Every week I hear someone say, “These kids today…”
- Don’t need to work
- Have zero work ethic
- Display no common sense
- (add any complaint here)
Guess what? Our parents said the same thing about us, and their parents said the same thing about them, and so on and on and on. I believe if we are going to change the culture of the workplace today, we must start by changing our language.
What if we said, “I love the fact that I have chosen to hire first-time workers.”? There’s a great deal of responsibility that comes with hiring first-time team members. HELLO, they’ve never had a job before. They may not even have the experience from home of having an allowance or the responsibility of chores. So, we’re it. Whether that feels frustrating or not, it is a fact.
Take a minute and think about the first time you did something that was brand new to you and potentially difficult. You may have been excited or scared or anxious or confident or expectant or intimidated or, or, or… In your trying, maybe you got it right the first time, but maybe not. Then what? Has something been complicated enough that you had to get the information more than once? Did you feel dumb or like you might be annoying someone because you need help?
Listen, I know teaching others is difficult. I’ve built a training and coaching company based on helping others every day. It’s not easy. My experience is any new or old concept must be taught again and again.
“Training is not a single event. Ongoing coaching is where the results lie.”
Turnover is high in the hospitality world. I think part of the challenge is employers are exasperated and feel, “What else can we do?” I also feel like employees think jobs are disposable. There is a massive disconnect, in my opinion, about how we are in service to one another. I believe the leaders in this equation must take the lead.
If we took baby steps around the crises of turnover maybe these three steps could be a great place to start. I’d love to hear your ideas. What would you be willing to do to begin the chain of change?”
- Decide what values an ideal team member must have to work on your team (and don’t settle for less!). Read Patrick Lencioni’s Ideal Team Player. Patrick lists hungry, humble, and smart as three must-have virtues for an ideal team player.
- Understand training and coaching are ongoing. Expand your training budget and commit to implementing an ongoing coaching strategy to get results. Team members rarely leave a job. They leave the circumstance. When they aren’t getting what they need, they leave. It’s up to the leader to find out what the team member needs.
- Commit to the fact that people aren’t disposable. I believe we all have a responsibility to help a first-time team player “grow up” in the work world and an experienced team member “go up” in their workplace. That doesn’t mean they’ll always work for you. It does mean you will have made a difference.
The topic and expense of high turnover, hiring the best people, and training are important conversations. I look forward to what can happen if we stop whining and start focusing on how to make the situation better. The Pollyanna in me is alive and well and thinks the WORLD could be a better place if we work together!
Hope you have a great week. And please take a moment to engage with me directly, below in the comment section, or on our social spaces – Facebook or LinkedIn.
