WHERE DID ALL OUR WORKFORCE GO? By Gry Tomte

THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF EMPLOYEE RETENTION

In the past two years the world has been turned upside down. For everyone; business owners AND our teams..

Priorities have shifted, right? Have you felt it? I definitely have!

So now that living with covid is the new normal and we’re ready to rebuild, we need the staff to do just that.

Well, I’m not sure about you, but I’ve NEVER seen the job market this empty. It’s as if our workforce has shaved off two thirds overnight...

So, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that one of the most important considerations in running a business in the post covid world is staff retention.

But what does that actually mean? Why do people leave in the first place?

There are two general types of resignations: leaving the industry all together - and leaving for another business similar to yours. Maybe even a competitor. Or working for themselves.

Post Covid we are seeing more people reconsidering their work life balance, their distance to and from work, their purpose and also the environment they spend their days in. Some things you can control (culture, communication, training and development opportunities, growth opportunities, alignment to purpose, alignment to values, how you drive performance etc).

And then there are some things we can’t control.

But today, let’s focus on the things that are in our control.

1. Lack of job security.

During the pandemic many employers’ first knee jerk reaction was to stand their team down instead of utilising them to grow the business and grow themselves. Some hard truths: if you get stood down 7 times in the past 18 months, you’d probably reconsider your career too.

And it’s not that I don’t understand it! Trust me, I do. But it’s a very valid reason why a lot of our workforce either started looking for different careers or started working for themselves. Whether we feel we were right in that decision or not. What I WILL say, is that being a people first business isn’t a short-term game. So, in the short term it was scary for us to keep everyone on. But in the long term it helped us stay in touch with clients, provide them with remote services and ultimately, generate a lot more income had we stood the team down and I had to do it myself! AND of course, it helped the team stay connected and in touch with their purpose and their value in driving the business forward.

2. Lack of contact/ 1-1’s

I’ve spoken to a heap of therapists who from the moment they were placed in lockdown, didn’t hear anything from their workplace until they were back again. Imagine experiencing that 7 times!! In Victoria that was reality for a lot of our workforce. But it wasn’t just the lockdowns that saw our teams left without regular contact. I’m still surprised how many employers or managers don’t have regular 1-1’s. In my opinion, regular 1-1’s are the foundation of the connected relationship it takes for our teams to feel like they matter. And that connected relationship - getting to REALLY know the person who works for us, is also the foundation for being able to hold people to account.

3. Lack of leadership (or micromanaging)

No one likes to be told what to do constantly. With no input in how it can be done, and no freedom to impact change. Being in a position where you never have a chance to feel the satisfaction of mastery is a recipe for disdain, feelings of failure and feelings of unworthiness. Not exactly the best way to retain your team... Leadership isn’t about managing performance. It’s about creating an inspiring environment where people can grow into the best version of themselves. 4 years ago, I had a sliding door moment. I could continue to be a manager - managing numbers and performance and controlling the group of people on my team - or I could own it and admit that I didn’t know how to be a leader, and go learn how to. I chose the latter. Today both my manager and I take a leadership approach; inspiring our people to achieve more than they ever thought possible by using motivation over instruction. Of course, some situations need to be managed. But they’re much less common. The result is an inspired team who love coming to work (Literally! Last week, two of my team exclaimed “I can’t wait to come to work! It’s just so awesome!”)... *Melt.

4. Unrealistic performance pressures

In the past few months of coaching and mentoring clinic owners one thing I see VERY often is a) way too low pricing, and b) an expectation of staff to perform without having given them the tools and motivation to do so. If your treatment menu allows for $80 an hour in revenue, then it’s pretty unrealistic to expect your team to make $200 an hour. And another thing, the good old KPI scoreboard in the kitchen - the one that tracks everyone’s performance in dollars and cents - please get rid of it... It leads to so many negative behaviours in a workplace and has no positives at all. I know that’s pretty strong, but I think it’s time we hammer this home. A Key Performance Index is only a measurement of outcomes. It doesn’t address the input. And the input is where you need to focus; the behaviours that lead to higher revenue. Are you happy with a staff member stealing sales from someone else or selling products a client doesn’t need, just to hit their target? Do you celebrate that as a win? Hopefully not.

