Here’s a statistic that’s a bit difficult for me to wrap my head around: in July, 4,000,000 people quit their jobs! By the end of July, there were almost 11,000,000 jobs open — an all-time record, according to Harvard Business Review.

As I talk with entrepreneurs and leaders of large corporations, all are singing a similar tune: “It’s tough — almost impossible — to find and keep great people.”

Since the Great Recession of 2008, you have likely been hearing about the “skills gap.” That is, “there aren’t enough trained workers with skills needed to fill open jobs at a time when a record number of them are going unfilled.” But it does not stop there. We hear from constant news reports and analysis about the “Great Resignation” — a tsunami of employees walking away from their employment. It’s a critical challenge for every business, regardless of size.

In the book “Why People Resign: The Great Resignation and What to Do About It,” author Robert Bacal states that his research found eight principal reasons why people quit their jobs. A few of the reasons he discovered were that employees were resigning due to:

• lack of appreciation
• being under-challenged or overly challenged at work
• being paid less than their colleagues.

Bacal’s research discovered that when employees quit, it has much more to do with the overall employment experience than simple matters like salary.

For many years, I’ve been writing and speaking about the customer experience — always pointing out that we need to be equally concerned about the experiences that our internal customers (often called “employees” or “team members”) are having and not focus solely on external customers who buy our products and services.

In my first business book, “ALL Business is Show Business!” over twenty years ago, I wrote:

“The purpose of any business is to profitably create experiences so compelling that loyalty becomes assured.”

Many would read that sentence as advocating an Ultimate Customer Experience® for those who purchase from us — and it does!

• However, it’s also to state the superior importance of delivering an extraordinary experience for internal customers, as well — so their loyalty becomes the result of our efforts.

It’s amazing to me that if an employee quits, walks out of the building, and tries to leave with the company computer she has used during her employment, the manager would call the cops and have her arrested for theft. That same employee, however, can walk out with customer relationships, knowledge of the business, and recipient of an extensive investment in training and education from the company…and most managers just shrug and say, “That’s the way business works today!”

I promise you that it’s more likely their knowledge and relationships are significantly more important to your business than their company laptop!

Yet, you would never know that, because the vast majority of managers are blind to this. Some even think all employees are interchangeable. If they can’t find a good replacement from within, then they just hire from the outside without much thought or consideration for what is really going on.

(By the way — do you know your turnover rate? Do you know the primary reasons that people are leaving your employment? Have you done a bit of research to discover why great candidates aren’t accepting your job offers? Until you take these steps, you probably aren’t going to solve your employment problems.)

The reasons for this are many, but several sources report that the most common reasons people quit their jobs are:

• The work is not engaging.
• Leadership doesn’t care about employees.
• There are no opportunities to advance or grow.
• I don’t feel valued by my employer.

(You can probably think of more. But, please note, salary is not among the primary reasons that people quit.)

You probably have an acquisition strategy for customers — in other words, you’ve planned out how you are going to attract new customers for your business.

• You have one for external customers…how you’re going to get paying customers away from your competition and over to your side; and you probably have a recruitment approach for new employees, as well.
• The problem is that today’s marketplace requires a retention strategy that is engineered with as much passion and precision as your acquisition strategy. What is your detailed plan to keep the customers you have — both internal and external?

In this time where people feel little reticence about quitting a job, planning a distinctive retention strategy for your internal customers may be one of the most profitable steps you make this year.

Want to obtain and retain your customers — both internal and external? You’ll discover how when you join the Iconic Inner Circle. There’s zero risk — your first month is free and you can cancel anytime. Check it out: https://IconicInnercircle.com