Thank you for listening to The Champion Forum Podcast with Jeff Hancher! Today is the one day a month you get a sneak peek at what is going on behind the scenes in my coaching programs. Lately, I have been getting a lot of questions about turnover and time management. Tune in to see how I respond to my clients when they present me with these issues and see how you can utilize some of my quick tips and tricks to benefit your business or team.
Combatting the Turnover Trend
Q: Jeff, I am the owner of a business, and my turnover over the last four months has never been worse. I feel like I haven’t done much different to cause this, and I simply cannot pinpoint the cause. Despite my manager’s best efforts, people are running for the door. What practical advice do you have to help reduce turnover? - Joe
You are not alone! Many businesses are struggling to hire and retain employees right now. This is a short-term trend that is having a major impact on businesses across the country. As the post-pandemic world emerges, many employees will rethink their future. They will consider what they want to do, what they want their life to look like, and where they want to live. Many people are leaving NYC, California, and other large metropolitan areas in favor of states like Florida and North Carolina. However, that does not mean that you should sit back and wait it out. Sometimes the issue is that you are not doing anything different. If there was ever a time to modify how we approach issues like mental health, benefits, flex schedules, and remote work, it is now!
Q: What is your favorite benefit at your company? What does your company do that positively contributes to company culture? When you left your last job, why did you do it? Was there anything your leader could have done differently to make you stay?
My challenge for you is to start tracking your turnover into two categories.
The first category is employees who have been with you for more than one year, and the second category is those who have been with you less than one year. If the turnover is largely in category one, you likely have a leadership issue. This means you should look at your employee recognition and compensation programs, how your employees rate their work/life balance, and how you roll out new programs and policies.
If the turnover is coming from the second category, you likely have either a hiring issue or a training issue. Evaluate your hiring process by determining if you are clear on what you are looking for. You also should look at your onboarding process and determine if your new employees are being adequately trained in their new roles. If this step goes wrong, you will struggle to retain new employees.
Q: What was your onboarding process like when you joined your company? Do you see any room for improvement? How has it changed since you arrived? What did you think the best part was?
Where you spend your time will determine your results.
In one of our recent Leadership Development online group calls, I had the leaders come to the meeting prepared to discuss the thing they felt was holding them back the most. The most popular answer was time management and being productive.
Ultimately, what you choose to do and what you choose NOT to do will determine your leadership effectiveness. If you feel like you are not getting the results you want, consider these questions:
What decisions can I stop making?
What am I afraid of?
What is today’s single, most important goal?
What hard thing am I not doing enough? What easy thing are you doing too much?
What is my strategy to make the needed changes in my life?
Do I have the belief in myself to do this?
Q: Which of those questions strikes a nerve with you? Why do you think leaders struggle to answer them honestly and act on them? Describe a time when you tried to delegate or stick to your priorities. How did your team respond? How did your boss respond? Did their responses make you more or less successful in your efforts? Application Activities: 1. What strategy do you have for analyzing turnover on your team? If you do have a strategy, when did you last look at the data? If you do not have a strategy, start by coming up with an exit interview process so that you can get valuable information about why people are choosing to leave your team. Then, sort the former employees into the two categories discussed during this episode. Look for patterns, and address any issues that come up more than once. Remember that learning from this process will help you save time and money by decreasing turnover. 2. If you are not currently leading a team, consider why you have chosen to leave a job in the past. Was it related to leadership? Onboarding? Or Development? Based on the advice in this episode, is there anything your leaders could have done better to keep you from moving on to a new job? Why or why not? Write down your observations so you can review them when you do get the opportunity to lead a team. 3. Make a list of all of the tasks that you do in a given week. Are there any tasks on the list that someone else could do at least 80% as well as you? Challenge yourself to choose five tasks to delegate. As you identify these tasks, pay attention to any negative feelings that come up. Are you concerned about things not being done perfectly? Do you worry about how you will be perceived if you delegate your work? Remember that delegation is a positive thing! Think about the tasks that you can put more time into if you delegate. You may also be able to take on additional projects to help move your business forward.
JULY 22, 2021
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