5. Lack of clear expectations

You can’t hold people accountable without clear expectations. And as an employee, not having clear expectations is really unsettling. If the goal post keeps shifting and changing and expectations aren’t aligned, then it makes for a rocky relationship. Clear expectations start with a well drafted Position Description. I always encourage managers or owners go through each point in the PD and talk about them in depth and invite questions. And revisit it frequently.

6. The right person but in the wrong position.

If you have a top therapist who lives and breathes skin - would you book them every day doing nails and waxing? If the answer is yes, then you might be fast tracking an exit sooner than you think. Our people need to feel a sense of achievement and motivation in order to feel fulfilled. Ask your team what they’re really passionate about and utilise that as a guide to create the role that brings out the best in them

7. Lack of growth opportunities.

It’s interesting to me that the only way to climb a ladder within our industry is to become manager. On paper that all seems great - BUT are we really promoting excellent therapists to a whole different career? We just hired a therapist who was pushed into a manager role in her last clinic because she felt it was the only way to grow. After 4 months she had grown to hate her job. The truth about therapists is that the purpose that drives them to become therapists isn’t always applicable in the role as a manager and a leader.
 Being a manager means being of service to the rest of the team. Putting them over you. Paperwork and admin tasks. So, let’s find other growth opportunities for our therapists! The best way to keep therapists growing is constant up skilling, personal development, regular goal setting and KPI’s and also potentially unidentified new roles within the workplace. We have created several roles around the strengths and goals some of our team have had. And it’s a great way to keep them constantly challenged.

8. Lack of balance in care and accountability.

Gone are the days when we used to think everyone must be treated the same. The truth is people want to be treated as THEY like to be treated. So holding people accountable means first of all getting to know them as individuals. What motivates them? What’s their background like? What are their fears and limitations? What past experiences might be colouring the way they show up today? Care without accountability is a recipe for chaos and standards and culture slipping. Accountability without care is a recipe for disrespect and a non-inspiring environment. A careful balance of both is the goldilocks moment...Just right.

9. No connection to the purpose or vision of the business.

A recent survey by Korn Ferry found that 90% of people who worked in a purpose driven organisations reported feeling engaged in their work.

In companies that aren’t as focused on purpose, only 32 percent of employees reported feelings of engagement and connectedness with the work they were doing. Also, they found that teams focused on purpose had an annual growth rate of 3x the annual rate for their industry. If this isn’t proof that we need to connect our people with WHY they do what they do, and how they contribute to the business achieving its goals, I don’t know what is. Purpose driven environment = high engagement = high satisfaction = high employee retention.

10. Work/life balance or distance to work

Of course, you can’t move your clinic closer to someone’s house. And you may or may not be able to change rosters around to accommodate better work life balance. We did in fact change our operating hours to try our best to achieve this - but it may not be possible for everyone, depending on where you’re located and the needs your demographic has. And the reality is, unless you’re open 9-5 there’s always a chance that The truth of it all is that our people are only with us for a certain amount of time. Our job is to know that, and give them as many opportunities to grow and have impact while they’re with us. And by balancing care and accountability, and creating an inspired place to work, hopefully you can retain them for as long as possible, Control the controllable. The rest, well there are many reasons why people leave that are completely out of your control. So why dwell on them?

Gry Tomte

After opening Melbourne’s first Scandinavian inspired skin clinic 8 years ago and turning it into a multi 7 figure success, Gry is now spending her days coaching and mentoring other business leaders in the beauty and aesthetic industry via her new initiative, Profit + Purpose. Gry’s mission is helping business owners and managers lead with purpose, create a people first culture - and help them achieve more profit and joy in the process. Gry’s approach is tailored to each individual, as no two businesses or leaders are the same. For more info or to enquire about Gry’s limited coaching availabilities follow her instagram @grytomte