Monthly Archives: May 2011

Things…

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There are many times I have a few things on my mind, but not enough to actually put a full blog post together – so I’ve decided when that happens I’m just going to mash a bunch of those together so I can get them out of my mind.  Here goes some things:

– Circus Peanuts– you know the orange sponge like candy that nobody actually eats – yeah – I like those.  To be honest I haven’t had one in probably 15-20 years because of the embarrassment I think I’d feel if I actually bought a bag, plus the fact that as I got older I couldn’t really wrap my mind around what they were.  The texture is unlike anything you’ll ever put in your mouth – unless you have a weird thing and like putting smooth sponges in your mouth. (see I told you theses were some things!)

– Skinny Girl Margaritas – My neighbor Kris Dickens gave me a bottle of Skinny Girl Margaritas this week (Thanks Kris!).  While that sounds completely metro-sexual – ok, that’s completely metro-sexual.  My wife and I watch a ton of reality TV and Bethany Ever After is one of the shows we’ll catch – and so I really like Margaritas and I make a very good Margarita myself – I wanted to try these famous Skinny Girl Margaritas.  So, here’s my review:  Skinny girls are skinny for a reason – they don’t eat or drink – so it’s probably best if you go for a margarita or any food or drink for that matter made by someone who actually has a little more “substance” to themselves.  What does that mean?  Skinny Girl Margaritas are strong (good for the Mom’s wanting to disconnect from reality) but light on actual flavor – which would add calories.  Maybe Bethany can make a Fat Girl Margarita which would probably be a little sweeter and talk to me.

– Crazy Sports Dads – I have more stories of crazy-ass sport Dads than I care to remember – and it seems to be getting worse.  I had a father explain to me this past week the “importance” of teaching 6 and 7 year old kids a lesson in failure (striking out in baseball).  To give you some perspective – first time “real” baseball for many of the kids, coach pitch, this guy says if they swing 3 times and miss, they’re out – go make them sit down.  I wanted to maybe give them a couple of additional swings, knowing that some 6 and 7 year old kids – especially those not growing up in a sports family – might struggle being their first time out.  Mr. Baseball wanted to teach “lessons”!  So, here’s what I know – the game of baseball is almost all based in failure – you’ll make millions of dollars in baseball failing 70% of the time – there is no other profession in the world that would even keep you employed if you failed 70% of the time.   If I’ve learned anything in life it’s that if someone feels some initial success at doing something, they’re more apt to continue to work at, and get better at, that skill. If they fail, initially, they are more apt to quit.  Good job Crazy Sports Dad! 

–Crazy Sports Dad, part 2 – Can you stop yelling at your kid while they are in the middle of a game, because you feel they have somehow personally let down you, your entire family heritage and our nation!  Guess what Sherlock – they didn’t strike out just to spite you – they were actually trying – but it’s a hard game – in which they will fail more than they will succeed – you screaming at them from the sidelines, like you have you bet your house on the game – isn’t helping them get better.

3 Steps To Finding The Smartest Employee In Your Company

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I couldn’t sleep the other night, probably because of the 14 Diet Dews I had throughout the day, but I had an Epiphany while staring at the ceiling in the dark.   I figured out a way for HR Pros to find the Smartest Employee in their Company!  It isn’t a complex algorithm or a set of cognitive assessment tests – it’s a simple matrix – but it’s very effective.  Now, you might be asking yourself:

 “Why do I need to find the smartest employee in our company?”

Which would be legitimate – unfortunately at 2 a.m. I didn’t ask myself that same question – I just thought I came up with some crazy Einstein type shit!  But, like most things I deal with, I can come up with a plausible argument to why it’s important to find the smartest people in your company.  My reasons:

1. Smart people have the potential to do smart things.  In an organization you want to make the right decisions – usually dumb people don’t.

2. Smart people usually know other smart people. In an organization you want to get rid of your dumb people, and hire more smart people.

