By Douglas S. Duncan

John walked into his boss’s office and said, “Bill, our new employee, just gave me notice that he is leaving us. He told me that he is going to be getting another two dollars per hour at his new job. I tell you, if we can’t start paying our people more money, we won’t have anyone left. what are you going to do about it?”

When the typical employer is asked for the reason why most people leave their jobs, the most common answer is, “money”. Since the customer is not coming to the company offering more money for the same work being done, many companies feel they are stuck between the proverbial “rock and a hard place.” In surveys done with employees, when the employers are not in the room, they give the following reasons for changing jobs – in this order:

1. Poor supervision; no one told me what to do so I can understand it
2. No one trained me; not learning and growing; no one taught me anything
3. No one thanked me; no recognition or appreciation; no one bothered to notice what I do - except to criticize me
4. No one paid me; not getting paid what they think they are worth; a poor personal “R.O.I.” (Return On Investment); I don’t see why I should stick around here… I am going no place fast.

Let’s take a look at what really happened to cause Bill to leave this company. When the new employee, Bill, showed up for his first day of work, he only received an hour or two of orientation from John, his supervisor. John then started him working right away. After all, who has the time to really train anyone around here? There are too many things to do each day. Customers are demanding attention now, or they will find another place to do business. We have to take care of the customer. The customer comes first. On top of that, employees are demanding John’s time to straighten out the latest problem on a delivery. As a result, John’s latest management crisis seems to come up every hour on the hour. No one seems to have the time to make Bill feel truly welcomed. Oh, everyone was friendly enough, but the work needs to get out the door. John, the supervisor, was grateful that he had someone to turn to- to get the job done.

When Bill asked John a question, John would snap back saying, “I hired you because you said you knew how to do this OK, this is how we do it here.” If was obvious to Bill that John did not like to be interrupted. So the next time he had questions, Bill began to search for someone else to help him get through the day. He ended up talking to the “company cynic”, Jim. Jim has seen it all. He has been with the company a couple of years. Jim loves to talk about everything wrong with the company. Jim ends up telling Bill the “real” story about working around here. Bill came to the company hoping that this time it would be different. It turns out this job is just like all the other jobs in all the other companies he has worked for in the past.

John assumed Bill knew exactly what was ex¬pected of him. After all, Bill had experience in the field. Bill never really got the chance to learn the new skill he was promised. The company couldn’t afford to spare the time to teach Bill. John hardly ever said thank you for much of anything. After all, why should John thank Bill for doing what he was hired to do? It is such a shame, because Bill came to the company because it sounded like they were really trying to do something better. Bill hung around a little while, but when the opportu¬nity came to move, he took it. After all, the new company gave him two dollars more an hour.

Of course, when the time came for Bill to give his notice, he wasn’t going to criticize John to his face. He was never one to complain very much. John asked why he was leaving. It was just easier to tell him that he needed the money.

John is not a bad man, just overwhelmed and without the tools to make it all work smoothly. Dealing with people is a difficult proposition, and few people consciously build those skills everyday. They don’t spend time thinking about what alternate approaches could be used to make this part of their job easier. This is why John struggles to catch up after the disaster has hit and the “horse is out of the barn.” The potential solution certainly takes effort and focused concentration. However, it does not have to be as excruciating as living with the crisis or as aggravating.
Remember the four reasons why people leave? Perhaps if we just switch the emphasis, we may find a potential solution. People will stay, if leaders of organizations pay attention to the four reasons in that same order. Leaders need to provide:

1. Leadership – Leaders provide clear and understandable direction and support each and every time to each and every person with whom they deal.

2. Education – Leaders allow their people to grow and learn by developing a challenging and creative workplace. They communicate more rather than less.

3. Appreciation – Leaders need to appreciate and recognize people for the job they are doing; they have to voice a thank you for that job well done – a lot.

4. Dollarization – Leaders make sure that their people know they are accomplishing something important. Their people will then know it is worth the effort they are putting into the job. They will feel that they are paid fairly for the work that they do. They will feel that the dollars being paid to them warrants the effort put into the job.

