www.brooksapplied.com

ManagingtheRiskofEmployeeTurnoverMichelle Briscoe, President/CEOBrooks Applied Labs

ACILP2ConferenceApril20,2017

www.brooksapplied.com

BALisaanalyticalchemistrylaboratoryspecializinginanalyticalservicesandconsultingrelatedtometalsquantificationandspeciation,primarilyservingtheenvironmental,food/supplement,pharmaceutical,andbiomedicaltestingandR&Dmarketsectors.Weareaprivatelyheldsmallbusiness(46employees)locatedintheSeattleareawithnearly30yearsofexperienceinthisniche.

• WhataretheRisks?• WhataretheKeyCausesofTurnover?• HowtoMitigatetheRisk– RetentionStrategies

PresentationOutline

WhataretheRisks?

• Sincetherecession,thejobmarkethasbeenexperiencinggreatimprovement1

• InApril2015,2.7millionemployeesquittheirjobs,andthequitratehasbeenontherisesince2

• Unemploymentisdowntonearly5%• Asmorejobsarecreated,employeesaretemptedtolookforgreenerpastures

TurnoverisanInevitableRisk

• Whenyouhireyoung,ambitiousfolksstraightoutofcollege,youhavetoexpectthatworkinginalabisn’tgoingtobeeveryone’slifedream

• Estimatedthattheminimumcostofturnoveris20-35%oftheannualsalary–higherforexecutivepositionsoremployeesmakingmorethan$50,000K/year3,4

• Directreplacementcosts– Advertising,screening,interviewing– PayoutofaccruedPTO

TurnoverisaRiskthatCostsyourCompany

• Lostproductivity– Capacityloss– UnabletomeetTATs

• Trainingtimeforreplacement,andlossoftrainingtimeinvestmentinformerstaff

• Uncertaintythatanewhirewillworkout

• Braindrainhindersfuturegrowth• Newcompetitorsouttherethatyoutrained

TurnoverisaManagementRiskwithaWideVarietyofSubtleRisksandCosts

WhataretheKeyCausesofTurnover?

• Lessthan¼ofemployeeswhoquitleaveforaraiseelsewhere

• Payrateandbenefitsgenerallyranksabout3rd insurveysofwhyemployeesleave5

It’sNotAllAbouttheMoney

Disengagement:– Multiplelargestudiesshowthatonlyabout30-35%ofemployeesare“engaged”intheirwork3

– Thiscanbemanagement’sfundamentalchallengeWhatleadstodisengagement?• Poorrelationshipwithdirectmanager• Lackoffaithandtrustinseniorleadership• Chronicuncertaintyduetofinancialpressuresandtheneedtodomore(sometimeswithless)

WhyPeopleLeave

HowtoMitigatetheRiskofTurnover

Howdoyoukeepvastnumbersofdiverseindividualsinterestedintheirwork,feeling

goodabouttheirorganization,andworkingasproductivelyastheycan?

IncreaseEngagement!

Thispresentsahugeopportunitytoimproveemployeeproductivityandmotivationby

increasingengagement.

1. Supervisors2. Colleagues3. Culture4. Rest&Relaxation5. GrowthOpportunities

TheFiveKeystoStaffRetention

TheirRelationshipwiththeirBoss

• Eveniftheylovethecompanyculture,peoplewillstillquitiftheydon’thaveagoodrelationshipwiththeirdirectsupervisor

• Beforepromotingsomeonetoasupervisoryposition,consider:– Howisthispersonrecognizedbytheirpeers?– Doesthispersoninspiretheirco-workers?– Dotheyprovideclearinformationtotheirpeers?

The#1ReasonPeopleLeave:

“Employeesdon’tquittheirjob,theyquittheirboss”DevelopmentofSupervisoryStaff

Trainmanagershowto:• Expressrespectandappreciationfortheiremployees’workandideas,andprovidetimelyrecognition

• Giveemployeesfreedomtomakedecisionsonhowtodotheirjobs(don’tmicromanage)

• Betransparent– giveemployeesaccesstoreasonsbehinddecisions

Eachofthesethingswillincreasethelikelihoodthatanemployeewillstaybyabout30%.4

(30-60minutespermonthwitheachdirectreport)TheMonthly1-on-1

Goodcommunicationiscriticaltodevelopingagoodrelationshipbetweenanemployeeandtheirsupervisor!Ø Keepitshortandsimple,andmeetinacomfortablesettingØ Ensureconversationis2-wayØ Takenotesandfollow-throughoncommitmentsØ Beagoodlistener(assessstress,work/lifebalance,morale)

Ifyouwanttocreateagreatplacetowork,thenhirepeoplethataregreattoworkwith!

• Intoday’sorganizations,we’refarmorelikelytointeractwithourcolleaguesthanwearewithoursupervisorsorseniormanagement.

• Employeesaremorelikelytostaylongeriftheyhaveahighlevelofrespectandrecognitionfromandfortheirpeers,creatingacultureofresponsibilityandappreciation.

• Superstarsmayleaveiftheyfeelinglikethey’replayingonthe“BTeam”.

ThePowerofGoodColleagues

• Don’thirejustontheskillslistedontheresume• Beforeyouhiresomeone,determinewhetherornotthey’llfitintoyourcompanyculture

• Assesswhetherthejobbeingofferedistherightfitfortheircareerpath

• Hirecandidatesthatshowanattitudeofpositivity,innovation,andproductivityduringtheirinterview.

