There are businesses that brag about their low turnover. They’re proud to have lots of employees that have been there for 20 years plus.
Most often, this is a bad sign showing that problems are not dealt with and instead get swept under the rug. It shows that the business continues to breathe its own exhaust and is stifling from lack of new ideas.
Turnover is healthy, both for you and for the business. Our enemy isn’t unemployment, it’s getting stale.
If you’re a 20 year guy and you’re growing and getting better, that’s fantastic. It does happen, and those people are the core building blocks that the business rests on. But if your 20 years’ experience is actually two years repeated ten times, maybe it’s time to re-think things. Just because the same container of Cheez Whiz can sit on the same shelf since the Eisenhower administration and still be relatively edible, doesn’t mean it’s a sought-after, valued source of nutrition.
There are two sayings about inventory in the furniture business:
FIFO – First in, first out (ideal)
FILO – First in, last out (not great)
But there’s another one too:
FISH – First in, STILL HERE!
Is that you? If you’re a long termer, keep growing. Take a course, read a book, expand your network. Getting stale is the enemy.
