HR
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People Report confab: Wane in hourly
workers' turnover People Report
is a firm that analyzes and tracks human-resources practices in the industry.
For companies that use its tracking services, management turnover has
averaged around 25 percent for the past three years, according to Joni
Doolin, chief executive of the Dallas-based firm. Meanwhile, hourly turnover
for the group has dropped from 124 percent in 2001 to 104 percent this year,
she said. "We
expect turnover to get worse as the economy improves," she said.
"We believe people are hiding out in companies until things pick up a
little bit." Doolin shared
that information with senior and human-resources executives attending a
People Report conference at the Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant in the North Park Mall
here. People Report
member companies account for more than 9,000 restaurants doing more than $30
billion in annual sales and employing more than 650,000 hourly employees and
56,000 store managers. Members include such chains as Chili's Grill & Bar, Red Lobster, Applebee's, T.G.I. Friday's and The Cheesecake
Factory. "Generally
speaking, our consortium performs 10 percent better than the industry,"
said Doolin, who founded People Report six years ago. For the past
several years, members have gathered in Guest
speakers included John Sullivan, professor at San Francisco State University
and former chief talent officer of Agilent Technologies; Bill Catlette, a
human-resources consultant and author of "Contented Cows Give Better
Milk"; Regynald Washington, chairman of the National Restaurant
Association and vice president and general manager of Disney Regional Entertainment;
Kathleen Wood, president of Elliot Solutions, a consulting firm; and Richard
Rivera, president of Darden
Restaurants. But while the
slow economy is helping to keep turnover low, so are progressive
human-resources practices that take into account such factors as quality of
life, diversity and community service, said Theresa Siriani, president of
People Report, who presented statistics on the group's performance. · On average, about 50 percent of store
managers newly hired by the group are women or minorities or both. Those
companies that have more diversity in management also have lower turnover of
managers, or 19 percent, compared with 37 percent for those with less
diversity. · People Report members who
offer such benefits as health care, dental care and 401(K) retirement plans
have lower turnover than do those who do not. · Companies that contribute,
sponsor or encourage employee participation in community service have lower
hourly and management turnover than do those that do not. Hourly turnover is
109 percent and management turnover 32 percent for community-active chains,
compared with a 134-percent hourly turnover rate and 35-percent management
turnover rate for uninvolved companies. · Companies with lower turnover
also spend more time on training. Those that spend one to two hours on
orientation training have a turnover of 120 percent, compared with an
86-percent turnover for those that spend more than four hours on orientation.
Siriani also noted some industry trends concerning how companies recruit and
why employees quit. Most managers
are promoted internally from hourly ranks, but the second-greatest source for
managers has been the Internet, followed by referrals from other employees,
she said. However, those managers whose applications came from the Internet
do not stay long, averaging only about nine months, compared with those who
were promoted internally, who stay with a restaurant for an average of more
than four years. The quality
of life remains the leading reason why both male and female employees leave
their jobs, and is cited by 14 percent and 16 percent, respectively, Siriani
said. About 12 percent of females and 11 percent of males simply walk off the
job without notice. Other reasons for leaving include compensation and
benefits, relocation, family reasons and unhappiness with their supervisors. "One out
of every 10 managers is just leaving; they are so unengaged," Siriani
said. Challenges for the industry are not only compensation and benefits but
also the implementation of flexible scheduling to accommodate quality-of-life
issues and the creation of an engaging work environment, she said. During the
conference People Report presented its best-practices awards to those member
companies that are succeeding in engaging their work forces, as demonstrated
by their turnover averages and the diversity of new hires. Awards were given
to chains with better-than-average hourly and management turnover and the
percentage of new hires who are women or minorities or both. Noah's New York Bagels took
the honors for concepts with annual unit sales volumes between $500,000 and
$1 million and with a per-person check below $5. Corner Bakery Cafe
placed first for the third year in a row among concepts with unit sales
volumes below $2 million and per-person checks below $10. California Pizza Kitchen once
again had the "best practices" among full-service restaurants with
annual unit sales volumes between $2 million and $4 million and per-person
checks between $10 and $15. Claim Jumper Restaurants was recognized among concepts
that have average unit sales volumes greater than $4 million and per-person
checks greater than $15. In addition,
People Report presented its Heart of the Workplace Award to Rock Bottom Restaurants
Inc. for incorporating its Rock Bottom Foundation's goals into the chain's
vision and mission statements. Pasta Pomodoro
received this year's Catalyst Award, given to a company that has made
significant progress in reducing turn-over and increasing diversity. The San
Francisco-based full-service chain, which is backed by Wendy's International, saw
turnover fall by 11 percent for managers and 8 percent for hourly workers,
while women and minorities in management rose by more than 50 percent, chief
operating officer Michael O'Keefe said. |
