Business Education

Key Reasons Businesses Experience High Employee Turnover

High employee turnover is practically normal in some industries. These are mostly entry-level positions, where people only stay for a short time. But, since the global pandemic outbreak and shutdowns, followed by the reopenings, more and more companies have experienced unusual amounts of employee turnover. Although it’s easy to simply blame this abnormality as the source of the problem, there are sometimes underlying issues. It’s just that these remarkably unusual sets of circumstances have finally brought those festering problems to the surface.

High Employee Turnover Usually Underscores Underlying Issues

High employee turnover may in fact highlight problems within the workplace and not be a reflection of the departing team members themselves. Put another way, it’s not the employees’ faults necessarily, but something in the way the business is run. This isn’t to say it’s always the corporation’s fault, as mentioned above, some industries experience high rates of employee turnover regularly. However, if you’re running a business that does not hire nearly exclusive entry-level workers, and people are quitting after short periods of time, there are probably some good reasons.

Companies often thrive based on the talent provided by their employees. Yet, if a company is faced with frequent turnovers, the efficiency and effectiveness of business operations could suffer. Similarly, those companies that maintain a consistent workforce may be able to grow as a result of their employee base performing consistently. Understanding the causes and effects of turnover can help your company develop strategies and policies to increase the odds of keeping the staff members you value. —Houston Chronicle Small Business

One of the most difficult things for owners and entrepreneurs alike to see and understand is where their businesses are falling short when it comes to their employees. Ensuring that employees are well taken care of is just as important as serving customers to the best of your abilities. Since employees are the very lifeblood of your business, they should not only be compensated fairly but treated as vital components of your company.

3 Key Reasons Businesses Experience High Employee Turnover

Fortunately, high employee turnover usually comes as a result of at least one of three reasons. If any of these are persistent in your business, it’s probably what’s driving your employees to quit after very short tenures. Here are the most common reasons that businesses experience high employee turnover:

Compensation. This is the most obvious and is definitely among the top reasons employees don’t stay with their companies. Unfortunately, this doesn’t just apply to hourly workers, but salaried personnel as well. Paying at the bottom of the industry will practically guarantee that new hires become disaffected in short amounts of time and abruptly quit. Paying at the mid to high level of the industry is one of the best ways to avoid this problem, but that might not be applicable to all situations. Businesses already paying well might also consider little perks and incentives outside of pay, such as extra time off, gifts for meeting goals, and other types of incentives.
Management. There’s just about nothing worse than bad management. Even people who are compensated very well will not tolerate bad managers for very long. If management does not treat their staff with the respect and professional courtesy they deserve, individuals will simply find other places to go. Bad management not only drives people to leave but also causes them to perform poorly while they’re at the company. So, take a deep look at the management’s style and execution and make changes if necessary.
Culture. Company or corporate culture is also a very important factor in employees staying put. Just like bad management, individuals will not tolerate a toxic culture for very long. Even if management treats them well and they are compensated near or at the top of the industry, toxic culture will eventually erode their loyalty and they will leave the company. Although this is one of the most difficult factors to identify, it is essential that businesses foster a positive company culture in order to get the highest level of camaraderie and productivity from employees.

What other suggestions do you have for dealing with high employee turnover? Please take a moment to share your personal experiences and relevant thoughts — it could greatly benefit someone else! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

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Are You Delegating or Demanding

