What Did My SHRM22 Speaker Scores Say About Retention?

The SHRM Annual Conference is a fast-paced confluence of 15,000+ participants, tuning in to more than one hundred speakers…all to surface, dissect, and solve the hot HR issues of the day. And based on my one-hour concurrent session in front several hundred of them, their greatest need became clear.

SHRM Attendees Responded to Retention Issues

That session was titled Cutting Turnover 20 Percent and More During “The Great Resignation. The evaluation scores were good, an average of 97 out of 100, but more telling were the evaluative comments. Here are a few:

• This was absolutely, unequivocally THE MOST USEFUL information I received while at this conference. His data backed up his assertions. His presentation was warm, accurate and passion‐driven. He was absolutely phenomenal!

• Best session of the entire conference. Appreciate he had case studies and actionable items!

• WONDERFUL SESSION! My favorite from the conference. Provided clear data, and guidance moving forward. I’ve been looking for actual COVID-driven data and Richard was the first person who seemed to have an accurate handle on what we are now seeing in the workforce. Very impressive and insightful and I would love to get more information from him.

The feedback tells me that SHRM members were starving for real retention solutions, at a time when all U.S. companies were facing 11 million open jobs and 3.5% unemployment.

SHRM Session Started with Types of Retention

I began the session by moving to one side of the room to present the first of two types of retention solutions (slide 3 in my deck). Type #1 was offering various one-size-fits-all programs, usually based on the results of exit or engagement surveys, employee focus groups, or employee retention committees. When asked how many usually approach retention this way, nearly all raised their hands. When I next asked the group to keep their hands up if their “solutions” were actually cutting turnover, nearly everyone put their hands down.

Then I moved to the other side of the room and presented the type #2 retention solution which was driving retention through first-line supervisors, all based on solid research that tells us the number one reason employees stay or leave is how much they trust their boss. Less than five participants raised their hands for presently solving turnover through their first-line leaders.

Next up were the six major statistical drivers of “The Great Resignation”, along with three well-respected opinions of when it will end. Hint: No time soon.

• Wall Street Journal: 22 of 52 economists say quits will never improve back to 2019’s level.

• Time Magazine: “The Great Resignation” is only just beginning for millennials and gen z workers.

• Burning Glass Economic Think Tank: We cannot grow our economy without more immigration…and our lack of workers is driving inflation and supply chain woes.

SHRM Session Retention Results Shared

Then came the session’s main event as I presented five client companies’ retention results during “The Great Resignation”, (starts on slide 18 in my deck). and each of these companies hire employees into what are historically high-turnover jobs even during pre-pandemic times:

• Waste Connections that hires employees who pick up and sort trash, turnover down 30%

• Wayne Farms that processes chickens for Chick-Fil-A, turnover down 22%

• AdventHealth that provides post-acute, nursing home-type services, turnover down 45% and agency costs reduced to zero

• Covenant Health with 3 hospitals and 10 post-acute centers, turnover down 22%

• Quest Diagnostics which employs phlebotomists and other healthcare workers, turnover down 45%

Interestingly, nearly all of these client companies have seen their turnover fall even more since the June presentation.

The session ended with my presenting our Finnegan’s Arrow® comprehensive retention solution, pictured here:

Why was the session scored so highly? Because it presented real and proven employee retention solutions. Standing in front of a crowd of 300+ people, it was clear to me when the audience was most tuned in, when many were taking notes, and when all cell phones had been put away. And that time was when I was teaching them precisely how to cut turnover in new, fresh-thinking ways, that save their companies millions of dollars…even during “The Great Resignation”.

Learn From Our Client’s Real Results, You Can Cut Turnover by 20% or More, Even During “The Great Resignation“

Schedule a conversation with me at DFinnegan@C-SuiteAnalytics.com to discuss your employee retention roadblocks and I’ll share ideas for how you can move forward and what is working for other companies to cut turnover by 20% and more, even during “The Great Resignation” that may benefit you.