Lazy Days of Summer? (Eric's Note)

Whatever happened to those lazy summer days? I'm at the intersection of so many major events in my life, both personal and professional, that I'd give anything for one of those boring "do nothin'" days of my youth. Here's what's been keeping me from my turn on the Slip-n-Slide this summer:

I'm about to launch the beta test of a workplace readiness certification program for teenagers that I've been working on for almost four years titled "Bring Your A Game to Work - Seven Values that Will Make Every Employer Want to Hire You and Fight to Keep You."

I'm in the final editing stages of a comprehensive eight module DVD-based management training program, Employing Generation Why.

My term has begun as the meetings and convention chair for the National Speakers Association, a professional trade association of 3,500 members, of which I have been a member for more than 20 years. I am responsible for planning and promoting five national meetings and the annual convention for my peers throughout the upcoming year.

I walked my youngest daughter down the aisle at her wedding on June 29th.

As a kicker, I'm less than 30 days from one of those kinds of "landmark" birthdays that can send even the most stable among us into a mid-life crisis.

Being overwhelmed and needing a break, I've invited a trusted friend and colleague to author this month's WhysNews. Josh Davies is a true innovator when it comes to training Gen Why employees. He's got an impressive resume (as you'll see from his bio at the end) and he is uniquely qualified to write July's featured article on retention. I'll get crackin' on next month's edition. In the meantime...take it away, Josh!

Creating a Culture of Retention -

Four Strategies to Boost Profits by Slashing Turnover

by Josh Davies

It seems that every day we get a new prediction or statistic of the coming labor crisis that threatens to cripple our economy. Magazines and newspapers trumpet the news in an attempt to get companies to come up with new and innovative ways to recruit employees. Talk to almost any manager, and they will tell you that one of the hardest things they have to do is find new employees. The reality is that we don't have a labor shortage or a turnover problem-we lack retention.

This retention crisis is more than a nuisance, it costs us thousands of dollars every year. Conservative estimates place the cost of turning over a single hourly employee at $2,500 in lost productivity, overtime, and recruiting costs. Management turnover is estimated to be over $20,000. If this were a line item on your P&L statement, everyone would do whatever they could to save that money. Because it is hidden in so many different places, the costs of this turnover are hard to quantify, and even more difficult to track.

Making things worse is a coming demographic shift that threatens to cripple almost every industry. Because of growth in service sectors such as hospitality, retail, and health care, we are going to climb from an estimated 147 million employees to over 190 million by the year 2030. At the same time, the Employment Policy Foundation estimates that we will only have 155 million employees in the workforce. The "double whammy" of massive retiring baby boomers, and the end of the super-sized Generation Y means that every employer is going to be going after a shrinking pool of eligible candidates. We've seen NO increase in the 16 to 24-year-old workforce, which is the primary labor source for our entry-level jobs. And while the U.S. population of 16 to 19-year-olds has remained flat, the percentage of those teens that will enter the workforce continues to shrink, from 55 percent in 1974 to 43 percent last year.

Obviously, it's in the employer's best interest to keep the people they already have; but how? Contrary to conventional wisdom, the road to retention is NOT paved with higher pay and more benefits. And "more training" isn't necessarily the answer, either. According to the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), the percentage of profit U.S. companies spend on training has increased from 6.5 percent in 2003 to 10.4 percent in 2006-but turnover has INCREASED during that same period. In fact, most surveys indicate employee loyalty is actually driven by three things: 1) care and concern for employees, 2) fairness at work (including pay), and 3) the feeling of accomplishment.

In other words, your company's culture has a much bigger impact on retention than what you pay or how much you train. How do you create that culture? Allow me to share with you four simple strategies:

1. Show ATTENTION. Give associates daily recognition for their accomplishments and, when possible, get their feedback on topics such as setting policies. At Morton's Steakhouse, for instance, the president travels to every restaurant, every quarter, to collect feedback directly from employees-without the managers in the room. As a result, this company's hourly turnover is an industry-low 30 percent (and Morton's now sells French fries, based on employee suggestions).

2. Break CONVENTION. Change your thinking: instead of measuring turnover, measure retention! Make it your goal to keep people, not just avoid losing them, and watch your entire culture change. Use the "Platinum Rule" of communication. Don't communicate the way YOU want to be communicated with; find out how THEY want to be communicated with. And remember that having friends at work encourages engagement. Host softball teams, company picnics and other activities that get people together and foster friendships.

3. Use INVENTION. Create team players. Try setting performance goals for teams, rather than individuals, and rewarding the entire team for results. And harness the power of storytelling to foster an intellectual and emotional connection to work. At Ritz Carlton, for instance, employees are encouraged to tell their stories of excellent service. Every day, two of those stories are selected and sent to every hotel around the world.

4. Go to the Next DIMENSION. Create a world-class orientation program. While turnover is on the rise, the average orientation time is shrinking-to just 1.15 hours in 2006. An orientation is your opportunity to engage new employees and make them productive from day one. After orientation, create a development plan for every associate; it's difficult to be actively disengaged when your employer cares about your future. Finally, hire and train mid-level managers and supervisors. After 9/11, the mid-level disappeared in most industries, creating a wide gap (and little communication) between managers and associates. At companies like Southwest Airlines, there are incremental development steps, creating more opportunity-and more loyalty.

Retention is a critical part of the success of your businesses, and even though it isn't measured on a P&L, you need to recognize the impact of heavy employee turnover. By looking at strategies that create a culture or retention, you can take steps to increase your retention and get ready for whatever the labor market throws at your business in the future.

Josh Davies is the Director of Training and Development for Sage Hospitality. He is also very active with the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers. He can be reached at Josh.Davies@SageHospitality.com.

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A Must Read for Whys Managers

If you're not showing off, why show up? In his new book, Work Like You're Showing Off!, Joe Calloway challenges you to get out of your rut (even if it's a very comfortable rut) and dare to put more joy, jazz, and kick into your work and your life. Whether you feel like you're on top of the world or absolutely stuck, this book will jump start you to the next level of success. Wildly priced at $10.17 on Amazon.com (Christie- link to an Amazon page listing this book).

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