Another day, another panic phone call from a business owner because they just can’t keep their good people. Invariably the conversation reveals reasons that are “beyond their control”, e.g., ‘economy is very good and there are lots of jobs’, ‘my competitor is going to pay more’, ‘the person wants to work closer to their home’, etc., etc. I do agree that these reasons are valid, sometimes. However searching for someone or something to “blame” is not nearly as productive as finding a solution to the problem.

If you are keeping your good people, good for you. If you are not keeping your good people or are worried about employee turnover, then think about the following six deadly sins that many businesses (of all sizes) have been guilty of.

1. Choosing poorly.
Ask almost any businesses about their recruiting process and they’ll mumble, fumble and tell you that “we’re a simple company, we don’t need a hiring system.” Why? “Because we don’t have the time for one”. I then ask them how do they find the time to coach the people that don’t “fit”, and how much does it cost in time (and in real money)?

2. Orienting poorly.
Why this continues to happen when everyone knows that the first few days on the job for new people are extremely important for: setting standards, training on procedures and systems, etc., boggles my mind.

3. Equipping poorly.
Took my car to a car wash the other day, and it was bitterly cold. The attendant, who was obviously in some pain from the cold, was wearing company issue clothing that was ripped and worn. So, was I really surprised that the attendant hardly spent any time spraying my car before entering the wash? No.

4. Meddling, Controlling, Irritating and Discouraging.
Get out of the way and let people do their jobs! There is nothing more frustrating than a manager who believes that people must be told what to do, and monitored, otherwise they’ll goof off.

5. Not supporting.
From time-to-time people need help in dealing with new situations and that means that the manager has to fulfill the role of resource and coach. However, the manager has to be a champion and cheerleader as well.

6. Ignoring.
It really is unfortunate that so many of us have grown up with the belief that “no news must be good news.” Simply not true. Employees need to be constantly recognized, educated, and celebrated. As Michael LeBoeuf has said: “What gets recognized and rewarded, gets repeated.”

Businesses do face a myriad of challenges, two of those challenges are: keeping the Customers they’ve got, and; keeping the good people they’ve got. It is true that the average business loses 50% of its Customers every 5 years. And, it is equally true that the costs of replacing a valued employee is about 150% of annual compensation. So, who do you know that is guilty of one or more of the above?

A healthy first step on the road towards creating a turned on, motivated, achieving workforce, and keeping more Customers, is self-assessment and then doing something about what you find out.

Sid Ridgley, can be reached at 905-895-7900, fax: 905-895-7970 or e-mail: sridgley@simulcorp.com

Copyright ©Sid Ridgley