This employee retention speaker and employee retention expert was very curious as to how the GM handled the situation because we had discussed this when I conducted C.R.A.P. Leadership® Training for their team. His initial reaction was to lash out at the employee. After all, the employee was coming in to discuss a problem he had not been able to solve and wanted to get the GM’s help solving it. You would think that in this case the person would be respectful to the GM. Instead, he was the opposite.
Upon entering the office, he immediately became somewhat belligerent and demanding. The GM did as I teach and listened, took a deep breath and responded firmly but with respect that he didn’t appreciate the way the employee immediately behaved. He went on to ask how the employee would feel if the GM was coming to ask a favor of the employee and how he would feel if the GM did that to him. That made the employee think twice. The GM waited for a response and the employee responded sheepishly that he would not be happy.
After the GM had the employee’s attention, he went on to explain that everyone in the organization was supposed to treat each other with Respect. This was part of the value system of the organization and that’s part of the culture. This is important because this helps build a strong culture that retains people. The employee thought about it and apologized for his behavior. Now they were making progress. The GM invited him to sit down. After hearing the employee’s concerns, they worked through those concerns.
Had the GM overreacted, the situation would have deteriorated immediately and nothing would have been taken care of. This was also a great learning experience for the employee and great opportunity for the GM to employ the C.R.A.P. Leadership tools. (Caring, Respect, Appreciation, Praise.) The employee was educated on the value system and how he needed to change his behavior. The words weren’t said but the employee now knows to “leave the attitude at the door!”
Is your organization struggling to retain people? If you are an HR Leader, General Manager or an owner of an organization, call me at 414-305-9626 or email me at jeff@jeffkortes.com and I can explain how the C.R.A.P approach can reduce your employee turnover by 40-80% as well as help you address issues like the one described above.
