Managerial advice anyone?

[Bloodyvelcro]

I am at breaking point. I own a business which is successful- clients are happy and the bank is healthy. However, I just can not keep staff. Staff are given training, Christmas parties, Christmas bonus’ , a day of in the week and free childcare. why can’t I keep them? Another notice handed in today. What am I doing wrong?

Have you asked the departing staff?

It's hard to tell unless you say more. Do you do exit interviews with them? Or get someone else to do them? Do they tell you why they are leaving?

Are they paid well? Could you pay for a company to do some benchmarking of salaries across your industry, check the wages are in line with other companies?

Yes I ask them- never get anything more that a generic answer- even if I question further. One employee started on the Monday- went sick for a week on the Tuesday- and then handed in her notice two weeks later. Having not completed any of her paperwork he was given and constantly reminded he needed to bring in

Paid in line/ more than competitors

What's the current average time in post for your staff?

have you asked them? are there enough staff to do the job? do they get to go home on time every day? can they take their holiday when they ask for it? are there any particularly negative or difficult staff/customers? do all your systems work consistently as they should? Are there development and growth opportunities? has the cost of parking recently gone up? There are a million things which can affect staff retention.

What's the generic answer?

Re you having reviews with current staff? You may have an internal problem you aren’t aware of.

You could do a staff survey and see if anything comes up, how many people are you employing?

based on your last post it sounds like a recruitment problem. What is your recruitment process?

If not too outing - what's the field of work?

Do a survey

devise a how to improve the business document & invite staff to complete anonymously and return in an sae ( posting from own/ different city if needed) or put in office post box. Alternatively use survey monkey but people won’t always trust it’s anonymous

Yes brought staff. Yes to all others except parking- that’s free. If I’m being honest, things don’t work as smoothly as they could, but that’s more because I’m constantly interviewing, covering sick or inducting new employees. I need five tips that I can just live my work life by!

Is it down to a managerial style that no one likes?

Generic answer- closer to home

Who interviews? If you you may need to hire HR expert to review your form/interview plan & do interview with you to interject if/ when needed

Hmm I don’t think so. I have a manager and she’s very clear with her expectations etc. She might be a bit sarcastic when they aren’t doing any work, but that really is rare!

If they are leaving within weeks rather than months I would say your issue is likely recruitment rather than management.

Do you do regular appraisals where they can air their concerns?
Or you could do an anonymous survey, as others have suggested. I think appraisals are better, though.

Closer to home is a bit generic, but are you based in an area that's not close to public transport?

Bloodyvelcro it would be hard to give five tips without knowing more.

I'm a coach and my experience tells me people get fed up when

Leaders aren't clear in their expectations.
They micro manage
They don't delegate effectively.
They don't develop staff.
They don't manage and develop the team to be effective.
Avoid difficult conversations.

But I don't know you, so ccouldn't tell you if any of those things are true.

could be issues with working hours day to day and breaks
business/office environment
personality issues with you or other staff. is it too small a working environment (I left a family business as far too claustrophobic and intense)
location / places to go for lunch
too high targets or expectations
boring work ?

All other things being equal (pay, benefits), you've got a culture issue or the work is deadly boring.
Culture is a funny thing. Take a look around and check if there is a clique of old-timers that might be off-putting or if there is an overbearing/difficult manager. Is it a fun place to work? Are people smiling and happy?

Leaving within two weeks is a very bad sign.

Without knowing roughly what the business is, it's hard to advise.

Are your employees on contracts with set hours rather than casuals? Are they permanent (after passing probation of course)? Do you use an It system and does it work? Are they set up to go on it from day one? Do you have a set induction for them with training/policies/site tour etc?