Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That …
ELP
Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends
We’re so glad you could attend
Come inside! Come inside!
I felt like the revolving door monitor. There was an inordinate amount of turnover in this company relative to the total number of employees. Check that, an inordinate amount of turnover for any company.
There were only three departments in this company and one other department in a marketing company that front-ended this company. Unfortunately for the customers, my team, and me, most of the turnover happened in the department I led and managed. Some of the turnover can be attributed to the nature of the department, since it was an entry level point for inexperienced part-time and full-time college students with limited skill sets, to launch their IT careers. I wish I could say that these were the only reasons for the high rate of turnover, but there plenty of reasons, and too many to discuss in this blog.
Resting on Laurels
In recent years and prior to my joining this company, the company had been number one in the industry in which the company competed. However, the company had lost market share to new kids on the block that were first to market with what was perceived as a far superior product, by the niche market this company catered to.
Short sightedness and the lack of planning for a foreseeable period of flat line revenue, coupled with fear or unwillingness to make capital expenditures, pigeonholed this company as a relic. Therefore, this company is playing serious catch up to regain lost ground, not to mention trying to overcome and pass the current leaders in this niche market, it appears almost insurmountable. This was a challenge that I looked forward to, but I learned as a young man not to go to a gunfight holding a penknife, unless you wanted to find out how many nails are used in your coffin.
I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up
I love the story of David and Goliath, but David was a man after God’s own heart and the Spirit of the Lord was upon his life. Besides, the company was the Goliath of this niche marketplace, not David, and had become a myopic-Cyclops, unable to see beyond its own reach. A few months into my tenure at this company, it was more than evident to me how this company faltered and why the company lost its collective grip on the lifeline. Actually, it was evident to all that worked at this company.
A competitor was founded in a nearby city a short distance of 45 miles from our company straight down the California Interstate 99. Matter of fact, we hired a few employees from this nearby city to work for us. This competitor had merged with another company in a larger east-bay city, making itself even stronger and more pronounced. This competitor pays its entry level staff considerably more than the company that I worked for. Since both companies competed against other such companies headquartered in larger cities like Sacramento and San Diego, the company for which I worked, could not compete for the same workforce.
You Get Out … What You Put In
Additionally, the companies in the larger marketplaces had to pay a higher hourly rate or salary because of their location, and they had a larger pool of candidates to hire from. We apparently could not leverage their added expense to our advantage.
In our city, this industry is small and since the market is a niche market, the company could not hire trained employees off the street or out of college, nor was the owner willing to pay the prevailing wage to ensure he had the same level playing field. The bottom dollar was always the bottom line, or was it the bottom line was always the bottom dollar. Considering the nature of the business and the clients we severed, all of the contracts were part of the public record and available to any curious George to review. It was evident to me that cash flow should not be an issue, but something was amiss.
It Takes Money to Make Money
The old adage “it takes money to make money” is true, as is the weight room axiom “no pain… no gain.” Unfortunately for this company, neither of these truths held much water. I tried many times over many months to convince the owner of the necessity of growing the business by paying more to get more, but to no avail. The owner, after more than 20 years in the business had a sizable client base with probably better than 50% of the clients loyal for near as many years. That says a lot about the company, but even more about the immature market it served and lack of any serious competition for a decade or more.
The owner had a strong desire to grow his business and lamented the fact that his customer base was not comparable to the business owners of the books he avidly read. The owner wanted to run with the big boys, but didn’t want to pay the price necessary to achieve that goal. When ever I spoke with the owner about anything, I tried to illustrate the need to hire additional staff, and start them at rates comparable to the rates our competitors paid their employees. I used the analogy of a new franchise sports team, such as football.
98 Pounds of Something
This company wasn’t a new player in the game; this company had been around more than 20 years. However, it had just become anemic, underfed, and weak. A first year franchise football team can’t expect to compete for the Super Bowl in its first year of existence. However, the football team won’t be around long if it can’t compete for the Super Bowl within five years, let alone after 20 years. I’m sure every franchise owner, general manager, head coach, coaching staff, and trainers, all know the short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals of the team that employs them. The ultimate goal is to develop a Super Bowl team and dynasty, but no owner would pretend to think he or she could accomplish this without making capital expenditures. It takes money to make money and it takes talent to be talented, and to beget talent.
There’s Gonna Be a Jailbreak
Aren’t most first round draft picks chosen by the expansion teams or teams at the bottom of the standings and first in the lottery? The expansion teams pay astronomical dollars to get the key players, e.g., quarterback, running back, receiver, left tackle, center, left cornerback, nose tackle, defensive end, etc. I could go on about this, but the point I am making is that you can’t expect to compete in the marketplace, let alone be number one, unless you are ready, willing, and able to crack your wallet open and spend some smart money to make money. 
Additionally, if you can’t keep and retain the staff that is the face of your company, your company will quickly become known as a revolving door. Your clients will forget your face, your product, and your company.
Thin Lizzy
Tonight there’s gonna be a jailbreak
Somewhere in this town
See me and the boys we don’t like it …
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