By: Ashley Devick | Feb. 26, 2014 | NFIB.com
Featuring: Linda Dulye, Founder, Dulye & Co.

Employee turnover can be beneficial when it means new hires are bringing fresh ideas to a small business. But when a business resembles a revolving door and turnover becomes an epidemic, it’s downright scary—and expensive.

The cost factors are numerous, from lost productivity to reduced efficiency from the spread-thin workforce that remains at the organization.

“Managing turnover and really managing your talent—and especially your best employees—is something that any employer, including small business, can take proactive actions on,” says Linda Dulye, the founder and president of Dulye & Co., a workplace engagement consultancy in New York.

1. Speak up.

According to Dulye, lack of communication, particularly with a direct manager, and involvement in decision-making are major factors that drive an employee’s decision to leave. Workers tend to feel a sense of loyalty to a business if they feel informed about its performance and involved in daily operations. Increasing the number of cross-team conversations, brainstorming sessions and regular meetings about the performance of the company can help make people feel a part of the team.

2. Learn from those who are leaving.

If poor communication isn’t the problem, small business owners must figure out why people are leaving. “You really need to uncover some root causes,” Dulye says.

Frightened of burning a bridge, exiting employees may feel uncomfortable being fully honest with the small business owner. Instead, Dulye suggests small business owners have trusted employees conduct exit interviews and relay the information to you.

Or, bring in a human resources consultant to conduct the interviews and have that person follow up with people who have already left. It allows for more honest answers.

3. Hire the right people.

If a company is facing a high turnover rate, it could be the result of poor hiring practices. To find the right employees, Claudia St. John of Affinity HR Group in Cazenovia, N.Y., suggests adding behavioral interviews to your hiring process.

For example, if exit interviews reveal employees are leaving because of the high-stress nature of the available position, behavioral questions such as “Describe a time on any job in which you were faced with stresses which tested your coping skills. What did you do?” can give clues to how a candidate will respond.   

How ready are you to address or possibly avert the challenge of staff turnover? Four tips to help you lead and learn.

By Linda Dulye, president & founder, Dulye & Co.
December 17, 2013

What’s the best gift for your top talent?

No, it’s not a hefty gift card or Super Bowl tickets.

The gift of a challenge goes farther than anything you can tie with a bow. A new, on-the-job opportunity, that stretches the thinking and actions of a staff member, sends a clear message from you of trust, confidence and true caring.

Planning an office holiday party? Here are 5 practical tips for holiday merrymaking with meaning—that won't break the company budget!

There really is a silver lining in the behavior on Capitol Hill over the past few weeks. The crackling debates, snarly standoffs and prickly posturing of political leaders serve as clear evidence that 11th-hour planning stinks.

There’s no reason to fall in that trap with your department as 2014 looms large. Now is the time to get your strategic game plan moving, without alienating or annoying anyone.  

My PAPA model keeps you and your team engaged during the process. Follow these four steps and avoid the kind of spectacle that one senator called “an agonizing odyssey.”

Here’s what to do:

By Linda Dulye, President & Founder, Dulye & Co.
Published in Fox Business | Sept. 30, 2013

 

Whether your company has 
1 or 100 interns, Dulye & Co.
can help you maximize your investment in young talent today and for your future success.

Lately there has been lots of chatter about internships sparked by a growing movement to challenge the ‘no pay’ status that accompanies so many of them. Interns at the White House raised their opposition to unpaid internships. So did former interns at the Hearst Corporation, NBCUniversal and other corporate biggies.

Pay or no pay—the true value of many internships in non-profit, government, public and private sectors is being wasted.

The investment is being drained largely by how most internship programs are structured—as a one-way learning process.

Maximize your internship program with these five tips.

Those at the top of organizations are data focused. They ravenously devour daily operational performance stats about sales, orders, overhead costs, inventory, compensation, sick days, and so on. Ironically, data can also help save business leaders from themselves. 

Linda Dulye offers five big tips in her latest Fox Business column that will help you take the edge off your top leaders and help them connect with the workforce.

Can your CEO be coached?

Dulye & Co. President Linda Dulye gives tips in this interview with Michigan radio newsman Michael Cohen of 1320 WILS.

It didn’t quite seem possible, but, there it was, within a matter of mind-numbing seconds, AOL Chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong went from chief rally man to insufferable bully.

Caught on tape on Monday while speaking to 1,000 AOL employees, Armstrong verbally admonished one of the staffers for photographing the company meeting—and then, fired him on the spot.

 “Abel, put that camera down right now,” ordered Armstrong. Followed instantly by, “Abel. You’re fired!  Out!”

Continue Reading.

Crowds in excess of three million swarmed Brazil’s Copacabana Beach last Sunday for a glimpse of Pope Francis.

But many experienced more than a fleeting peek of the pontiff.

There was a bonafide connection between the spiritual leader and the spectators that transformed a jam- packed event into a powerful experience.

Although I didn’t make it to Rio, I recently attended a major national convention where—amidst the expansive venue and more than 4,300 attendees—I too felt a connection!  While many factors clicked to create the zeal factor, three lead the charge, converting the grand-scale General Assembly of YMCAs into an exhilarating personal experience.

Practice these tactics and, like the Pope, you too can break through any crowd and connect.