This is why company leaders burn through staff

Hiring practices and turnover

One of the most challenging aspects of being a recruiter for high-net-worth families and celebrities is getting clients to understand what they should be taking responsibility for. Everyone knows that it's difficult to be a headhunter, but especially for the 1%. Because those leaders are often surrounded by people that live in fear, they don't want to suggest something might be wrong because they are afraid of getting fired or losing favor in some way. 

When I get a call from potential new clients, it sometimes starts like this: "Hello, I need a new personal assistant. I can't find the right one. I've had six assistants in two years." The rest of the conversation is predicable. The prospect will go on the say that candidates just don't want to work hard enough, and they always place the blame on others, instead of squarely on themselves. 

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If employers have a revolving door with staff, they should look inward 

Over the past 20 years, I've had quite a few opportunities to speak to personal assistants about why they leave jobs. Here are just some of the reasons:
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• No room for growth
• Substandard pay
• Unrealistic boss
• Dysfunctional leadership 
• Boss has a bad temper 
• Employees feel unappreciated
• Assistants are disrespected

You know that old saying, "People don't quit jobs, they quit leaders." Well, please don't shoot the messenger, but it's true. If you are a leader and you're scratching your head and wondering why people don't want to stay, then you could do a little soul-searching. 

Spending more upfront saves money on the backend 

Companies and their CEOs need to look inward and do some soul-searching about how they want their companies to be perceived. The reviews on websites like Glassdoor.com speak for themselves. If companies have thrifty hiring practices and burn through candidates, that revolving door and bad blood will live with companies for a long time. By reaching a little deeper into pockets with the hiring budget, infinitely more will be saved on the backend by saving money by not having to recruit, hire, train and retain staff. 

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