Tools to help:

One of the first objectives that you should endeavor to complete is a termination audit form and a turnover breakdown. The first form is used to provide a summary of all terminated employees. It should have as much demographic data as possible--any facts that you think might be significant. Examples would be age at termination, sex, tenure of employee, quit or fired, direct supervisor at time of termination, location or department of termination, training center, and any other relevant information. What you are looking for are common denominators that can be found and used to prevent further turnover in staff. For example, this research might show that when people are trained at one center, they are much more likely to quit than when trained at other facilities.

The second form, the turnover breakdown, is to know how much turnover you actually have. Most companies don't have a clue. You may THINK you know, but until you write the facts down from research you're really just guessing.

What can you do about it?

Examine all the facts. There are common denominators that point to some specific area. The area will be a specific supervisor, working condition or other problem area that you may be completely unaware of. If you still feel uncertain, form a focus group to help define the problem clearly. Initiate exit interviews immediately. Exit interviews are wonderful tools that can tell you about your selection and hiring procedures, orientations, training, and employee perceptions. If you find that the problem is that your supervisors are bosses rather than coaches, having a coaching workshop may just do the trick. It has worked for Xerox, Coca-Cola and Kinko's.

The main point here is to address the problem and seek answers. A great start is to pay attention to your employees by asking questions and LISTENING. But your employees have doubtless heard this before so be prepared to back up your talk with quick action. Otherwise you might just find yourself hurting the situation rather than helping it.