ReducingTurnoverStartswithRecruitment(Screening&Interviewing)

• Developandconstantlycommunicateyourmission,vision,andcorevalues– Grassrootsdevelopmentcanencouragecompany-widebuyin

CreateanIncredibleCompanyCulture!

BALMission,Vision,CoreValues

• Developandconstantlycommunicateyourmission,vision,andcorevalues– Grassrootsdevelopmentcanencouragecompany-widebuyin

• Beopen,honest,andtransparentaspossible– ConsiderWeeklyHuddlesorsimilar

CreateanIncredibleCompanyCulture!

• GoodNews!• TheNumbers• WhatDoesitAllMean?• Challenges• NumberOnes• GroupCheers!

10-MinuteseveryTuesdayatNoonTheBALWeeklyHuddle

• GoodNews!• TheNumbers• WhatDoesitAllMean?

• Challenges• NumberOnes• GroupCheers!

TheNumbers(metricsmeasuredweeklyagainstagoal):

• TheSCGroupshippedout___ itemsforbottleorders.• TheTMGroupanalyzed___ samplesfortotalmetals.• TheSPGroupanalyzed___ samplesforspeciatedmetals.• TheHGGroupperformed___ THg/MeHganalysesand___HGAASanalyses.

• TheQAGroupQA’ed___ batch/analytes,withanaveragepassingrateof___%.TheaveragetimeeachbatchspentinQAwas___ days.

• ThePMGroupsentout___ reports,valuing$.Wereceived$____ worthofnewworklastweek.$_ worthofworkiscurrentlylate.

• TheBDGroupreportedthat___ quotesweresentoutlastweek,withatotalprobablyvalueof$___.Lastweekwecontracted$___ ofnewwork.

• TheAccountingGroupreportedthatlastweekwehad$___incashreceipts.

10-MinuteseveryTuesdayatNoonTheBALWeeklyHuddle

• Developandconstantlycommunicateyourmission,vision,andcorevalues– Grassrootsdevelopmentcanencouragecompany-wide

buyin• Beopen,honest,andtransparentaspossible• Providethebestbenefitsyoucanafford

– Considerprofit-sharingplansandgenerousPTO• Streamlinerequirementsandkeepthework

scientificallychallenging– NELAC,DoD,DOECAP,ISO,QAP…somanyrequirements!– peopleneedtousetheirbrains,notjustfollowSOPs

CreateanIncredibleCompanyCulture!

YouDon’tHavetobeaBigOrganizationtoOfferHighlyValuedPerks!• Flex-timeorremoteworkoptions• Gymmemberships• Freefoodorcateredlunches

Don’tforgetthevalueofdowntime

• Tired,burntout,andstressedemployeesare31%morelikelytobelookingforadifferentjob

• Employeeswithgoodwork-lifebalanceandwhoareencouragedtousetheirPTOaremorelikelytoseethemselvesstayinglong-term6

• Howleadersmodelnumberofhoursandamountofvacationtimetakensetsnormsthattrickledowntoexpectations.

• Use1-on-1’stotuneintoemployee’sneedstominimizeburnout

Rest&Relaxation

ProfessionalDevelopmentandGrowthOpportunities

• Professionalgrowthandcareertrajectoriesareexpectationsemployeeshave

• 75%ofmillennialssaythatwouldlookforanewjobiftheydidn’tseeopportunitiesforprofessionalgrowth

• Inourfield,keepingthestaffscientificallystimulatedcanbekey

• Considerinternallyfundedresearchprojects,opportunitiestoattendconferences,outsideeducation(shortcourses),books,webinars,etc.

GrowingaGreatTeam

• Investintheemployeedevelopmentandgrowth,notjusttraining

• Askforfeedback,andactuponit• Recognizegoodwork• Createacultureoftrustandopenness• Picktherightmanagersandleaders• Hireforculturalfit• Embraceopportunitiesforsocialization• Openlydiscussworkloadandexpectations

LeadersHaveControlOverTurnover

Someturnoverisgood

Therearegenerallytwokindofpeoplewhostaywiththesamecompanyforalongtime:– Thosewholovetheirjobs!– Thosewhoaretoolazytoleave.

Lookingforanewjobishardwork,andsomepeoplewouldratherstayunhappyinthejobtheyalreadyhaveratherthanfindthemotivationtolookforanewone.– Disengagedemployeesshowupbutdon’tgive100%– Employeeswithpoormoralecanbecontagious

Thatsaid…

Someturnoverisgood

• Someturnovercanbebeneficialtothehealthofanorganization– Newideasandcreativity– Youngfolkskeeptheoldfolksyoung– Employeewholovedyourcompanybutwantedadifferentcareerpathmaybecomeavaluedclientormakekeyreferralsforyourcompany

Thatsaid…

1 Gallup,poll1834792 BureauofLaborStatistics3 VictorLipman,Forbes,10/10/154 TinyPulse,EmployeeRetentionReport20165 HRBamboo,July20146 SabrinaSon,TinyPulse,2/18/16

Sources

Contactinfo:MichelleBriscoemichelle@brooksapplied.com

Thankyou!