One of the things I’ve learned after all the years of owning a commercial cleaning business is that employees leave. Some within weeks of being hired, others may not leave for years. But they all leave eventually. Employee turnover has always been a challenge in the cleaning industry, but now it’s affecting all industries. I’m certain you’ve experienced similar challenges in finding good employees for your business, which is why we’re sharing this guest blog post below.
Mike Castro, All Building Cleaning Corp.
This article was contributed by Arkansas-based Employee Assistance Program Provider Southwest EAP.
Scaling a growing company almost always involves hiring more people and evolving into an organization with layers of employees and managers. As this growth occurs, employee turnover, productivity and manager effectiveness become challenges that must be addressed for the company to continue to grow. But why do your best employees leave?
It’s often said, “Employees leave managers, not companies.” While this statement is not always true, we find that supervisor/employee conflicts are a big part of turnover. A poll by Gallup supports this belief: They found that up to 50% of employees who quit cite their manager as the main reason. One cause is that, as employees get promoted into supervisory roles, they’re not appropriately trained in how to manage people, which can increase turnover. HR should take steps to ensure managers receive proper training on coaching and communication techniques.
People naturally want to work where they’re valued. Empathetic relationships between managers and employees can be the key to lower turnover and higher productivity. Employee turnover is extraordinarily expensive, so it’s important to take whatever actions you can to mitigate it.
Some specific reasons your top employees might quit include:
Help your managers do more “Good” and less “Bad” and “Ugly.”
The Good
The Bad
The Ugly