3. Smart people know the fakers.  Organizations make people selection mistakes, it happens all the time, don’t be embarrassed, just don’t let one decision turn into another by keeping a mistake.  Smart people know your bad hiring mistakes, because they can read through the B.S.

Now for the Matrix!  Like I said it’s simple – which is also why it’s genious, because anyone can do it.  It goes a little something like this (hit it!) –

First Step: down one side of your matrix list your employees by level of responsibility. Most responsible at the top, down to the least responsible at the bottom.  Some of these you’ll just have to do the eyeball test on, and slot people as you see fit – don’t get to worked up over this – just get the most responsible up top, the least down low – the ones in the middle don’t matter anyway.

Second Step: Across the top of the matrix list total compensation of each person to the corresponding column.  For the most part you should end up with a sheet that shows the most responsible person in your organization, making the most money, and slowing but surely working your way down to the least responsible, least amount of money.

Third Step: The Smart Employee Search.  Here’s where the rubber hits the road!  Now, look at your matrix and find the highest paid employee, with the corresponding least amount of experience.  Boom! You just found your smartest employee.

I told you it was easy!  This person has figured out how to, relatively, make the most money by having virtually no responsibility.  Say what you want – but that is one smart person!  You need to pull that person in and find out how to get them more engaged into your daily operations.  Don’t take this as a joke – dumb people don’t figure this out – you just don’t fall into a highly paid, low or no responsibility job – you have to work to get there.  Don’t underestimate this person’s capabilities – because guess what – everyone else has!  That’s why your working your butt off until 6pm, and they’re out the door at 3pm going to their golf league – for about $4000 less than you make. They’re going home with no stress, while you’re on your 4th therapist – this year.   They love coming to work – you have a hard time pulling yourself out of bed.

I love these employees – I try to hang with them, learn from them – I feel like I’m an anthropologist learning about a forgotten species – they intrigue me so.  A word of caution though – don’t try and capture and change these employees – don’t try and be “smarter” than they are – and change their job or their scope or their pay.  Remember, they’re smarter than you – you’ll just frustrate yourself as they find another position – doing even less for more!

Don’t Give Me Remarkable

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You want to know the exact equation that will guarantee your kids will spend more on therapy bills then a college education? Expect them to be Remarkable.  I’m learning this right now.

I have a 14 year old son – he’s remarkable – at least I think so.  He’s a baseball player and by saying that I know I’m labeling him – because he also loves basketball and golf and Call of Duty on Xbox and his girlfriend and his best friend and his little youngest brother and, dare I say, math (which he’ll deny! – love might be a bit strong).  But he plays baseball like he was born to do it – he feels at home on the diamond.  That doesn’t mean he’s the best, it just means that’s where he prefers to be – thick leather glove on his hand, fresh mowed grass, sun burning down on the back of his neck, salty sunflower seeds stuck in his cheek – it completes him.

Those who know 14 year old boys and baseball – also know – baseball is a game that has more failure than success, by far.  Expecting one to be remarkable, to be error-free – is expecting the impossible. But I’m a Dad – I expect the impossible – I expect Remarkable.  Parenting is funny that way – you have to have high expectations, because it’s really the only way you ensure yourself for kids to reach higher – but trying to determine what that limit is, is next to impossible.  How high, is to high? 

We live in a society where everyone is trying to be remarkable. Somewhere along the way, it stopped being Ok, to just be, Ok. To be good, but not great. To be a part of a team, but not be the star.  We have gotten ourselves into a cycle that is very difficult to manage.  How do you manage a team of people where each one is attempting to be Remarkable – when you don’t need them to be Remarkable.  I need my Accounts Payables to go out each Thursday before noon – that isn’t remarkable – it just is the job that needs to be done. So, how do you manage the person doing that task who is trying to be remarkable?  Look, getting them out by Wednesday at noon isn’t remarkable, it just shows me that we can now move up the schedule another day, I’m fine with Thursday.

