Staff turnover is expensive! A common “rule of thumb estimate” suggests it cost 25% to 200% of a leaving staff’s annual compensation each time someone leaves. For example, an inexpensive staff person may receive a salary of $40,000 a year. Add an additional $10,000 for health care, social security, medicare, and other fringe benefits and their annual cost is really $50,000. Using our “rule of thumb estimate,” each of these staff that leaves costs the employer anywhere from $12,500 to $100,000. Ouch!!! Have several staff with a $40,000 a year salary leave in the same year and the costs go through the roof.
Now, it’s not bad to lose particular low-performing staff (even though they will cost you the same amount of money to replace them). But, it doubly hurts to lose high performers (you lose the benefit of their services AND it costs a lot to replace them).
What can you do? How can you use our reports to decrease turnover and increase retention? There are hundreds of ways. Let me share just four (4) here.
Stop the Turnover Revolving Door – Technique #1
Believe it or not, only certain people are motivated by money! Yes, everyone wants money for their services, but some people are motivated by other things as well. Some are motivated when you ask them to teach or share their knowledge with others. Some people have a selflessness about them and are motivated by helping others. Some people like rules to guide them, while others like to set the rules.
Look at the Motivators (some of our reports have 6 different sets of motivators) or Driving Forces (some of our reports have 12 different sets of motivators that drive behavior) section of the report you get from us. See what the report suggests will motivate each particular staff who has completed our report. Use that information to motivate that person. For example, if someone has a HIGH Traditional motivator, they typically like having rules to follow and they expect leadership to also follow the rules. Giving staff who have HIGH Traditional motivators a set of rules to follow and reinforcing the following of those rules will work wonders in retaining them.
Stop the Turnover Revolving Door – Technique #2
Communication is a key to relationships. Our report has two sections telling you how to communicate with others. One of those sections is what NOT to say. This particular section is VERY powerful. How many times have you stopped listing to someone after they made one comment that “turned you off?” You did not listen to anything that followed. Our report suggests what NOT to say to that other person. Look at their report to see all the suggestions. Ask that person what “turns them off” the most, and DON’T do that or those things when communicating with them.
For example, the report may suggest you keep 3 to 5 feet away from them when talking with them. The other person wants and needs “their” space. But, you are a HIGH “I” and like being close to people when you talk with them. Ops! The other person shuts down when you talk with them because you are “in their space.” Take a step or two back, and all of a sudden they seem more comfortable and start talking.
Stop the Turnover Revolving Door – Technique #3
The “Value to the Organization” section of our report is VERY impactful. What value might this person bring to your team, your organization, to their individual job? This section of the report tells you this. People feel more valued, more committed, and greater satisfaction when they do things well. This section tells you what they do well. Pick something(s) they do well and that needs to be done. Assign them this task and it’s a huge win. You get what you need done, they typically get it done quickly (they don’t procrastinate), and THEY feel good about doing it. Here’s an example of how this may work for you. People who have a HIGH “C” behavior set like to collect data. The exact comment in their report may say “will gather data for decision making.” Since they love to collect data, give them those types of tasks to do and they will feel greatly valued AND do a great job. You, they, and the organization all benefit.
Stop the Turnover Revolving Door – Technique #4
There is another section of the report that is a huge win regarding motivating others. In fact, its title is “Keys to Motivating.” It has a number of bulleted items on how to motivate the person completing the report. Ask that person to circle the bullet in front of all those things in this section they agree will motive them. Choose one or more of those items you are comfortable doing. Start using that to motivate the person and you will be amazed as to how well this works.
Click Here To Learn More About or Register For Our Certification Class
One of the bulleted items in the report for someone with a HIGH I” behavior and a HIGH Individualistic motivator “publicly recognize her for her ideas and results.” This is an easy motivator to implement. Just give the person public recognition in a group of their peers for work well done. They feel great, others see there are rewards for doing good work, and you get great work from that staff person. You might say, “everyone likes public recognition.” Not true! People who are intense or HIGH “S” behavior style, prefer NOT receiving public recognition. See what an individual’s “Keys to Motivating” are, give them those things, and you will keep them as well as get quality work without having to pay a penny more.
How To Learn The Above And Other Techniques
I’ve shared just four (4) of hundreds of techniques you can use to better manage people via our assessment reports. If you’d like to have a shortcut to learning these, attend one of our certification courses. Go to our website to see when we next offer our DISC & Motivators Certification. Contact us now to enroll. Every organization that uses our assessments should have at least one person who attends one of our certification programs. They are worth their weight in gold. After all, if attending our certification program can decrease your turnover just one person, you can save $10,000s.
