December 20, 2017
C-Store staff retention – Many owners argue it is their top challenge.
The improving economy is often cited for making a difficult job of C-Store staff retention even harder. While all positions are important the one that I hear about the most is the challenge of finding and keeping good store managers.
Sometimes the situation is so bad, I hear operators complain that they do not address bad performance because it is just too hard to find staff. They reason that having a bad employee is better than not having enough staff to man the stores. In the most extreme cases, I have heard of closing stores due to the lack of available staff.
Some argue that keeping staff is a direct reflection of the store manager. The concept – “People leave managers, not companies.” (Jack Altman – ‘Don’t Be Surprised When Your Employees Quit’) places high value for the store manager in regards to C-Store staff retention .
So then the need to keep the manager happy and productive becomes very important. There is not much of an issue when things are going well. The challenge presents itself when a store is not performing well. If you push the manager you may make things worse and lose staff compounding a bad situation. Such concerns, can lead to a paralysis of action worrying about losing staff and making things ever worse.
Doing nothing about retention is a choice
The lack of a decision is still a decision and not taking action when things are bad has not often been sited as the best approach. Everyone has their limits of what is acceptable and how to deal with problems. We have gathered a lot of information and come up with our own system to address staff retention. I’d love to hear your approach and share how we approach it. I’d like to get your feedback on how you address C-Store staff retention. Give me your opinion (and your address) and I will send you a free copy of our new book – ‘If You Have Time To Lean, You Have Time To Clean’. To send me your opinion and your address for mailing, click here.