We Can't Blame HR for Everything!

We Can’t Blame HR for Everything…

Early in this process, we looked at two separate profitability killers that nearly always feed off each other and contribute to just about every metric a company tracks: the cost of high turnover and the cost of constant recruiting. In far too many cases, the responsibility for each lands squarely in the lap of someone in the human resources department. When that person takes even the slightest bit of initiative, they’ll work their tail off to produce the results their team needs. I say that with confidence because I’ve been the one to carry that responsibility for a few different organizations.

Several times through this process, I’ve referenced hiring 225 new employees in eighteen months for one facility, and the total head count increased only by about ten. As we looked at steps leaders could take to address the cost of an unaccountable workforce, I even shared how 150 of those 225 were for one specific job title, a role that likely had the most direct impact on the overall quality of the products our customers depended on. You may think this was an isolated example that couldn’t possibly impact your company’s bottom line the same way, and as this was the first role where I held direct and complete responsibility for the hiring process, I couldn’t imagine that this same thing could be going on anywhere else either. I was dead wrong!

In nearly every organization I’ve worked with since, whether through providing support for their HR and recruiting needs or through the resources we’ve shared with the entire leadership team, I’ve seen pockets that showed nearly identical patterns. While the numbers weren’t nearly as exaggerated, the ratios were eerily similar, primarily due to most of those companies having much lower overall head counts. I’d argue that the costs made even more of a dent in the overall profitability since those smaller organizations didn’t have as much room to absorb them.

For more on this, you're welcome to reach out to us directly at [e-mail] to get a 45 Day Trial Access to our COMPLETE Leading At The Next Level program or you can check out Wes's first book, What's KILLING Your Profitability? (It ALL Boils Down to Leadership!) that was a #1 Best Seller on Amazon!