Retention Strategies: Investing in Technicians (52)

Are you an entrepreneur worried that investing in training only prepares your employees to become your next competitor? This episode dives deep into the high-stakes problem of technician turnover in the security and locksmith industries. Lars from Calgary Lock & Safe in Alberta, Tony from Assured Security in Minnesota, and Chad from Loc-Doc Security in Charlotte, NC, workshop strategies to build a culture people won't want to leave. The hosts discuss the financial hurdle of a $10,000-$20,000 training investment and how to overcome the fear that an employee will "break off and start their own company". Tony brings up the famous, albeit cliché, question about the cost of training and whether it's worse to train them and have them leave, or not train them and have them stay.

Building on previous discussions about using KPIs (see "5 KPIs We Use to Drive Our Business"), Lars shares his company's low-tech method of tracking professional development hours to combat internal complaints about lack of training. The conversation pivots to how managing high-performing staff is a distinctly different skillset than managing low performers, a dynamic that often causes top talent to burn out and leave. They conclude that the first step isn't about the training budget; it's about defining the company culture you want—performance-based or team-oriented—and hiring people who align with it.