May 24, 2017 No Comments

Throughout the course of building a business, you’ll learn over time to delegate tasks and responsibilities to various people with the right skill sets. Some of the most successful entrepreneurs, like Sir Richard Branson and Mark Cuban, state no one can do it alone. That’s certainly true, you can’t do everything on your own and for those who attempt to do so, learn the hard way it’s an open invitation to trouble and even outright failure. The best business owners know their strengths and weaknesses and through this recognition, develop strategies and relationships which maximize their professional potential. Are You Delegating or Demanding? Delegating responsibilities is just part of doing business. Done smartly, this increases productivity and gives companies potential to grow and prosper. It also allows team members to realize their potential and creates a healthier and happier work environment. Delegating shows your confidence in someone and gives them pride to take ownership of certain areas. In addition, delegating allows you to focus on what’s most important while others can put their efforts into other tasks. Delegating is a great way to ensure that more tasks get done in less time, and it also builds team capacity. Unfortunately, a lot of managers don’t pay enough attention to the delegation process, and thus fail to reap the benefits. —Fast Company Another aspect of delegating is it gives you the opportunity to evaluate a person’s performance. When you give a team member responsibility, their approach and results will speak volumes about what kind of work ethic he or she has and what he or she believes are acceptable standards. In addition to evaluation, delegating gives you the ability to learn which of your team members are best suited for certain tasks. All of these things are great about delegating — if you are sincere. However, there is a real difference between delegating and demanding. Demanding does the opposite of delegating. It stifles creativity, decreases productivity, and poisons the workplace. It also drives a wedge between you and your employees, as well as creates tensions among your team members. Demanding doesn’t give you a true chance to evaluate, either, because it puts unnecessary pressure on people. Here are some signs that you’re demanding and not delegating: You rationalize unrealistic expectations. When you demand, you know it to be the case, as does the other person. This creates a need to rationalize unrealistic expectations, not only to the other person, but to yourself. In the end, no one is fooled, but, it gives you at least a pretense of having reason to demand. Your employees mislead or lie to you. If you get the feeling or learn that an employee is misleading or lying to you, there’s definitely a reason. Before jumping to conclusions, you should look back and think about the overall situation. For instance, if you interrogate an employee who wants time off, you’re creating an atmosphere where there’s little choice and lying becomes the only viable option. You create emergency situations. We all know that unexpected things crop-up from time to time, but, if you’re turning every surprise into an emergency, you’ll feel an undue urgency and that can easily lead to demanding. You justify your actions as legitimate and/or legal. If you ever have to ask if something is legal just to get it done, that’s troubling. You shouldn’t have to walk such a fine line because if you are, chances are excellent that even if it is legal, it’s not entirely ethical. You don’t want to deal with this or that. Delegating is done because it puts the best talent where it is most needed. Demanding comes from a need to get something done, particularly a task that you don’t want to deal with personally. Another sign that you’re demanding rather than delegating is your willingness to take credit or give credit to the person who deserves it. If you are taking credit of the work of others and not giving credit where it is due, that’s unethical and will undermine your entire organization. In summary, your employees are your greatest appreciable asset. Invest in them through servant style leadership by delegating with clear expectations and the kind of results you are looking for … then ask; “what can I do to help you succeed with this responsibility or project?” Want to find out about what a business coach can do for you? [shareaholic app=”follow_buttons” id=”26833294″]

How to Deal with Employee Ghosting

July 15, 2018 No Comments

Employee ghosting is a scary situation. It’s spooky because it’s so awkward and strange. If you haven’t heard about employee ghosting, you’re certainly not alone. Although, it’s a trend which appears like it’s on the rise. Basically, this is a workplace phenomenon born from personal relationships in this day and age or IRL. (That’s In Real Life — BTW or By the Way.) And, it’s possible you might just face this particular scenario. So, it’s best to err on the side of caution and take proactive measures to limit the fallout. Employee Ghosting Explained Before we get to how to deal with it, let’s first explain employee ghosting. It’s simply when an established team member, a new employee, or a fresh hire doesn’t show up, without notice or any forewarning. It’s actually a practice that’s been present in the dating world for quite some time. One person simply up and disappears, without any indication. Poof. All communications are cut off, all of a sudden. In fields ranging from food service to finance, recruiters and hiring managers say a tightening job market and a sustained labor shortage have contributed to a surge in professionals abruptly cutting off contact and turning silent–the type of behavior more often associated with online dating than office life. —Inc.com This has found its way into the professional workplace. And, it raises a number of concerns. Of course, the first is being a person short. Then, there’s the matter of reconciling or trying to make sense of a nonsensical move. Moreover, it makes your team members wonder just what the ghost knows they don’t yet know themselves. In other words, just what reason could cause a person to up and disappear? How to Deal with Employee Ghosting Now, let’s get to dealing with employee ghosting. After all, if it does happen, you certainly don’t want to be caught totally off guard. Here are some helpful suggestions for how to deal with employee ghosting: Create a backup plan. At some point, you’re going to deal with a sudden change that comes out of nowhere. So, it’s best to have a plan in-place. Get with one or more team members and create a backup plan that’s reasonable and actionable so it can be implemented, if necessary. Be prepared to reward. Of course, if someone doesn’t show up, someone else will have to shoulder the load. Which means they’ll have to work more. Make it worthwhile by rewarding them appropriately. A gift card, an extra paid day off, or a bigger bonus. Create a high trust culture. When employees call in sick or they are late, handle this professionally and according to your policy with consistency, but don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill. The same is true with employee mistakes. Be careful to react negatively or to belittle an employee who has made an honest mistake because these negative acts cause employees to not disclose the truth and hide their mistakes … even not showing up for work for fear of retribution. A safe and healthy work environment with open communication helps to foster high trust in the work place. Formulate a way forward. You can’t just rely on a temporary stop-gap solution because it isn’t tenable. You’ll need to formulate a plan for how to transition and proceed in a way that isn’t too interruptive. Stay calm and breathe deep. It’s an unfortunate situation and an uncomfortable one, just like when you have to tell your employees you’ve fired someone. But, you can make it past the setback. Start by remaining calm. Take a deep breath and handle it coolly. Have you experienced this strange trend? How do you deal with it? Or, what other suggestions do you have? Please share your thoughts by commenting! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

