Business & Finance
THE TAMPA TRIBUNE
Sunday, February 11, 1996
Coach teaches 'worth' of retaining workers
A Tribune Wire Service Report
There's nothing like throwing money at business owners to get their attention. Jim Miller, author of
"The Corporate Coach," solicited input from 32 men and one woman at the top of their companies
recently by throwing dollar bills at them.
It was all in fun to help make his points about corporate coaching for increased profit. "What is the
cost of employee turnover," Miller asked the group, regional members of The Executive Committee
from Palm Beach, Broward, Martin and St. Lucie counties in South
Florida.
"$5,000," said one member. "$25,000," said another. "$40,000," said a third. The last CEO got the
dollar.
"A good employee is worth $40,000," Miller said. It costs about that much to put a new employee
through orientation, training about products, and understanding of corporate philosophies and goals.
Retaining current, productive employees not only provides
continuity in the workplace, but it also adds to the company's profitability, Miller said.
In its early years, Jim Miller Enterprises, based in Arlington, Texas, had employee turnover of 19
percent. Now less than 5 percent of the employees leave the company, Miller said. Miller bought a
bankrupt office supply company 28 years ago and turned it into a multimillion-dollar company. He
now spreads his brand of motivational business
methods through his books, speaking engagements and consulting work.
"Would you spend $50 to make an employee feel important?" Miller asks. He suggests the following
to help employees feel part of the corporate team:
- Send a welcome letter to the home of a new employee the day before they begin their career
with the company. Something like, "Welcome to our family. We're looking forward to your joining
us."
- Give the new employee a buddy. Do more than give the employee a copy of
the Employee Handbook. Review the handbook with them, but then have someone in their department
be their guide in the first month. The buddy should take the employee to lunch, answer questions and
help him adjust and feel comfortable during the training period.
- Send "thank you" letters to your employees when they have done a good
job. Mail these letters to their homes.
- Send employees a personalized birthday card.
Real leadership is critical to a strong organization, Miller said. To demonstrate, he gives managers a
piece of string and tells them to push it across the table. Lesson learned: You can't push a string in a
straight line. But if you lead it and pull it, it will follow. In the same manner, if you want your
employees to be leaders, "you get a lot more out of people by leading instead of pushing," Miller said.
There are two types of management philosophies: short leash and long leash, he said. Miller tells about
one of his managers who had positioned himself to be indispensable: "He controlled everything."
That's short-leash management.
"Don't be a short-lease manager, you lose people," Miller said. "Your company becomes much
stronger if you have a long leash."
A long-leash manager surrounds himself with winners, with good people who are as smart or smarter
than himself. He sits down with his management people, reviews their goals and objectives, challenges
them-and gets out of their way, Miller said.
It's also important to hire quality people who have winning attitudes, Miller said. That's not the person
who is asked to do something and responds, "That's not my job."
He said managers, even chief executives, should spend time doing every job in the company. "I do
every job in my company except accounting," Miller said. "You get to know what's going on and it
makes employees feel you're part of it."
Miller said when he owned an office supply company, he spent a day with one of the woman drivers.
The woman was lifting excessively heavy loads, was delivering to private homes and had to eat lunch
on the road. After spending a day lugging packages and entering homes that posed potentially
dangerous situations, Miller made changes in the drivers' policies and routes.
To continue improving the company, feedback is necessary. Miller said business owners and
managers should do employee surveys, encouraging positive or negative comments relative to any
aspect of the organization. And they should respond to the surveys.
Miller said empowerment is the most obvious sign of respect for employees. "Show them that you
respect their judgment. Give them the authority to make decisions. When employees have
accountability and authority, they are truly empowered," he said.