I’m scared for a future where everyone feels the need to be remarkable in everything they do.  I don’t need remarkable, I don’t expect remarkable.  I think remarkable happens when a team of good gets together, works together, to make remarkable things happen – not an individual. 

So, I tell my son – I don’t need a hit every time your up to bat,  I don’t need you to strike every kid out, I don’t need you to make every play.  I need you to help your teammates, to help make them better, to try and give them what you can deliver at that moment.  Give me 9 kids all attempting to do their best, and that will look pretty Remarkable! 

(now can someone come sit next to me at games and remind me of this – each pitch!)

Stop Thinking Out of the Box!

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If I hear someone tell me they are getting “out of the box” one more time, in terms of solving a problem, I’m going to shoot myself!   “But Tim! Isn’t that what every boss wants to hear?”  (is anyone annoyed, yet, that I ask myself questions in my posts, because I assume the reader is to dumb to ask these questions themselves!? Me, I am!) Anyway, one of the only reasons someone gets out of the box, if they are somewhat intelligent, is they are trying to find a way to solve the problem, by doing less work.  99.9% of all of your problem can be solved by just doing the work that is in front of you – but that can be hard, time consuming and takes discretionary effort.  So, we get “out of the box”! 

We feel this need to do more with less, think smarter not work harder, find a way to work an end-around, around this problem.   We tend to value “out-of-the-box” thinking over “plain-old” hard work.  One of my 3 rules of Blogging is: I can’t talk about my wife (it’s just like the Fight Club rules) – first rule of The Tim Sackett Project – can’t talk about the wife.  So, let’s just say there is a special woman in my life (you’ll come to learn I’m not a very good rule follower). This special woman is the most successful person I know, personally, in my life – there hasn’t ever been a time in her life when she was not wildly successful at whatever it was she put her mind to (again this isn’t my wife ;).   Now my special woman friend, is not an out-of-the-box thinker, in fact she very much likes being in the box – it’s warm and comfortable and you know what to expect.  Remember, she’s not successful – she’s “wildly” successful!

So, what does she do – she works harder than everyone else – always.  In fact, if there is any easy way to get something done, she won’t accept it, she’ll find a harder way to do it!  She sees a problem and immediately goes to work on it, gets dirty, sweats, stays up late, gets up early, and flat out-works everyone else to solve the problem.  We tend to over value Out-of-the-Box thinking in our society.  Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and place to creative thinking and planning – but there is also a time and place for hard work – and that time and place should be taking up more time than most of us are allowing for.  Too many buy into Abe Lincoln’s quote: “Give me 6 hours to cut down a tree, and I’ll spend the first 4 sharpening the ax.” That’s great – but if your “ax” is already sharp enough, start chopping down that damn tree!   Eventually the diminishing returns law comes into effect, the ax can only be so sharp, where is actually helps you cut faster – after a certain point you’re just sharpening to sharpen.

What did we learn:

1.  There is absolutely no replacement for hard work (try assessing for that!). 

2. Creative thinking is wonderful, to a point, and that point is when work needs to get done.

3. I’m not seeing another woman – my wife is a really hard worker and wildly successful and this isn’t a make-up piece!

The World’s Toughest Recruiting and Retention Challenge!

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As HR Pros we all have our greatest recruiting stories and retention saves – and as HR Pros – we always think ours are the worse!   With the killing of Osama Bin Laden recently you would think the Navy SEALS have the easiest recruiting and retention job in the world right now – wouldn’t you!?  I mean let’s face it – the SEALS are 2011 Rock Stars.  Every guy wants to be one, and every girl wants to date one (well, and maybe some guys to – I’m inclusive being in HR!) But, a recent Newsweek article, The Coolest Guys in the World, tells a different story:

They were already a semi-legendary bunch, a wing of the Navy that attracts gung-ho soldiers who drink snake venom and punctuate kills with a kiss to the victim’s cheek (if their memoirs are to be believed). Swagger, perhaps, but also inevitable. SEAL training takes at least two years—about the same as it takes to become an astronaut—and includes an agonizing combination of brain and brawn, topped with five days of simulated battle stress. The men call it “Hell Week” (official name: Motivation Week), a regime of bullets, bombs, and extreme endurance tests. Men can ring a bell to quit at any time, and historically two out of three do. There are only about 2,500 SEALs worldwide, and an estimated 200 in Team Six, the squad that picked off three Somali pirates from 100 feet on rough seas in 2009.

