Quality control optician by trade. I don't want to toot my own horn (j/k: toot-toot) but I'm pretty competent at my job. This place brought me back with an offer I couldn't turn down to overhaul the quality control department.
I implemented a training program, retrained the people already there. I've managed to build up a 2 shift team of 12 people over the last 4 years but we keep losing people. The position I'm trying to fill now we have hired and lost 10 people for.
They get trained up, start hitting their stride, then come in demanding a raise, and then quit when this place doesn't match an offer they've received.
“We can't give you that big of a raise so soon”
“What makes these people think they can demand a $5/hr raise after only 3 months!?”
etc. etc. You know the drill.
Every single time they come in. They have an offer from a dispensing lab or optometry office that far exceeds what we're paying them. They offer to stay if we match it, but we never do. What gets me is the endless meetings we've had to brainstorm ideas to keep people “No idea is a stupid idea folks!” how about we match their offers and pay them more? “NO! That's a stupid STUPID idea!!!“
You know what idea is actually gaining traction though? I shit you not: Reducing the thoroughness of my training so that they're only competent enough to QC 80% of the work to make it harder for them to get better paying jobs outside of us. So, who would be responsible for the work they can't do? “Oh, well you could do it” you idiots, that's why you hired me in the first place: to develop your talent and increase productivity and quality.
Anyways. Onto #10. My cell phone rang today and it was a doctor's office. Not one of our clients but the name rang a bell. The doctor introduced himself and reminded me that a 3 and 2 years ago I had given glowing recommendations to two people that he hired. One of the girls is quitting because her husband is being restationed. Both have worked out so well he was hoping I might know someone interested in replacing her, and I quote: “to save him the hassle of having to waste his time interviewing people”. I told him I did have someone in mind. “If you're giving him the same recommendation you gave these two ladies I'd like to start him immediately before she leaves if he's interested” Newbie walks in to start his shift an hour later, told him about the call and job offer to start immediately. He packed up his stuff and went over to the manager and quit on the spot.
LMAO the manager walks over “*well I dunno if he said anything, but supposedly newbie got a job offer and quit. I'm so sorry nobody wants to work any more and you have to keep training people. I just can't figure out why we can't keep anyone.”
Dude is a 19 year old single father of two who came to work for us from Burger King. The $6/hr raise he got from coming to work for us changed his life so much he got emotional and started ugly-crying on the production floor when he got his first paycheck. He had the drive and determination to make himself a better man and learn everything I/we had to teach him. But these idiots were too cheap to offer a $5/hr raise to retain him. So we lost an extremely valuable asset that wasn't even remotely done growing.
“If we had matched his job offer he would have stayed” I told the manager.
“He just started 3 months ago, he's not worth $20/hr.“
“Seems to me he is worth $20/hr if a doctor is willing to pay him that.”
“Well we'll agree to disagree then“