Turnover

Employee turnover plagues many businesses in the jan/san industry, especially building service contractors. The revolving door of workers drains budgets and depletes moral. That’s what makes the opinions one CEO shared with Inc. a bit surprising — at least on the surface.

Whether they’re growing, declining or steady, all businesses should welcome turnover, at least to a certain degree, says Tom Gimbel, the founder of a Chicago-based staffing, recruiting and culture firm.

Turnover helps revive a declining business because it rids companies of unnecessary positions and poorly performing staff, like a bad sales team. On the other end of the spectrum are thriving businesses. These businesses benefit from turnover because, realistically speaking, all of the hires they’re making aren’t going to pan out, says Gimbel.

“If you are hiring to simply hire and don't have turnover, you are actually saying short-term growth is more important than quality output,” says Gimbel in his opinion piece. “Everyone can't be a rock star. Remember, even the Beatles had Ringo. And he was their second drummer.”

Those experiencing steady business will welcome turnover because it’s just an occasional replacement of employees, says Gimbel.

There are two different types of turnover, according to Gimbel: desirable and undesirable. Desirable turnover is when a problem employee is fired, while undesirable turnover is when an employee quits.

When a bad employee stays employed, that is detrimental to the attitude of good employees because these bad workers are receiving a paycheck just like that person who is doing well, says Gimbel.

Opinions can vary on the topic of turnover, of course. For example, a recent report shed some new light on turnover and how the cost of it adds up.