supposed by others to be in his position mainly to keep the men from flying at each other's throats. Under such conditions it is obviemely impossible for the foreman to be in full favour with either party. Towards the firm the foreman should be respectful, obedient and enereretie, and towards the men he shoull be firm, just and sympathetic.
A foreman must possess, of all things, tact. It means that the men will be treated as individuals, their failings noted and corrected, their good points enlarged upon and due credit allowed for them, and that the shop life will be 1334 freer and more natural. Nothing will create such an atmosphere of discontent as a suspicion that a foreman has favourites. With this tact, or faculty for governing along the line of least resistance, must be coupled absolute fairness.
Friendships and family obligations must be left outside the shop by the man who wishes to succeed as a leader of svorkm(n. A decided manner of passing judgment upon questions serves to inspire the men with respect for the foreman, especially if such decisions be prompt and in the great majority of cases absolutely accurate. Having made a decision it will not do to deviate from that course unless it be so clearly wrong as to be apparent to a casual observer, or against the interests of the firm.
Whilst an absolute grasp of all details qf the businese viewed from the men's point, is not absolutely necessary, it adds yreatly to a foreman's prestige to be able literally to show any man just how to perform any operation.
The blustering workman, so familiar to all foremen, ie best dealt with by a quiet and oft-spoken superior. On the other hand, it often happens that the quiet man of. few words can be spurred on to better deeds by an energetic and insistent manner.
Sympathy does not mean to take all excuses literally, but a casual inquiry as to how the sick wife or baby is getting along shows a., interest outside the commercial relation which appeals to most men.
A foreman's value to his firm depends largely on his knowledge of The capacity and limitations of each man under' him. This knowledge enables him to lay out his work to the best advantage, as he knows the man who is quick, the man who is accurate and the man who can be trusted to carry along detail or experimental work.
To keep a man up to his best pace, to have new work laid in advance and • to keep a man satisfied with his work and wages is a task which taxes the ingenuity of the best man.