Solving Employee Turnover

A 24 hour convenience store firm, was experiencing a 400% turnover in their “graveyard” or third shift. This might not be surprising you could think, but 400% was totally unacceptable because many employees quit their jobs without notice – they simply didn’t show up one day or walked off the job when for some reason they had had enough. In these situations it was straight into crisis mode; an unattended store is not a good thing! For management a call at 2:00 am letting them know that an employee had not shown up is even worse!

As a result, the company decided to conduct an analysis of employees that quit the night shift and the analysis was startling. 87% of the employees that quit were of the same behavioural style and this included those that left without notice and decided just not to turn up! The remaining 13% who were of different styles gave the required notice, which gave management enough time to employ replacements.

The analysis revealed that the managers were employing personable individuals who were likely to get along well with customers. This seemed to make good sense however the reality of the night shift is that there is only a sporadic flow of customers and no co-workers to talk with. It is a lonely job that simply does not fit the behavioural style of the individuals who are good with people and enjoy interacting with others.

Logically, the managers started hiring people that were more suited to the requirements of the night shift – individuals who do not need as much contact with others and who even enjoy the quiet routine of the job. This is of course, something the managers had never considered in the past simply because they were looking for people oriented candidates.

The result? After implementing the new hiring process using Extended DISC® Personal Analysis Reports to choose their new recruits, their employee turnover has dropped from 400% to 50%! Moreover, the analysis is now conducted on the type of store and location in addition to the shift requirements. They have found that some of the original unhappy night shift employees excel in day shifts in other situations increasing sales in those locations.

« Back to Case Studies