Blog

Employment limbo

August 1, 2012 by Doug Fleener — President and Managing Partner, Dynamic Experiences Group, LLC

Most employees leave a job for one of three reasons:

1. For a better, or different, employment opportunity.Some managers and owners take this personally. Don't. People have to do what's best for themselves and their families.

There's nothing wrong with making a counter-offer to persuade someone to stay, but avoid making someone feel guilty for leaving. We should celebrate this new chapter in the person's life. Sure, it may be a hassle that you now have to find new a new staffer, and perhaps even work additional hours until that new person is hired and up to speed, but again, it isn't personal.

2. They no longer enjoy the job.Maybe what is expected of them has changed, or maybe they're just tired of doing that particular job. It happens. It has happened to me and it has maybe happened to you, too.

You just have to make sure that the change isn't a result of poor management or store dynamics. If that's the case there will be a staff revolving door. That's why exit interviews are so important; you need to understand why someone is leaving.

3. You've eased them out the door, or maybe even shown them the door.More often than not this happens because the employee couldn't take either of the first two actions on his/her own. For some, the job may have been a bad fit; for others the passion and fun is no longer there. It was time to go and you helped them get there. It's never fun to have to do this, but it is usually what's best for both the employee and the business.

The biggest problem is when employees want to leave but either can't or won't. Sometimes the employee's attitudes, behaviors, and actions are having a negative impact on the store but the manager or owner isn't holding them accountable. When this happens the employee is in what I call employment limbo. One foot is out the door but, unfortunately, the other is still in the store.

Your business can't afford to allow an employee's performance to suffer because they're in limbo. If you do, it will cost you both sales and customers, as well as create unnecessary drama within the team.

To avoid employment limbo, set specific performance and behavioral expectations for your team, and quickly address the issue when someone is falling short of those expectations. If you don't, you enable the limbo.

The good news is that most people, when held accountable, will decide they want to stay and will elevate their performance to the expected level of performance. If that doesn't happen, he/she needs to choose reason number one or number two, or you'll need to choose reason number three.

So let me ask, do you have any employees that are in employment limbo? Are you in limbo?

About Doug Fleener

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