Is ongoing turnover “common in the type of role, inherent in your industry”, or are you dealing with people that “just don’t want to work hard anymore”? Turnover can plague a company even when employee trainings are in place and roles are well defined. There seems to be a vast array of reasons for turnover but we always uncover one common cause of role disruption; undefined supervisor expectations in the selection process. Candidate selection must include the diagnostic input of the direct report or supervisor, to ensure the chosen candidate is right for the role and has the right problem solving methods to meet a supervisor’s expectations. Hiring is an inclusive process and the expectations of the direct supervisor for executing a role are an essential element of Smart Selection.
 
A top producing senior manager wants to correct the problem of continual training of new managers that don’t last in the industry. He is frustrated and has to personally work a six day week to ensure he is meeting his goals.
 

I don’t understand what is going on.  Why am I constantly handed people that are not right for my division? Trainings are exact and thorough and I communicate my expectations but my managers don’t seem to be able to think the way I need them to. I am constantly short-handed because I have to wait for a new management candidate, train him/her for several months before I can rely on their input, just to learn that the person is not able to handle the role according to my expectations. I’m not asking for that much, and the regional manager knows what we need, so why isn’t this working?

 
Getting a new team member that you did not personally select is a recipe for disaster. The interactions are not in sync, a foreign exchange between strangers – a supervisor or manager and new team member begin to work through trainings and learn what should have been part of the hiring process; innate execution strengths may or may not match the expectations of the manager. There is not always evidence of this mismatch during training, when a new team member will work against their natural problem solving grain if needed, to demonstrate their best work. At some point, usually when a new team member is given the freedom to begin to manage his/her own agenda, a void occurs, an unknown aspect begins to show up. The senior manger notices expectations are not being met, he/she begins to communicate what is necessary for success in the role according to his/her own expectations that were not included in the hiring process. These are foreign aspects of the role to a new team member and now there is frustration by both parties. These foreign exchanges are stressful and eventually discouraging to a new team member.  Eventually the misalignment of expectations for a role will show up as a lack of initiative or skills.
 
Eliminate the risk of foreign exchanges with your new team members. You can avoid ongoing turnover by integrating the expectations of direct supervisors/managers into the hiring process. Contact us at FIREPOWER Teams today to learn more and get on the right track!