The first reason why Bill is leaving is because he never really got to know the job or how his new company truly operates. His orientation was slop¬py and quick. He quickly realized that he was a “warm” body filling a hole in the business. As long as he could do the minimum, he could probably get by. For Bill, doing just enough is not good enough. He is looking for something better. He may not even realize it, but he is searching for that one company that will show him how to take his skills to the next level. Leaders do not assume that the new “experienced” person knows what is required of him or her. They are clear in com¬municating exactly what is required, when it is re¬quired, and why it is necessary to accomplish this task. So the first lesson in leadership is communi¬cating your message and direction clearly.

The second reason why Bill is leaving is because he was never oriented and trained in the new skills and techniques. He tried to pick it up on the job, but Jim, our resident cynic, showed him the short cuts to reduced productivity. Who do you want teaching your new employees? How much time are you spending teaching your new employees? The best 10 % of small to midsized companies in the US compared to the lowest 10 % spend 116 hours versus 35 hours in training new employees. (*) In fact, on a year in and year out basis, the best spend 72 hours a year training their existing em¬ployees, versus 13 hours for the lowest 10% of companies. Why do you think that the best companies the best and the worst companies are the worst? How much time do your employees spend each year learning and growing into greater productivity? The second lesson in leadership is allowing people to learn the skills and behaviors re¬quired at the pace they need to absorb that information. It is important to be aware of how fast they learn, not every¬one learns at the same pace. (*) The HR Scorecard – Becker, Huselid, Ulrich

The third reason why Bill is leaving is because no one took the time to thank him for the job he was doing. Certain¬ly no one took the time to recognize his work or the craftsmanship he tried to demonstrate. What encouragement did the company give him to “fight” Jim, the cynic, when Jim showed Bill the short cuts to reduced productivity? Find someone doing something right each and every day. Hopefully, you will find each and every person in your organization doing something right. If they’re not doing something right, you’re doing something wrong. Get in the habit of appreciating the work and efforts made on your behalf. Your rec¬ognition must be sincere. You need to do it often. You need to lighten up and have some fun. The third lesson of lead¬ership is appreciating the people around you who contribute to your results.

The fourth reason why Bill is leaving is he does not feel a part of the company. There is no exciting “cause” or vision or direction by which he can feel energized. The men who stormed the beaches on Normandy on D-Day in 1944 did not do it for the pay the US Government put in their pockets. They saw themselves as part of something bigger than themselves. They put their life and soul into making that happen.

The same goes for the people who work for you. It is their life. They want it to be important and meaningful. They want to know they make a differ¬ence. Yes, they want the dollars. The dollars allow them to get the things they want and need for their families or themselves. Everyone wants more money. Everyone can get more money going somewhere else. But they want more. The “thrill” of the extra dollars quickly fades away in a few days. What keeps people on the job is the value they feel for working at your company. They are getting something back for the time they are putting in. Dollariza¬tion is the process of putting a value on the things that we do. The fourth les¬son of leadership is to continually cre¬ate the value and the reasons to stay by sharing the goals and vision of the organization…. By sharing the rewards of your success.

Championship sports teams show us the importance of working together. The entire team knows the game plan before the game begins. They all work towards the same goals. Each person, even those that sit on the bench, knows how they contribute to the overall suc¬cess of the team. The players know the plans as well as the coaches. Do your players know the game plan as well as you do? Is everyone working towards the same goal? Do you really expect your players to play in the dark for no reason without any encouragement?

Every time you want to communicate something to someone, think L.E.A.D. Leadership – did I tell them exactly what I want? Education – do they know how to do what I expect them to do? Appreciation – have I thanked them for the efforts they are making? Dollariza¬tion – do they know the reason why they are doing what they are doing? Can they calculate their own “R.O.I. (Return on Investment) on what they are putting into the job each day?”

Make it a habit to LEAD every day. You will find your employees will be less likely to be convinced by your competition that “two dollars” more is worth leaving the best place to work. Isn’t that worth striving for in your business, and taking the time to make it happen?

About the Author:
Douglas Duncan owner of Your HR Solutions, Inc. specializes in human resources and business planning consulting services to small and mid-sized companies. If you are seeking to take your business or organization to the next highest level of effective¬ness, he can be reached at dduncan@ yourhrsolutions.com .
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