High employee turnover is a constant headache for contractors, especially ones that are highly seasonal. Although wage rates and compensation plans are certainly vital to employee retention, surveys consistently show that not being heard and respected are top reasons why employees leave their jobs.

A few years ago at our contracting business, a key employee gave his notice right in the heart of the busiest season (when overtime was plenty and paychecks were big). When our General Manager and I did an impromtu “exit interview” with him, we learned that he was very dissatisfied. He felt he had skills that were being underutilized, that other employees were advancing faster than they deserved and that he wanted more growth potential.

Our initial reaction was that maybe he overvalued his skills and had some sour grapes about his lack of promotions. I quickly realized though that, irrespective of the validity of his viewpoint, we needed to make some significant changes in how we listen to and communicate with our employees. At that time, an employee’s interview was about the only time that we ever sat down and had a chance to talk without interruptions or distractions.

Since then, we have implemented a number of planned, scheduled times for us to listen to our employees. They are intentionally not forums for us as management to critique, criticize or evaluate the employees and crews. They are an opportunity for us to empower them to get engaged in how we do things. After all, they are our hands and feet out in the field, and we need them on board with our mission.

While it’s only a start, here are the things that we are currently doing:

• Foreman breakfast. The last Friday of each month, our project managers and I (owner) take out our foreman (about 6 to 8, depending on time of year). It’s mostly a time of building camaraderie with the team, but we also make sure to dedicate 10 or 15 minutes to listen to what’s happening in the field and concerns or ideas they have.
• Foreman roundtable. Once a year in February, before the start of our busy season, we get all the foremen and project managers together for a half-day session and brainstorm ideas for how we can improve.
• Manager strategy day. Once a year, usually in January, we have a third-party consultant come in and administer a two hour discussion about what went well in the preceding year and what our priorities should be in the ensuing year.
• Employee one-to-ones. Twice a year, each employee’s direct supervisor and I have a sit down with each employee in the company to talk about their career trajectory, their frustrations and anything else they want to talk about. It’s only 30 minutes, which isn’t enough, but it’s a start.

Here’s the kicker. Doing these things isn’t a silver bullet. We can’t just listen. We have to act. The process will lose credibility if they perceive that we’re just doing these things for show, but we never act on any of their suggestions.

Over the last few years, our company culture has grown and developed into one where employees feel like they are respected and that management wants to hear what they have to say. It’s a night and day transformation.