Shannon Gabriel is Vice President of Leadership Solutions at TBM Consulting, a global operations and supply chain consulting firm.
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Ever since Kim Kardashian declared "No one wants to work," this viewpoint has become a mantra among company leaders who blame high turnover on pervasive laziness among the workforce. But the truth is, in many organizations, this notion has become a cop-out for lackluster leadership and failed processes.
In other words, it’s not that people don’t want to work. They just don’t want to work for you. Instead of blaming poor retention on laziness or external factors, leaders must look internally and acknowledge and take accountability for their own issues.
Seven Signs Your Retention Problem Isn't Due To Laziness
Recognizing and acknowledging your workplace issues is the first step to addressing them. Here are seven signs that your retention problem doesn't mean that people don’t want to work.
1. Turnover is higher in specific areas or under specific leaders.
Many companies only track turnover as an aggregate total across the entire company or location. A big-picture perspective can identify that there is a turnover problem. But to solve it, leaders must go a few steps further by tracking turnover by location, department, shift and supervisor to identify what that problem actually is—it may be people and management issues like conflicts, lack of training, poor leadership or other culture issues.
2. 90-day turnover is high.
Are people leaving immediately after their training is complete? If so, that could be a sign that your onboarding program lacks in quality or duration. Too often, companies throw new employees to the wolves after a brief training period and then wonder why they can’t perform at the same speed or skill level as an experienced operator. These unrealistic expectations make many employees give up in frustration.
Instead, give employees the best shot at success by investing in more extensive training, long-term shadowing and ongoing support with regular follow-up so they don’t feel abandoned.
3. Absenteeism is high.
When management issues or poor work conditions are a problem, people will come up with excuses to miss work.
Similar to turnover, track absenteeism by location, department, shift, manager, etc. This can help reveal people issues like co-worker conflict, as well as physical issues like safety concerns, ergonomics or poor workflow.
4. Raising pay didn’t help.
More money isn’t always the answer. Many companies raised pay in the wake of the pandemic, and while that might have helped in the short term, it wasn’t enough to remedy their long-term workplace problems.
A growing number of people prioritize culture over pay and are willing to work for less if it means a great environment where they feel valued and satisfied. Increasing pay is a great step to improve recruitment and retention in the short term, but addressing culture and management issues can go a long way toward improving morale.
5. People quit before they even start.
Are you losing applicants between the application and interview? Do they interview but then ghost you when you make an offer? It could be that your hiring process needs a makeover.
The average time to hire is at an all-time high, and slow processes might mean losing candidates to other opportunities. Find ways to accelerate hiring so candidates aren’t left hanging.
Also, consider revamping interview protocols. Too often we scrutinize the applicant and don’t spend enough time "selling" the company. Most applicants are evaluating us as an employer and have multiple options, so it’s important to make an enticing offer rather than treating applicants like they’re lucky you even called them back.
6. New hires aren’t a good fit.
Many organizations hire the candidate profile they want, not what they need. While operational, management and leadership needs have changed dramatically, companies often haven’t modernized their candidate profile in the last 30 years.
Especially at the operational level, companies have become accustomed to taking whoever they can get, and that drives new hires away—they aren’t the right fit but were hired simply because they’re a warm body to fill the role. Remember: You can train operational skills, so focus on candidates with high potential and those with lower flight risk.
7. Job expectations don’t meet reality.
Companies should set reasonable and honest expectations for each role in both the job posting and the initial interview. Don’t sugarcoat the pros and cons of the role because your new hire will find out the truth eventually. Give them an opportunity to connect with someone in the same or similar role so they can have a real conversation about what to expect. This can set them up for a better start and help those who aren’t up to the task to self-select out.
Conclusion
Let’s be honest: Few of us really want to work and probably wouldn’t if we didn’t have to. I know I’d be much happier relaxing on a beach somewhere—it's just not realistic.
As leaders, we have a responsibility to address cultural and management issues to make coming to work less of a chore for our team. Improving processes, weeding out problematic behavior and making people feel valued can dramatically improve retention and create an organization where employees are committed, invested and want to work.
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