How to Decrease Employee Turnover

Feb. 8, 2010 - PRLog -- How to Decrease Employee Turnover
Taking your finger off the trigger

We have all seen the hit television show The Apprentice where Donald Trump utters the most famous line You're Fired! I know I can speak for every member of fraternal order otherwise known as "The Boss", there are some days when you simply want to just clean house and start over. And who wouldn't want to start over with a Now Hiring Ad in the local news paper as you search for some wide-eyed bushy-tailed replacement that is eager to learn your doctrine. In real life turnover is always painful as it initiates the process of change management. It would be easier to deal with if it was just an issue of replacing a guy, but unfortunately production always is at risk with high turnover.

There are three major reasons for firing an employee on the spot.

1 Insubordination 2. Theft 3. Attendance

Now notice that I never listed incompetence as one of the reasons for terminating an employee and that is because it should never be the main reason. I can manage incompetence into competence with a few creative techniques and a ton of reinforcements, but theft is more of a moral issue.

I have had good success managing an employee that suffers from an information retention issue, but I would never attempt to salvage an employee who calls in every other day. In order to get the desired result out of an employee there has to be a few core qualities in place. For starters, the person in question has to value their job. Second of all the employee has to be in the correct job assignment aligned with their skill set.

Every time you have to terminate a bad apple you have just hurt what production you have. I know all too well that some circumstances are unpreventable; however the few that you can coach up deserve a second look.

Before you set out to fire a group of employee's I definitely would like for you to conduct a MRI of your entire staff in order to detect if a portion of your organization is cancerous. Quite often managers find themselves in a pattern of continuous hiring only to find out that a certain individual on their staff is poisoning each and every new hire you put in place.

Once the new hire has gone through your orientation, Mr. Negative on your staff conducts his own orientation which totally contaminates the new hire.

I am all for good turnover but you should never shoot yourself in the foot. There is a lot we can learn from Pete Carroll, the head Football Coach for USC. In a three year span USC produced three Heisman Trophy winners, Carson Palmer, 2002; Matt Leinart, 2004; Reggie Bush, 2005. Two of Pete Carroll Heisman Trophy winners were quarterbacks, first Carson Palmer, and then Matt Linart. Coach Carroll was always developing the next Heisman candidate, which created a tradition of excellence at that position.

Like Coach Carroll you should always comb your staff in search of the next superstar. As a manager you should have the training systems in place to enhance the quality of your staff. Before you terminate your next employee I need you to ask yourself two simple questions?

As managers and leaders have we done our jobs to the fullest?

Is there a cancerous staff member on my team?

Locate the cancer and cut it off immediately, that's what I consider a good termination.

Please remember that as a manager you are also judged on your ability to train and retain your company's number one asset, your staff. What makes you the boss is not your ability to fire, but rather having the ability to fire yet choosing to inspire.

Thank you
Thomas A. Rothstein

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Thomas A. Rothstein Business Consulting Firm provides organization development stratagies for small and large corporations.