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How Chain Operators Can Retain Talent Without Overspending

 

  • Even when budgets are tight, you can still retain your most valuable employees.
  • Strategic reallocation of resources can boost morale, cohesion, and performance.
  • One pilot plan turned department managers into future GMs—and cut turnover dramatically.

 

Every manager knows who the indispensable superstars on their team are. (If you don’t, you really should.) And most of those managers also know that in order to keep those superstars on the team, they must recognize and reward them accordingly. But what if there simply aren’t any more resources—money or otherwise—for a manager to leverage, even with top performers they can’t afford to lose?

 

Managers, especially those working for large retail or restaurant chains, often tell me they struggle with this. One General Manager of a supermarket in a large chain said:

 

“I don’t have million-dollar employees. But I still have employees who are super valuable to me. My Produce Manager. My Deli Manager. If I lose them, I’m in trouble. What can I do in a nickel and dime game to retain those kinds of superstars?”

 

Indeed, with fewer resources and less discretion, it’s a whole lot harder. Concentrate on finding opportunities to favor your superstars every step of the way. Not only that, but make it clear who you are favoring, why, and exactly what it would take for others to get the same favorable treatment.

 

Here’s the plan the supermarket GM above got approved at corporate and rolled out as a pilot in his store:

  • He worked with each of his top department managers—his superstars—on reallocating their labor budgets.
  • They took the total available amount of money and looked for ways to free up funds for additional compensation for themselves and their teams.
  • Each superstar manager cut the equivalent of 1.5 full-time employees (60 hours per week) from their teams.
  • The saved money was redistributed as overtime pay to the remaining team members and the manager.
  • Weaker employees were let go, and stronger ones stayed, improving team quality and cohesion.

 

The result?

  • Fewer problems to solve, fewer messes to clean up, and no more no-shows.
  • Greater support and cohesion among remaining team members.
  • Higher morale—despite longer hours, everyone was glad to earn significantly more.

 

With this plan, the supermarket GM reduced turnover in the pilot departments to a fraction of what it had been and retained all four of the superstar department managers—all of whom went on to become GMs of their own stores in the chain.

 

That was a huge win for everybody.

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