Sometimes, a highly skilled millwright isn’t necessarily the most pleasant person—they can be moody, rude, arrogant, or even downright mean. So, what should you do in this situation? Given the shortage of skilled millwrights, losing a top-notch diagnostic expert might seem like a significant risk. However, retaining a talented but difficult millwright can ultimately be more detrimental to your business.
Ideally, this situation should never occur. Many business owners prioritize technical proficiency, minimal callbacks, speed, or billing volume when evaluating their top millwright, often overlooking their attitude. In my view, a millwrights attitude is just as important as their technical skills, and a negative attitude can be a major issue.
A negative attitude can create stress for your service manager, affect customer interactions, and impact the entire team. It may lead to high turnover if other technicians don’t want to work with them, and if unchecked, it might even foster similar negative behavior in others. Tolerating poor behavior can normalize it, which can be harmful in the long run.
Instead of firing a technician right away, consider whether you might share some responsibility for their attitude. If you consistently praise their technical skills while ignoring their behavior, you're indirectly condoning it. Have an honest conversation about their conduct and its impact on the team and the business. Make it clear that change is necessary, but also offer support for improvement. If their behavior doesn’t improve, termination might be the only option. A bad attitude can lead to higher costs and decreased satisfaction for your business.
If you need to replace a problematic millwright, reach out to us at 1-833-937-3546 or email us at info@rockstarrecruitinggroup.com. We specialize in finding skilled millwrights who also have the right attitude. Check out our 10 case studies to see how we’ve successfully matched companies with exceptional Millwrights as well as other roles in the skilled trades industry.
