Jack Carter case study

Facts : – Jennifer Carter graduated from state university in June 2003 Jack Carter opened his first Laundromat in 1990 and his second in 1992 Jack had decided by 1996 to expand the services in each of his stores to include the dry cleaning and pressing of clothes. Each store has its own on- site manager and, on average , about seven employees and annual revenues of about $500,000. Employees generally have no more than a high school education (often less) , and the market for them is very competitive. All these people are usually paid around $15.00 per hour, and they change job frequently. Turnover in their stores (as in the stores of many of their competitors) often approaches 400%

Question
1. First, how would you recommend we go about reducing turnover in our stores ? We have to hire more qualified employees (e.g. high school graduate). If the employee has a better education, we didn’t need not so much time for training him. If we want to hire somebody without a high school grad, we can cooperate with colleges. The disadvantage is that it is expensive and time consuming. Another possibility is to hire someone who has already worked for us (rehiring). These people have already the skills and knowledge and we won’t waste time in training. To find an approach why so many employees leave, it is important to interview employees to improve the work environment. I will also give you tips to reduce employees turnover. :

Hire the right people
The best way to ensure employees don’t leave you is to make sure you are hiring the right employees to begin with. Define the role clearly—both to yourself and to the candidates. And then be absolutely sure the candidate is a fit not only for it, but for your company culture. Fire people who don’t fit

As the old saying goes, “a stitch in time, saves nine.” The same goes for cutting employees loose when necessary. Sometimes even when you follow the advice above, you get an employee who—no matter what you try to do—just doesn’t fit. And, no matter how effective they might be at their actual work, an employee who is a bad fit is bad for your culture, and that creates “culture debt.” They will do more damage than good by poisoning the well of your company. Cut them loose. Keep compensation and benefits current

Be sure that you are paying employees the fair going wage for their work (or better) and offer them competitive benefits, or—really—who can blame them for ditching you? This might seem like a no brainer but you’d be surprised how few companies offer raises that keep up with an employee’s development and actual rising worth. Encourage generosity and gratitude

Encourage pro-social behavior in your employees. When they are given the opportunity to connect with one another through acts of generosity and the expression of gratitude, employees will be healthier, happier, and less likely to fly the coop. And by encouraging them to be on the lookout for good behaviors to commend, you give people a sense of ownership of the company. Recognize and reward employees

Show your employees they are valued and appreciated by offering them real-time recognition that celebrates their successes and their efforts. Make it specific, social and supported by tangible reward, and you, too, will be rewarded—with their loyalty. Offer flexibility

Today’s employees crave a flexible life/work balance. That impacts retention directly. In fact, a Boston College Center for Work & Family study found that 76% of managers and 80% of employees indicated that flexible work arrangements had positive effects on retention. And more and more companies know it. That means, if you’re not offering employees flexibility around work hours and locations, they might easily leave you for someone who will.
Pay attention to engagement

This one sounds obvious, but for too many leaders interest in engagement is limited to the results of engagement surveys. It’s not enough simply to run an engagement survey once a year. You need save most of your energy to take action based on the results and you need to work to build a culture of engagement in your company all year long. Prioritize employee happiness

Happiness may sound a bit soft and squishy to many execs, but the numbers behind it are anything but. Employee happiness is a key indicator of job satisfaction, absenteeism and alignment with values–just for starters. Investing in the happiness of your employees will pay dividends in engagement, productivity and yes, retention. (Find some tips for building happiness here.) Make opportunities for development and growth

Employees place HUGE value on opportunities for growth. In fact, a recent Cornerstone survey drew a direct connection between lack of development opportunity and high turnover intentions. If you aren’t developing your employees then you aren’t investing in them. And if you aren’t investing in them, why should they stay with you? Clean up performance reviews

Our most recent Workforce Mood Tracker survey painted a frankly dismal picture of how employees feel about performance reviews. Only 49 percent of them find reviews to be accurate, and only 47 percent find them to be motivating. Performance reviews offer a prime opportunity for a big win to increase trust and fortify your relationship with employees. Improve performance management by overhauling reviews, and watch employee trust and satisfaction grow. Provide an inclusive vision

One key factor in employee engagement and happiness, according to experts, is to provide them with a sense of purpose and meaning in their work. Offer employees a strong vision and goals for their work and increase their sense of belonging and loyalty to your organization. Demonstrate and cultivate respect

Finally, don’t discount respect when it comes to creating a magnetic culture. In fact, in one 2012 study, respect in the workplace was revealed to be a key factor in voluntary turnover. Find ways to cultivate and nurture respect in your workplace and it will pay off in higher retention.

2. Provide a detailed list of recommendations concerning how we should go about increasing our pool of acceptable job applicants so we are no longer faced with the need of hiring who almost walk in the door. – At first we create a detailed list with all requirements we need for the job. There are different strategies to find suitable employees: * Internal candidates

Unsuitable for us, because we need a permanent staff before we can promote someone. * Rehiring
If we know somebody who did a good job and want to come back. It’s a win-win situation. * Recruiting via internet
The most people nowadays use the internet to find suitable jobs. For this reason it is important for us to have a good internet presentation, which includes our homepage, Online Recruiting Job Boards and Social Media Websites. If we want to recruit new applicants over the internet, it is important to formulate a detailed list with all requirements the applicant need for the job. * The media

The classical way is to place an ad in the local newspaper. Therefore we need to differentiate between what kind of jobs fit to which newspaper. For instance, the business magazine for a management position and a local newspaper for a common position. * Executive Recruiters

If we have to hire someone for a top management position, we can use a headhunter. But at the moment we are looking for normal staff.