Every month, two to five people quit the small manufacturing company, heading off to a new job. Concerned with costs and time involved in the revolving door of recruiting and training, the company decided to do an employee survey to see why people were leaving.
Wages and benefits weren’t an issue. People believed they had the right tools, equipment and training to do their job.
Here’s where survey results started heading south:
- 94% said they were extremely dissatisfied working for the company
- 97% said they would not recommend the company to their friends as a good place to work
- 2% said they feel like they’re a part of the Company
- 14% said the flow of communications from management to employees is good
- 7% said overall morale was good
Consider some of the written comments:
- “My boss makes me feel like just another part of the assembly line, and his boss feels the same way.”
- “The only thing the owner cares about is making money and it doesn’t matter how you do it.”
- “When I reported a safety problem, my boss said I could quit if I didn’t like it. She said there were plenty of other people who would be happy to take my job.”
- “The big bosses spend all their time on the golf course. Us nothings just have to work harder to pay for their play time.”
- “I’m just a number around here. A set of arms and legs to make money. Nobody cares that I have thoughts or feelings.”
Employee feelings don’t harden like this overnight. A slow, consistent and pervasive culture has been allowed to grow. A culture that snuffs out employee loyalty and engagement, and doesn’t warrant recognition, action or response until negative impacts on the bottom line are felt.
Warning signs of dissatisfied employees
Employees signal their unhappiness in many ways, some large, others small. Leaders who are tuned in and aware will be on the lookout of any of these twelve activities.
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- Do employees frequently complain about the small things that used to never come up?
- Would hell have to freeze over before someone in senior management walked the shop floor?
- Has there been an increase in work product rejected by customers for poor quality?
- Do employees do just enough to get by and never go the extra mile?
- Have you been ignoring the early warning signs of employee distress. Things like employees not sharing information with management. Low turnout at employee gatherings. An absence of smiles, laughter and the occasional horseplay. Whispering that stops when management walks by.
- Does senior management talk about employees as assets or as a means to drive profit?
- Is more finger-pointing going on than problem-solving?
- Are employees who offer suggestions for improvement given the cold shoulder? Laughed at?
- Has absenteeism become a problem? Do employees frequently need to leave work early in the day? Have workplace accidents increased?
- Are employee opinions and points of view discarded or not even requested?
The key for resolving unrest is action. If any of these items exist in your workplace, share them with your CEO. Then watch for the reaction and gain invaluable insight into whether or not he cares if employees care…or not.
Image credit: Dreamstime
