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pièces en simple sous-traitance
MOM (Mise en ordre de marche)

Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

son quart d'heure d'avance

English translation:

good warning / being ahead of time

Added to glossary by B D Finch
Dec 15, 2010 23:04
13 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term

son quart d'heure d'avance

French to English Social Sciences Management
context: consulting one's manager when having difficulty with an employee for "son quart d'heure d'avance"
Proposed translations (English)
3 being ahead of time
4 +2 report for work 15 minutes before start time
3 +2 his quarter of an hour in advance (arrival-clock-in,etc)
4 showing up (too) early
4 to allocate a quater hour of their time
3 15-minute warning
References
Required for supermarket employees
Change log

Dec 17, 2010 16:12: B D Finch Created KOG entry

Discussion

B D Finch Dec 17, 2010:
@AllegroTrans I agree with you. This is a recurring problem with KudoZ questions and there has to be some understanding that we are all busy with our own translation work. Askers should both have some consideration for that and realise that they will have the benefit of better quality, more useful answers if they give adequate context from the outset.
AllegroTrans Dec 17, 2010:
@ B D Finch The person who is problematic here is the asker, who has simply ignored requests for context. So I don't see why we should all waste time on this. Zero context in = zero context out.
cc in nyc Dec 16, 2010:
Advise the manager that you want to speak with him/her 15 minutes ahead of time?
Kiwiland Bear Dec 16, 2010:
That's why we need context for the questions Otherwise, as it turns out we were after a red herring - discussing a totally wrong thing!
B D Finch Dec 16, 2010:
Whose 1/4 hour? As can be seen from the context the Asker has now posted as a note to my answer. The person with the "quart d'heure d'avance" appears not to be the problematic member of staff, but the "grandfather" manager. That certainly changes things.
AllegroTrans Dec 16, 2010:
Asker As you can see, there has been quite a bit of debate about what this means. Perhaps you could kindly post the full sentence, as it is by no means clear
Kiwiland Bear Dec 16, 2010:
Agree with the above I too feel that it's not literal. Rather a general dissatisfaction with employee punctuality or lack of it rather.
B D Finch Dec 16, 2010:
Literal or not? I still think that this is a general criticism of the employee concerned not allowing sufficient time for things and not showing sufficient interest and initiative. i.e. generally doing the minimum required.
jmleger Dec 16, 2010:
I agree w/ Michael I think the employer wants his people to show up 15 minutes before their shift so as to start work on time and waste no time getting settled, dressed or whatever. I worked in a factory once and that was expected of us. You clocked in ahead of time so as to be at your work station ready to take over from the previous shift right on time.
Michael Davies Dec 16, 2010:
I agree that it does not make sense to complain about someone turning up 15 minutes early for work! (S/he should be 'employee of the month'!). It does, indeed, make more sense if the person leaves 15 minutes early. The other possibility is (as Catherine has suggested) that the employee fails to turn up 15 minutes ahead of the allotted time - but then, surely, that would be 'son **manque** de quart d'heure d'avance'?
writeaway Dec 16, 2010:
Please post more context At least a full sentence in French. Otherwise all anyone can do is guess or just give the obvious literal translation.
Tally Fenney Dec 15, 2010:
More context ? I'm puzzled - why would someone consult the manager (in this case it seems with issues) about someone being in advance ? Makes no sense to me. I'm wondering if this actually a request from the employee to leave early (e.g. 15 min before the end of the shift for example).

More context would be helpful

Proposed translations

25 mins
Selected

being ahead of time

I think this is about not leaving things till the last moment, being ahead of time.

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Note added at 32 mins (2010-12-15 23:37:14 GMT)
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Or, as in this example, anticipation and getting ahead as regards pay and working conditions:
http://cfdt.carrefour.free.fr/carrefour/hypers/Hyper 296.pdf

The quarter hour is not meant literally in either case. It is just a rough estimate of a reasonable amount without over-doing things.

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Note added at 1 day18 mins (2010-12-16 23:23:10 GMT)
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Now that you have given the context, it seems to me that this is about ensuring that the more senior manager has good warning of the situation. It appears that it is this manager two steps up the hierarchy who has the benefit of the "quart d'heure d'avance". That could not have been guessed from the information originally given.

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Note added at 1 day20 mins (2010-12-16 23:25:00 GMT)
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That also fits my Carrefour CFDT example of anticipation and being ahead of the game.
Note from asker:
The phrase is not a time reference, but is somehow related to the manager's expertise. The quote is "Pour les situations difficiles, discuter avec votre ligne hiérarchique): gestionnaire immédiat, gestionnaire de mon gestionnaire (son quart d'heure d'avance), gestionnaire de service (accompagné de son chef d'équipe)"
Peer comment(s):
neutral Catharine Cellier-Smart : it is meant literally in the asker's question. In your link Carrefour took its employee requirement "un quart d'avance" and made it their slogan and called it the "quart d'heure commercial".
57 mins
See my comment on your reference posting. My link is to the Carrefour CFDT site, not the managment site.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you for all the comments. I think the idea of "good warning" is correct. I was unfortunately unable to provide more context, as the quote was from a PowerPoint presentation and was in bullet point form. Your discussion was helpful, however, and in future, I will try to provide as much context as possible."
36 mins

showing up (too) early

something like that.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Catharine Cellier-Smart : the employee is NOT showing up early enough, according to the employer // ce que je comprends c'est qu'il s'agit d'un quart d'heure d'avance non payé (voir ref.). Donc si l'employée arrive en retard, techniquement ce n'est pas un quart d'heure de retard.
48 mins
Je regrette, mais alors ne parlerait-on pas de son quart d'heure de retard et non d'avance?
Something went wrong...
+2
39 mins

his quarter of an hour in advance (arrival-clock-in,etc)

Staff should arrive 15 mins early to be ready,set up and at work station for opening.
Reference:

http://www.sha.tc/random/tardiness

Peer comment(s):
agree Catharine Cellier-Smart : exactly
44 mins
Thank you Catharine !
agree Alison Sabedoria (X)
8 hrs
Thank you Wordeffect !!
Something went wrong...
+2
1 hr

report for work 15 minutes before start time

Based on Catherine's reference.
Quarter of an hour - too much of a mouthful in English
Peer comment(s):
agree Alison Sabedoria (X)
7 hrs
agree Sandra Petch
8 hrs
Something went wrong...
3 hrs

15-minute warning

That's what I think it would be, if it existed in the USA. But I'm not sure that it does; I think we let management fly blind.

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Note added at 1 day35 mins (2010-12-16 23:40:25 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Now that we have the full sentence, "warning' might be the right idea, but not the right register. So, as an alternative, perhaps:

fifteen minutes notice.
Something went wrong...
1 day 57 mins

to allocate a quater hour of their time

From context, it's the manager's time they are talking about.

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Note added at 1 day58 mins (2010-12-17 00:03:27 GMT)
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Sorry for submitting a second answer but context has changed.
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

1 hr
Reference:

Required for supermarket employees

Supermarket employees are supposed to arrive 15 minutes early in order to be at their work post at the precise time they're supposed to start work.

"Livret d’Accueil Nouveaux Intérimaires
Nous comptons sur vous pour respecter scrupuleusement vos heures de mission et de pause.
Nous vous recommandons de prévoir systématiquement un quart d’heure d’avance, afin de parer à toutes éventualités.
Vous devez être en poste, prêt à travailler, à l’heure précise de début de mission."
http://www.horscliches.com/useruploads/files/Livret_d_Accuei...
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree Tally Fenney : Makes perfect sense now
10 mins
agree Alison Sabedoria (X)
8 hrs
Something went wrong...
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