You needed seven production line workers yesterday. Now you need eight as you lost one overnight. No notice was given!! The temporary agency does not have anyone. You hear they have plenty of people for a larger more lucrative company. The candidates you have received so far for the sales job have been underwhelming. You have no idea how you are going to find a production engineer.
I was speaking with a friend last week. We were talking about my favorite topic, employee turnover. He mentioned two of the biggest causes of turnover. He mentioned work environment and whether the employee sees a future at the company. I totally agree with him; however, there are many other reasons and they are company specific. In addition, how these reasons are created and perpetuated are infinite.
Every day we are inundated with information and disinformation regarding COVID. Much of what is said contradicts other statements. We need to get the vaccine so we won’t get COVID. But people who have gotten the vaccine have subsequently gotten the virus. We need to wear masks today but not tomorrow. We now have the delta variant which throws in a completely different wrinkle.
As we start to come out of COVID, we are being warned of “The Great Resignation”. The main issue fueling this is an illusion which has been around forever. Everyone has an idea of what their “perfect job” would be. There are numerous problems with this illusion.
Recently there has been lots of chatter on social media about getting people back to work. Lots of companies offering sign on bonuses and the like to get people back on board. I have never offered or paid a sign on bonus, never had to. Sign on bonuses attract the people who make employment decisions based on money. They will never be long term employees. They are always chasing the money.
As we all know, bad supervisors are one of the main reasons for employee turnover. Whether they are a newly minted front line supervisor or the grey haired Executive VP it does not matter. There are an infinite number of reasons why this happens. I break it down by two areas which are generally mutually exclusive. You have the bad supervisor created by their personality and insecurities.
Spoiler alert: The vast majority of you will relate to this topic
I know of a company which is now owned by the third generation. In both their marketing for customers and in recruiting they sell themselves as a third generation family business. Tucked into a corner of the Presidents’ office is a cherished family picture. It is of two brothers, probably in their late twenties or early thirties. Behind them is a truck. The picture memorializes the very beginning of the company.
Freebies are very expensive, time consuming and hard to stop once started. Even worse, freebies don’t work. Freebies can take the form of food trucks, rich benefits, emotional events or activities. The participation level and the impact taper off quickly. Your employees will soon be looking for a new fix with new freebie. I have never seen any of those type of activities work in the long term.
Recently I was involved in a conversation with an executive about what I did. We spoke about the backbone of his company. The people who made him money and helped grow his company. We covered the importance of not having turnover in this area and making these people as productive as possible. After we talked for a while he said, “Oh so you are a strength coach for my backbone!!” I had never thought about it that way; but, he was correct.