But the SEALs haven’t always enjoyed such heady days. In fact, the bin Laden mission is a bright spot in a history marked by scandal, failure, and, most recently, a decade of stalled recruiting efforts. That may not change. “Recruiting is a big problem, and retention is an even bigger problem,” says former senator Bob Kerrey, a Medal of Honor–winning SEAL during Vietnam. “Ninety percent of a SEAL’s life is training, preparation, and being bored to death.”…

In recent years the Navy has stepped up its efforts to find such pros, offering a $40,000 bonus to recruits who survive basic training, and scouting out men who can do just that. The profile is very specific. The men most likely to succeed as SEALs, according to a 2010 Gallup study commissioned by the Navy, are at least 5 foot 8 and 162 pounds, eschew the Big Four sports for pastimes like water polo, snowboarding, and lacrosse, and hail from “New England, the northern Plains, or the West Coast.” Their average age is 22 to 25.

As Talent Pros we always go after the best talent we can find.  Can you imagine having to go after such a specific profile, only to then have to ask them not to be who they are most of the time!?  We want you to be America’s most feared killing machines, but hey just wait over their for a few months and we’ll give you call when we need you.  That is a major Retention Challenge!  We want the worlds greatest adrenaline junkies, who have a on/off switch.  And don’t tell me this isn’t a Recruiting Challenge – sure everyone is knocking on your door to be a SEAL – but you don’t want everybody – you want a very specific profile – you want a Needle in a Haystack!

So, what’s the most challenging recruiting and retention scenario? The one where everyone wants the job, you only want a very small few of them, and then wants they get the job they don’t want it any longer!  Welcome to the show boys!

 

What Makes Your Boss a Jerk?

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I tweeted out an article last week called “The 7 Worse Kinds of Bosses” that was taken from a Monster.com article.  I’m intrigued about the “Worse” boss scenarios not that there aren’t legitimately bad bosses in the world – but someones bad boss, might be someone else’s great boss.  Let me explain. I’m not a person who needs much feedback, I don’t need pats on the back, I don’t need birthday cards, I don’t need a letter sent to my Mom from my Boss (who happens to be my Mom!) saying what a great worker I am.  So, a great boss for me, tells me what needs to be done, when it needs to be done by, and what the expectations are for a finished product – then gets out of my way. 

Now, I have a buddy who I worked with for years – we were on the level in HR, just had different divisions we supported, even sat next to each other.  We were opposites, but both did a great job.  His great boss was someone who was constantly going to checking in, giving him feedback, check on progress along the way, give him suggestions on other ways to do the project, etc.  A little different from my Great Boss.  Ironically, we had the same boss! 

Being a supervisor/boss is tough for one reason – you’re going to have some people that work for you, that think you’re a Rock Star, some that think you’re alright – but they’ve had better, and some that think you’re completely worthless.  The best supervisors are ones that have enough self-insight to understand this concept and never believe they are a Rock Star and never believe they are Jerk.  The bosses that struggle are the ones who believe they can manage everyone one way – “this is who I am and they can like it, or leave it.”  It’s just not that easy – given those two choices – most will choose to “Leave it!”

So, what can you do as a HR Pro?

1. Get your “Bosses” (those hiring managers who supervise) to understand what traits make them Jerks.  Some 360 tools are good for this, but be careful, if the boss isn’t prepared for the feedback, this can go badly.

