I was speaking to the COO of a large construction company because they were having a hard time finding and keeping workers. They’d had more than 60% turnover the previous year and things weren’t improving.
He couldn’t understand why. Even though there was a significant amount of travel, they paid higher than industry average, had a shortened work week and great benefits. What was the problem?
Turnover is a symptom of underlying issues and while it’s never one thing, it can usually be traced back to one or two problems.
That was the case this time. There were a couple of smaller issues, but 15 minutes into our conversation we uncovered the big one.
I was asking more questions about the travel; how often (a lot), to where (often very remote locations), what impact on the employee experience (it led to lots of complains).
Okay, but weren’t they aware that they were signing up for a lot of travel?
The COO answered, “Well, the recruiters are supposed to be telling them about it.”
To which I replied, “How are those recruiters incentivized? On hiring or retention?”
The COO said, “on hiring.” As the light dawned in his eyes, he said, ““That’s why we have so much turnover.”
Bingo.
By incentivizing his recruiters solely on the number of people they hired, they had inadvertently created a reason for them to downplay the arduous amount of travel or any downside of the job. By only presenting the rosy aspects of work, the company was creating a huge expectations gap with their new employees. That gap is a killer of the employee experience.
The Employee Experience authors Tracy Maylett and Matthew Wride have found that one of the biggest factors causing employee disengagement is “a profound gap in expectations.” They write:
Those who were disengaged complained about unmet expectations…Those who found engagement in their work typically got exactly what they expected from the job and, consequently, were fulfilled. They got what they signed up for.
The Employee Experience, Tracy Maylett and Matthew Wride
Aligning expectations is one of the reasons that FiveFour helps our clients implement our four-interview hiring system. And in one of those interviews, the stated purpose is to talk them out of the job.
What? We want to talk them out of working with us? But isn’t it hard enough to find people today?
That’s what Pat Swyter, the CEO of Four Way Insulation and a client of FiveFour, thought. He was having a hard time hiring people for his construction company and was hesitant to talk anyone out of working there.
But he implemented the system and it was a game-changer for his business leading to 20% revenue increase last year after years of no growth. Watch him tell the story here:
Hiring is one of the most important things to get right in your business. I would love to talk to you about the hiring in your company. Just book a time and I will give you a call:
Talk soon.