Sometimes it’s not the people you are hiring who are the problem. When employee turnover is high, it’s often the existing workforce (management) that is the problem.
And make no mistake; functioning candidates who join your workforce and experience bad management will walk away.
Many times when a new hire “fails,” I inevitably receive the call:
“Why didn’t the Winslow Assessment catch this ‘fatal flaw’ in the candidate?”
Now, I understand the natural tendency to want to blame something external: the assessment, the interview or the candidate’s craftiness. And yes, these elements are something we will review to make sure we haven’t missed anything.
But then I ask the question no leader wants to hear: “Is there the possibility of disengagement or dysfunction in your current management that you don’t want to address, are blind to, or are totally unaware of?”
Most of the time it’s the saboteurs inside our companies, the ones whose idiosyncrasies we have become accustomed to, and the ones we have made allowances for despite their unacceptable behavior, who cause great new hires to decide to walk away after only a short time.
Here is an excellent example of one of the saboteurs you might have working for you:
“I once worked with an HR person who was, shall we say, less than friendly. She constantly sowed dissent among the department. And yes, sowing dissent isn’t something that’s easily recognizable, but she was a pro at it. Her demeanor was rude and obnoxious.
- She had no computer skills in a job that demanded them.
- She dealt with worker’s comp claims all day long (not the most fun part of this profession).
- She had been doing the exact same job for an untold number of years before I even got there.
So, what’s the point? Well, I wish there was a happy ending to that story. But that’s it, really.
All I can do is encourage you not to have people like this hanging around and polluting your workplace. These kinds of employees embody the quit-and-stay mentality. And while I realize that she may have had other factors impacting her attitude, this kind of thing is simply all too common. Have you let your people turn into one of these morale murderers?”
(Alive HR – post by Ben Eubanks)
Please keep as diligent an eye on the health of your current management as you do on your new hires. Provide them with opportunities, coaching and professional development options so they can grow and develop themselves. Then they will better lead and serve the new hires, as well as the current workforce.
When you bring energetic, thoughtful, proactive people into a situation where there is dysfunction in your supervisor and management staff, you are courting high turnover and job dissatisfaction.
Hire smart, continually develop current employees and consistently read the pulse of your people!
