Last year I was introduced to a security contractor. We compared notes on our respective industries and it quickly became apparent that both cleaning and security suffered from turnover issues.

This particular contractor had tried similar approaches as those I had heard from BSCs: hiring anyone with a good background, promoting from within and paying more than minimum wage. These efforts were met with mixed results.

After our discussions, I began to wonder if other service-oriented industries were in the same boat in regards to retaining employees. Fast-food can be just as unglamorous as cleaning, and yet I’ve heard from BSCs that janitors are willing to jump ship to flip burgers for an extra 10 cents an hour.

In this month’s cover story, Deputy Editor Lisa Ridgely talked with employers and experts from landscaping, agriculture, retail, foodservice and hospitality industries to see if the grass really is greener on the other side.

 



 




POSTED ON: 4/1/2008