Part 3 of Eliminating the tolling costs of turnover

PART 3: Retaining your best employees

In the first article of this series, we pulled back the curtains and looked at all the ways that turnover costs you money. In Part 2 we examined the revolving door of new hires with two key approaches, using more effective selection techniques and learning more about why people are leaving. If you followed my coaching (and ignored that pesky voice in your head that was telling you, "Who cares why s/he resigned, s/he wasn't a good fit anyway") and chose to get curious and ask questions, use that information to work on what creates long-lasting, sustainable elimination of turnover costs - Retaining your BEST employees!
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A LESSON FROM THE OG
For several years I had the privilege of teaching the Organization Behavior course in the business school of McKendree University Louisville campus. I always included the story of the Pike's Place Fish Market when we talked about highly effective organizations and here's why. I honestly can't think of many jobs that I would dislike more than working as a fishmonger - the smell, the gore, the pre-dawn start to every workday, the hard labor of setting up the ice displays, and did I mention the smell. And yet, on the brink of bankruptcy, owner John Yokohama and his crew embraced a bold idea - to become world famous. What happened from there not only saved the company with

• sustainable profitability
• an outstanding customer experience
• a uniquely positive and engaging culture
• a highly skilled, loyal group of employees, 4 of whom purchased the business in July of 2018 from the retiring Yokohama,

but launched a management philosophy too.

 So what am I suggesting that you learn from this?

1. Be clear and bold about your why with the intent of creating direct connections for all positions and people in your company.
2. Believe in the talent that you have and invest in helping them achieve skills, learning, and job advancement to allow them to shine and continuously contribute fully to your mission.
3. Eliminate systemic dissatisfaction which is caused by issues such as lack of job clarity, unrealistic workloads, communication barriers, insufficient pay/benefits, etc.
4. Foster ownership at every level.

Grab your notebook; it's time to complete your final written assignment. By answering the following questions, you will have the ingredients you need to move from triage to healing and health:

• what is my company's why? (need help, check out this early blog)
• what do I know is happening or not happening that creates employee dissatisfaction and resentment? what additional information do I need to collect?
• what do I know about my best employees  and what matters to them? how am I engaging with them in a mutually beneficial way to maximize their contribution and fulfillment as an employee?
• if employees at every level operated with high levels of ownership, what would they be doing/not doing? how am I contributing to or getting in the way to that ownership?

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Just like our bodies, a healthy organization is one that has harmony, balance, and functions optimally without creating stress on one or more systems. The goal of these questions is to generate thinking about what it looks like and feels like to be in a healthy state (vs. the turmoil of serial turnover). An honest assessment helps to identify changes that can be effected quickly to demonstrate commitment and build momentum. Remember to use the data from step two of the second part of this series, to help you focus your efforts. ​ 
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ARE YOU READY TO DO THIS? 
DO YOU WANT FASTER RESULTS?

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