2. Get the employees in the bosses group to realize everyone has good and bad traits, and it’s up to us to value the good and help limit the bad.  A great Leader Transition meeting works very well for this, in setting leader/subordinate expectations from the very start.  A transition meeting allows both sides to let each other know what they value from a leader, and what the boss values from the worker. It will also set proper communication expectations.

3. If you have a “Jerk” supervisor – don’t waste to much time fixing them.  Adult Jerks, tend to stay Jerks – there is no training class in the world that is going to change them. So, you have two choices, and you might easily decide to go either way. One, get rid of them – employees will be happy, until the next lady comes in! Two, deal with the turnover.  Why would you put up with this? Maybe the Jerk gets great results and your organization values that.  Sometimes we put up with jerks – that’s reality.

What should you not do as a HR Pro?

Never get on a high horse after one employee tells you their boss is a jerk.  That boss might be another employees Rock Star and maybe that employee is a better performer.  Seek to understand their Jerkiness!

6 Ways LeBron James is Great at Team Building

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I had to write an article about great team building and LeBron James – basically because @Kris_Dunn (The HR Capitalist and Chief FOT’er) hates how LeBron took his talents to South Beach – and now he’s on the verge of winning his first NBA Championship.  Fast Company’s latest edition has an article titled: What LeBron James And The Miami Heat Teach Us About Teamwork that takes 5 shots at why LeBron and his Miami Heat team did a great job a building a championship contender. The 5 Team Building principles from the Fast Company article:

1.Start With Sacrifice.   LeBron and Bosh both left millions of dollars on the table to go to Miami to play with Dwayne Wade. Dwayne Wade gave up being the highest paid player on “his” team.  All 3 wanted to win championships and were willing to make some sacrifices to make it happen.

2. The Rule of Many. It takes more than just 3 stars to make an NBA team – or at least an NBA winning team.  With the big 3 together, many other veterans were willing to take less money to join the team, giving the Miami Heat the most experienced roster in the NBA in total NBA years of playing experience.  All 3 stars had connections they used to get these players to join, most notably using prior relationships to get these veterans to join their quest.

3. Adversity is an Asset. “Nothing brings a team together than a common adversary.” The Miami Heat’s adversary? Well everyone not associated with the Miami Heat! When Miami started this season they were suppose to walk through everyone, yet, they struggled and people loved that they struggled. This adversity worked to pull a team together and work even harder to reach their potential.

4. When the Going gets Tough, Turn to one Another.  Say what you want about the Big 3 in Miami, then one thing you’ll be hard press to say is that they don’t support each other.  When the whole world was asking “who’s team is this?” they said “ours”; when the whole world asked “who’s going to take the last shot in tight game?” They said, “whoever is open”.  Great teams understand the value to chemistry and believing in each other.

5. Manage From Inside-Out. The easiest thing the Miami Heat could have done this year, when they were struggling early, would have been to fire their coach and replace him with Miami Heat President and Hall of Fame coach, Pat Riley.  But, they didn’t. Instead Riley mentored and worked with Heat coach, Eric Spolestra, helping him understand how you lead a roster filled with superstars.

6. Beware of the Blame Game. Team chemistry is everything. History of littered with the most talented teams that didn’t reach their potential, and with teams that lacked talent, but won championships, all because of Chemistry.  Don’t underestimate this when putting a team together in your organization – great chemistry with average talent, will almost always beat great talent that lacks chemistry.

There are a ton of Miami/LeBron haters out there – but when you look at what that group of players and the organization has done to build a team – it seems like they are on the right track to be a championship level team.

Is HR Wasting Your Time?

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I had a conversation the other day with a corporate HR Director and we were talking recruiters – corporate recruiters.  My friend had a dilemma, a classic corporate recruiting scenario.  Here’s her problem – she has recruiters who are doing a decent job, but they won’t get out from behind their desk and get out into the organization and get face-to-face feedback from the hiring managers. But – here is the real reason:  the recruiters feel like they are “wasting” the hiring managers time.

