As I travel the country working with different companies and doing workshops on finding and keeping GREAT employees, one of the first questions I am almost always asked is, "We have such high turnover, what are the most effective ways to keep our people from leaving"? It is my firm belief that before we can determine what it takes to keep our GREAT employees, it is important to first find out WHY DO THEY LEAVE IN THE FIRST PLACE?
In my workshops one of the key group exercises we do is breaking up into teams and then having each team list the reasons they believe employees quit. They are then asked to appoint a spokesperson and present to all participants their top two reasons for people quitting.
Let me ask you to do the same exercise right now. What do you think the top reasons are--pay, transportation problems, got a better job, the work is too hard? Do this exercise with your staff. Amazing the answers you will get. How about your answers?
Almost always the number one reason given by the various groups, no matter what part of the country I am in, is PAY. Was that yours?
After an entire adult life spent in this business (51years), speaking and working with literally hundreds of individuals and their companies,including my own for 34 years, reading and conducting a multitude of surveys, I have found what I believe are the top reasons people leave our employment. Let me share them with you.
NOBODY TOLD ME WHAT TO DO
This is not to be confused with "nobody trained me on what to do". This goes deeper to the root of the problem. This says that when the employee was hired, they were told something like, "Go to ABC building and do the janitorial work, you'll find everything you need in the closet". Can't happen? It does everyday.
What about your company? What do you say to your new recruit that you just invested hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars in to find, interview, and put on the payroll?
NOBODY EVER COMPLIMENTS ME
This reason should come as no surprise. People working in the service business usually only hear about it when there is a problem. What about you? Is the only time you really communicate with your staff is when there is a problem?
In the building services business, the usual procedure is for a supervisor or manager to come to work and ask the questions, "Any complaints today? What problems am I going to be faced with tonight? Who isn't coming to work this evening? How many people won't come to work and not even call in"? Sound familiar?
Let me ask you, When was the last time you went to work and made a conscious effort to compliment your staff on a job well done? Today? Yesterday? Last week? Never? The compliment you give your employees today or tonight may be the only good thing they hear today. They may have spent the entire day fighting off creditors or arguing with a spouse or child. Try giving a compliment, you'll like it, and so will they.
In my book, Finding, Training, and KEEPING Great Service Employees 101, I offer several suggestions on how to set up a system so your employees are always getting some positive feedback, (page 57 of the hardcover edition).
NOBODY TRAINED ME
This reason is a continuation of the first one where they said nobody told me what to do. The point here is that even if they were told what to do, no one trained them on how to do it. Sound like someone you know? I certainly hope not.
When I talk about training, I am not talking about training where someone is hired and then sent out with a current employee to "learn the ropes". These may be the very ropes you would like to get rid of. That current employee may only show them a series of WRONG ways of doing what it is you want done. I am talking about a formal training program that teaches, in detail, your company's way of performing the tasks you assured the customer would be done in a professional manner. I personally feel "on the job" training is a recipe for on the job failure.
THERE DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE ANY ROOM FOR ADVANCEMENT WITH THE COMPANY
This reason for leaving is really interesting. At the time that the GREAT employee is leaving a company because there is no place to advance, the employer is shouting to the world, "I can't find any good supervisors and managers". Sound familiar?
Because of space limitations this week, I will not go into further detail on these reasons but will elaborate more in the weeks to come on each of the subjects. I can say though, that I have worked with companies that have focused their efforts on these 4 issues and have seen their turnover rates go from 300 to 400% down to as low as 40%. Most settled in around the 60-70% number.
Some companies have taken these 4 major reasons for turnover in our business and framed them and put them in their Human Resources offices as well as their manager's offices as a constant reminder to keep focused on why people leave our industry. For those of you that think pay is important, and it is, it was number 6 on the list of top 10 reasons as explained by the employees that left. Surprising?
Let me know your thoughts on these reasons. They are real reasons told by real people who quit our industry. Let me know if you do the exercise I talked about above and what the results in your organization were. You can go to www.consultantsincleaning.com and hit the icon ASK DICK OLLEK. I read all of these and respond to all of them.
By the way, on October 14, we will begin our daily pod casts leading up to the BSCAI convention and ISSA trade show. They are posted at www.tripodcast.com.
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