Brain Drain
March 7, 2008
I believe that one of the leading indicators of a potential 1000 Year Brand is employee turn-over. Or maybe it is better to say that companies that have high turn-over are very likely NOT 1000 Year Brands. The obvious negative is high turn-over at the management level, but the real affect is felt at the rank-and-file level. This is especially true if there is turn-over of the people that deal with customers. I believe a lot of this comes from the wear-and-tear on one’s soul from dealing with angry customers. While some business models (like McDonald’s) have inherently transitional jobs, most business that have high turn-over simply have something wrong.
In most cases, this is a core issue - internal strife, ethical issues, greed - all of the things that kill a company. Except in this day and age of accelerated word-of-mouth, unhappy employees can hurt a brand just as much as any negative press coverage.
This is closely related to a common theme amongst 1000 Year Brands; the desire to make a difference. This often starts with creating a cultural of empowerment with employees. This is reflected in giving authority to employees to control the customer experience, but also includes education programs, promotions, etc.
Covey probably said it best … “treat your employees like your best customers”. Or another way to say it … if your employees don’t like you, your customers probably don’t either.
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