“So” she asked, “How do I get them out to build these relationships?”

Great question – but she asked the wrong question (was partially my answer).  Her problem isn’t that her recruiters aren’t building the relationships face-to-face – the problem is they feel they are “wasting” someones time.  They don’t value, or understand the value they are providing to the hiring manager – if they did, it sounds like they wouldn’t have a problem with visiting with the hiring managers.  It’s a classic leadership fail – solving a symptom instead of solving the actual problem.

Don’t think that this is rare, recruiters feeling like they are wasting hiring managers time – it happens constantly at the corporate level.  Once you train your recruiters (and hiring managers) on the value the recruiters are providing – you see much less resistance of the recruiters feeling comfortable getting in front of hiring managers to get feedback on candidates, and actually making a decision.  This moves your process along much quicker.

What value do recuiters provide?  Well, that seems like a real stupid question – but there aren’t stupid questions (just stupid people who ask questions).  Here’s a few that will help your corporate recruiters understand their real value to hiring managers:

  • Corporate recruiters are the talent pipeline for a hiring manager. (or should be!)
  • Corporate recruiters can be the conduit for hiring managers to increase or better the talent within their department.
  • Corporate recruiters are a partner to the hiring managers in assessing talent.
  • Corporate recruiters are a strategist for the hiring managers group succession planning
  • Corporate recruiters are your hiring managers first line of performance management (setting expectations before someone even comes in the door)
  • Corporate recruiters are tacticians of organizational culture.

So, the next time you hear a recruiter tell you “I don’t want to waste their time.” Don’t go off on them and tell them to “just go out there and build the relationship” – educate them on why they aren’t wasting their time. Then do an assessment for yourself to determine are they adding value or are they just wasting time – all recruiters are not created equal – some waste time – and it’s your job as a leader to find ones add value. 

A critical component to all of this is building an expectation of your hiring managers of what they should expect from your recruiters.  They should expect value, they should expect a recruiter who is a pro, who is going to help them maneuver the organizational landscape and politics of hiring, they should expect a recruiter is going to deliver to them better talent than they already have, they should expect a partner, someone who is looking out for the best interest of the hiring managers department.  They should expect that their time won’t be wasted.

The 2nd Biggest Lie We Tell In HR

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I love that HR Pros get so worked up about Performance Management and delivering great feedback to employees about their performance and development.  It’s one of things I really enjoy about HR – we help show people the way to becoming better versions of themselves.  Herein lies one of HR biggest problems, though, not everyone is going to get better. In fact, I think it’s the 2nd biggest lie we tell employees:

“Everyone can be successful.”

No, they can’t!  BusinessWeek had a good article last week called Be an Optimist without Being a Fool which examined this notion that there is a difference from having people believe they can be successful and the belief they can be successful without significant effort on their own part.  From the article:

There are quite a number of motivational speakers and self-improvement books out there with a surprisingly simple message: believe that success will come easily to you, and it will. There is one small problem in this argument, however, which unfortunately doesn’t seem to stop anyone from making it: it is utterly false.

In fact, not only is visualizing “effortless success” unhelpful, it is disastrous. This is good advice to give only if you are trying to sabotage the recipient. It is a recipe for failure. And no, I’m not overstating it…

But there is an important caveat: to be successful, you need to understand the vital difference between believing you will succeed, and believing you will succeed easily. Put another way, it’s the difference between being a realistic optimist and an unrealistic optimist…Believing that the road to success will be rocky leads to greater success because it forces you to take action.

In my experience in HR, within area of employee development, the times I saw people succeed the most were the times when I almost had to take the job away from someone.  Those times when not only myself, but their supervisor, thought they had no shot to succeed, that they didn’t “have it” in them to reach the level that was needed, and we were up front enough to share this gift of feedback.  Facing the up hill odds, they fought for it and were successful.  The times I’ve watched hiring manager, after hiring manager, blow hot air up employees butts about how successful they’ll be, those employees rarely ever come close to the high praise they were given.

