10/23-29/1998
Tony Burdett said the last time an employee quit at his company, Buckhead Motor Works, was eight years ago. "They don't want to leave because we are the best," said Burdett, who owns and operates his auto repair shop in Sandy Springs. 'We only service BMWs, and we've been around as long as anybody. There's nowhere else to go from us but downhill," he said.

So, Burdett counts on his employees' pride in the company to keep turnover down at his shop. But, despite his shop's stellar reputation, Burdett hasn't been able to fill an opening for a year. He depends on hiring experienced workers rather than training them himself.  The problem is that, in the automobile industry, dealers are able to command the top talent because they can offer ongoing training.  'However, Burdett is willing to hold out for the right person."We invest heavily in our cars," said Burdett. "We just can't have anyone working on them. Our people need to be car guys. If I can't get a quality person, I'd rather not have anyone."

Because many small businesses can't afford training costs, and want to avoid the costs inherent to turn over, they have to take steps to retain good employees.

Three ways to pare turnover: There are three surefire ways to reduce turnover, said Joe Astrachan, associate director of the Family Enterprise Center at Kennesaw State University.

Give employees a realistic preview of the position – even if it is not pretty.

Provide high levels of feedback and communication, and communicate accurately.

Pay employees appropriately.

These make up the golden rule of preventing turnover: Treat people the way you want to be treated, starting with honesty.  "These measures will take you 80 percent in the way of reducing company turnover, yet less than 30 percent of companies use them because with these approaches, it takes longer to hire," Astrachan said. "But if you're hired to hire, you might take the first employee that comes along. If human resources representative's were judged on how long people stay, it would be a different story."  "A lot of people don't realize how expensive turnover can be," he added.

Astrachan said it was determined in a study done for the restaurant industry that the cost of turnover is generally higher than the annual salary of the person hired. He said you have to consider paperwork, training and the time it takes to get employees up to speed.

"Then there's the hidden costs. Turnover hurts morale; it's hard on longtime employees who have to train new employees and then take on their job once they're gone; they lose confidence in management," Astrachan said.

Some businesses are trying to become more responsive to the human needs of their employees in an effort to reduce turnover.

Tom LeMay, the owner of LeMay Electric Inc., has practically reinvented his business in order to attract and keep employees in the building trades industry. "I've found the best way to keep people is to have them do interesting jobs," LeMay said. 'We really don't do homes anymore," he said, "because they just are not interesting to our people. We look to get involved in hightech work." LeMay also involves his employees in everything the company does. "We include them in the methods and means for doing tasks, equipment procedures and the howtos of what we do," he said. "They are the ones using the equipment, so they've got a say in what we do."

LeMay has been in business for 15 years, and during that time, he has lost only four employees.  Employers who have not only a reputation for quality, but pay well, tend to retain employees.  To compete for employees in the sign industry, Jason Moore of A-1 signs in Norcross has gone about it the old fashion way. He pays more than anyone else. "It's a catch-22 situation" Moore said.  "Because we pay more to hire good people and do quality work, we have to charge more."  Still the fact that Moore pays well and has a reputation for quality has minimized his turnover in an industry that is plagued by a shortage of experienced workers.  "Everyone wants to work for a quality shop," he said. Irving Fischer, a counselor for SCORE who has done exit interviews for his own company as well as for down-sized company IBM Corporation employees, says that the current climate for mistrust between employers and employees is the residue of downsizing.

"People are insecure"  Fischer said. "In the 60s if you laid off people your stock went down." He said. "Today, if you lay off your people your stock goes up. Yet, employees make for the success of the company."

He said that employees are not likely to stay with the same employee throughout their career, so they try to increase their skills and move up the ladder by moving from company to company. "Companies have the feeling that employees are not loyal today, so they don't care about the employees; but companies initiated those feelings in the first place with downsizing," he said. "What goes around, comes around."

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