Can you imagine what the culture of this organization is like? Recently, this employee retention speaker and employee retention expert heard this when at a conference where I was speaking on how to use culture to help drive employee retention. Unfortunately, I have heard this comment all too often or something similar. In this case, the organization took a plant manager who has poisoned the culture and “demoted” him to the role of production manager. They kept him only because he has years of technical expertise.
The message keeping this person sends to the rest of the workforce is horrible. Act poorly and we will find a spot for you no matter what you do. Now, that the person is in an operational role, he is closer to the people working on the plant floor so he has the opportunity to spread his poisonous behavior to people in the organization they are most desperate to retain. Most of the people I speak with are short 15-25% of the front-line workers they need. So, with every person, you hire it’s imperative that you retain them. What will occur when a new employee has to interact with this demoted plant manager? He will leave the newbies wondering what they got themselves into. This employee recruitment expert predicts employee turnover will rise and the organization will have a real tough time recruiting.
This organization has created a no-win situation for themselves. What they should have done was fire the plant manager and brought in someone that could replace him who has a positive philosophy and values people. They need someone who holds the C.R.A.P. philosophy of Caring, Respect, Appreciation, and Praise to send a POWERFUL message to the workforce that people matter and are a priority. This should be the start of the action to build their employee retention strategies.
Often, this employee retention trainer has found getting rid of one problematic leader can be the impetus to turning around a culture that is floundering. If you are a senior leader reading this, it’s time to take a good hard look at your leadership team. When you do, you have a golden opportunity to send a positive message to your people so you don’t hear, “As long as he is here…nothing will change!”
Remember…Give Your Employees C.R.A.P.® Why? Because C.R.A.P. Works!
Are you concerned about the employee turnover you are experiencing? If so, email me at jeff@humanassetmgt.com to find out how I can help you lower your employee turnover by 40-80%.