3 Effective Ways to Beat Zoom Fatigue

August 21, 2021 No Comments

Family businesses generally operate a bit differently than traditional companies. While many aspects are the same or similar, odd situations occur more often in family businesses. And, that’s due to the fact it’s family and not “strangers” that are part of the day-to-day operations. So, common things in regular business arrangements might be quite different than in a family business. For example, employee compensation. Some family businesses neglect to give their employees pay raises because they are members of the family. In other words, it’s not a common practice, because the business is run by a family, instead of unrelated individuals. Of course, the phenomenon of unconventionality is something that can easily be part of a family business, simply because all the individuals involved are related and feel an obligation and duty to the company. Family Business Fringe Benefits are Fine, but Not Compensation Replacements Some family businesses provide their employee relatives with certain fringe benefits. These might be things like extra flexibility with schedules. Or, extra time off for vacations with pay. It could even be things like a company credit card and/or a company vehicle. The job of operating a family-owned company is often grievously complicated by friction arising from rivalries involving a father and his son, brothers, or other family members who hold positions in the business, or at least derive income from it. Unless the principals face up to their feelings of hostility, the business will suffer and may even die. —Harvard Business Review While such perks are nice, they do not take the place of compensation. But, it isn’t at all uncommon for the family business head to see such fringe benefits as a replacement for compensation. Since their relative employees enjoy perks, they view this as some type of offset to a raise and reasonable pay. This can create very awkward and sometimes even toxic situations to arise. Moreover, if non-relatives are working in the company, who do receive bumps in pay periodically, this can lead to outright resentment. How to Talk about Pay Raises in a Family Business Needless to say, it is a very frustrating and even unfair position to be put into by the very business you so loyally serve. Worse still, is that the longer you let it go on, the more normalized it becomes. And that is definitely something you don’t want to happen. Here is some effective advice for approaching the subject about a raise in pay from your family business: Determine your actual value. This applies to every employee, and not just individuals working for family businesses. You need to know for certain what your worth is, based on real-world comparisons. Unfortunately, too many employees overestimate their value and therefore, ask too much from their employer. So, be sure to do your research in order to determine your actual value in the workplace, base on your skill sets, experience, position, and responsibilities. Understand the company’s financial position. Before you bring the subject up, be certain that you know the financial circumstances of the business at large. Don’t assume anything, particularly if you’re not regularly involved in the company’s finances. Guessing and vague ideas will only lead to trouble in one form or another. If you do not have a firm understanding of the business’s financial situation, it might make the entire exercise moot. Or, it could also cause you to become envious and greedy. Be calm, reasonable, polite, but firm. There’s no question that being in such a set of unfair circumstances will cause you to have any number of negative feelings. Remember these are counterproductive to your end goal. You will get much further by being respectful but firm and by engaging in a good-faith negotiation, rather than starting a family feud. If you let your negative emotions get the best of you, it will only lead to a bad outcome in the short term, and perhaps even ruin your relationship over the long term. What other suggestions do you have for such a peculiar and awkward situation? Please take a moment to share your thoughts and experiences so others can benefit from your unique perspective! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.