When I was at Applebee’s the collective leadership called this “delivering a gift” – that’s what we called those “opportunity” conversations.  Tim, we love you enough to give you this gift or letting you know what is holding you back, and what are the mountains in front of you.   For those with some self-insight, this was indeed a gift.  A gift that allowed you to make a decision, was I willing to make the necessary changes to reach that next level, or that it was time for me to go, because I knew I wasn’t willing to put forth that effort.  In the end, not everyone will be successful – in fact very few will be – so don’t tell them this lie – you are doing a disservice to your employees.

So, what’s the 1st biggest Lie we tell in HR?

We treat everyone equal.

Group-Thinking Your Way To Better HR Metrics

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Great article this week in the Wall Street Journal on What Gives Social Norms Their Power, the research doesn’t have direct implications to HR, but you can derive much out of not just how social norms/the unspoken rules of a group, shape not just behavior but also the attitudes of your employees. From the Wall Street Journal:

These are examples of how individuals’ behavior is shaped by what people around them consider appropriate, correct or desirable. Researchers are investigating how human behavioral norms are established in groups and how they evolve over time, in hopes of learning how to exert more influence when it comes to promoting health, marketing products or reducing prejudice…

The more public an object or behavior is, the more likely it is to spread, Dr. Berger says….

Rarely does any one individual set an entirely new norm for the group. Group leaders, however, help perpetuate or shift the norm. Unlike innovators, leaders tend to be high-status “superconformists,” embodying the group’s most-typical characteristics or aspirations, says Deborah Prentice, a social psychologist at Princeton University. People inside and outside the group tend to infer the group’s norms by examining these leaders’ behaviors….

So, here’s what I’ve discovered over my 18 years in HR – if you make a certain HR metric (let’s say Turnover) very public and your leaders talk about it publicly – you can change nothing but just that communication – and that metric will almost change for the positive overnight.  That’s funny right?  “Why is that funny, Tim!” It’s funny because we spend so much time in “Retention Committee” meetings, and “Retention Strategy Team” meetings, and meeting with vendors who guarantee to drop our turnover by 10%, and build programs that cost thousands of dollars and hundreds of man hours – when all we had to do was print off about 50 black and white 8″X11.5″ paper with the words: CURRENT EMPLYOEE TURNOVER 9.7%.  Tape them all over the halls, on the back of doors, inside the elavator, oh, yeah and have the CEO talk about it.

About 23 minutes of work – about $5 in office supply expense – and your turnover is lowered!

“Well, yeah, that might drop turnover a little – but we are really more concerned with the leader behaviors that created turnover in the first place…”   Blah, Blah, Blah…

Look, it works for more than just turnover:

  • Referral Program – post how many referrals were hired in the last month, 6 months -what total % of your hires.
  • 401K utilization – post how much money was left on the table from people not taking advantage of their match – show a picture of pile of money!
  • Safety Training Compliance – post a list of names of those individuals who haven’t finished the class.

And, don’t forget, make your executive talk about it – a lot.

Here’s the key to make it work – because I know some of you’ll will actually do this and lose your minds and go overboard.  So, DON’T MISS THIS – you can’t get results with this if you try and fix everything at once.  This takes sustained focus.  Post the signs of current Turnover week 1, the next post will show the current and the improvement/or even if it gets worse, week 3 the new metric….week 26 the new metric…get it?  Stick to one thing you really want to change.  You can do turnover one week and 401K enrollment the next – it won’t work.  People won’t get that it’s important, if you keep jumping around trying to change everything – and your leader will lose credibility.

Now if you have some budget money, you can go beyond copy paper postings – you can build a dashboard, make posters, t-shirts, coffee mugs, etc.  The key is to make it public – very public – the more in your face the better – and don’t stop sticking in their face.  Think forehead tattoos!