Windridge - Identify. Develop. Retain.: Turnover

Sometimes it’s not the people you’re hiring that are the problem. Sometimes when you see employee turnover it’s the people you already have onboard that are causing the disconnect. And make no doubt about it, even in this job hungry market people will walk away.

Whenever a new hire “fails” I inevitably receive the call: “Why didn’t the assessment catch this ‘fatal flaw’ in the candidate?” Now, I understand the natural tendency of wanting to blame something external: the assessment, the interview, the candidate’s craftiness and yes, these elements are something we will review to make sure we haven’t missed anything. But then I will ask the question that no manager wants to hear: “Is there the possibility of disengagement or dysfunction in your current staff that you are blind to or unaware of?”

Many times it’s the saboteurs inside our companies, the ones we have become accustomed to and have made allowances for that make great new hires decide to walk away after only a short time.

Here is an excellent example of one of the saboteurs you might have working for you:

“I once worked with an HR person who was, shall we say, less than friendly. She constantly sowed dissent among the department. And yes, sowing dissent isn’t something that’s easily recognizable, but she was a pro at it. Her demeanor was rude and obnoxious.

She had no computer skills in a job that demanded them.

She dealt with worker’s comp claims all day long (not the most fun part of this profession).

She had been doing the exact same job for an untold number of years before I even got there.

So, what’s the point?

Well, I wish there was a happy ending to that story. But that’s it, really. All I can do is encourage you not to have people like this hanging around and polluting your workplace. These kinds of employees embody the quit-and-stay mentality. And while I realize that she may have had other factors impacting her attitude, this kind of thing is simply all too common. Have you let your people turn into one of these morale murderers? Have they stagnated in their career?”
(Excerpt from: Alive HR – post by Ben Eubanks)

Please keep as diligent an eye on the health of your current employees as you do on your new hires. Provide them with opportunities, coaching and development so that they can grow and develop themselves and, therefore, better serve the new people you are bringing in as well as the population of your workforce.

If you try to bring energetic, thoughtful, proactive people into a situation where there is dysfunction, especially in your supervisor and management staff, you are courting high turnover and job dissatisfaction.

Hire smart and continually read the pulse of your people!