High Employee Turnover

[Turbo]

Waxman:

Addressing your original question: no, it's them.

My story may not fit your situation. In summary: get some employees on your side (good pay, coaching,etc) and then identify, isolate and adress the problems. Grow your tribe of good people by nuturing the relationship and ruthlessly cut out all others. It worked for me.

1) Thanks for many great posts.

2) I have a quick lube and car wash. Bought quick lube 5 years ago. Bad staff (gangs, theft, dishonesty, attitude....they were not selected or managed...just hired and paid). Terminated all of them. Brought in new crew...same (I was ignorant, nieve and desperate)...terminated them. Brought in new manager (got really lucky - thinks like more like me). He hired almost all of the 14 other employees. He, me and 2-3 employees run the shop (one of us is always at shop). We are friendly, feared and respected. He and I teach (about the job, life,etc.). They learn. 80% of those that leave come back. We are growing still. The employees are seem happy. 80% are under 30. They are almost all latino (so is neighborhood)

3) We have zero tolerance for noncompliance: pants will be pulled up, tatoos covered, hustle, etc. No ghetto look or attitude. It appears that the staff appreciates the standards. They know the rules. They need the jobs. For the money they know they have a good job.

4) in Illinois we have 30 days to terminate before we have to pay unemp. We know before then and terminate after MANY coaching sessions. One kid saw me watching him work on a car and asked if I was going to help (with attitude). He was an ongoing issue and we had words a few minutes prior. I confirmed that he knew who I was. I terminated him on the spot and took over his task. This had a chilling effect on non compliance.

 

[Turbo]

5) I am considered by them to be hard, smart, frugal, compassionate and helpful ( I fall short of these and have many other shortcomings but they are not aware of them). I was there approx 355 days a year for 3 years. Now much less.

6) I like my staff. Excellent manager. My role: coach, life advisor (your life sucks because you suck-change this, this and this), handyman, planner, etc. I am considering giving them some bonus for getting a library card and reading.

7) I am not sure exactly why but the mix of customers has changed as well: they are better people too. How do I know? less slang; less people swearing/threatening me, less pot smell wafting from cars, etc

Turbo

 

[coag]

3+ years ago, our wash had very high employee turnover. Since then, it has dramatically decreased. Here's what I attribute it to:

• Previous management slacked off on adequately staffing our crew. As a result, we were continuously starved for help. We'd have to hire anyone we could get our hands on.
• Increase the number of applicants you can select from (ad in the paper, increase starting-wage, try online job-search sites, etc.).
• Select someone who's a good fit for the job. Pay attention to previous work history. Many people simply aren't cut out for car wash. I look for courteous, hard-working staff who I believe will enjoy this line of work. At the interview, try to start a conversation with them (not necessarily related to the job) in order to evaluate them in this capacity.
• I work with teammates, not subordinates. People like to work together rather than feel as though they are taking orders. I try not to act "above" my crew whenever possible. They know my job description--rubbing it in only serves to distance myself from them.
• Some understandably may not be comfortable with the following: whenever I can get away with it, I respond to my guys with honorifics such as "yes sir," "sir?," "Mrs. [last name]," etc. At times, it totally disarms them and immediately gets them on my side.
• Fair is fair. Making that extra effort to remember who weeded the flowerbed last time or who got to go home early will prevent unnecessary ill will against management/the company.

(Continued on next post)

 

[coag]

(Continued from last post)

• It's management's job to maintain the company's standards. If a customer complains because an employee failed to clean his car properly, I am responsible. I am the one tasked with hiring, training, and coaching. If an employee doesn't live up the the company's standards, it's because of something I have failed to do. It is inappropriate for me toss all the blame on my employee. Moreover, it's nonsensical for me to have an emotional outburst over it. Sure this makes a strong impact on people, but perhaps not in the way I'd hope for.
• If an employee is doing something wrong, I owe him the benefit of the doubt. I'll make sure to coach him thoroughly and follow up on it this time.
• It's disrespectful to point out an employee's flaws in front of other employees or customers. I should do this discreetly and tastefully.
• I try to throw in some positive feedback in there while I'm at it. The employee should feel like he can work towards some improvement, not like he's just been chewed out.
• If, after I've informed them of what I expect from them and coached them again, they still can't do the job right, then it's time to let them go. When I fire someone, if it was fair and for the right reasons, the crew will understand.

Good luck to you, Waxman, and I hope your turnover problems... turn around.