90 DAYS IS A LONG TIME

Today has been pretty busy. I hadn’t even had time to think of something to blog about let alone to blog. It has also been a productive day. I went to a meeting and got a sandwich. There was leftover food so I got another free sandwich for dinner as well as one for Tony so I don’t have to cook. I organized things so I can go to a function after work and have a free sandwich and free liquor. As you can see I measure my productivity in free food and drinks. Really though, who doesn’t?

The meeting was actually very productive. It was with our Employer Advisory Council, a group of hiring managers we talk to and pick their brains about how to best serve the employment community. The topic was retention, a biggie in our industry. For my contract I have to get 90 day retention benchmarks to count my placements as successful. You would think that 90 days isn’t a really long time as far as employment goes but with 17-24 yr old low income youth it isn’t as common that they make 90days as you would think. If they don’t make 90days then they have to instead get another job (or two) and work for a combined total of 150 days.

One of the people on our Council said their hourly employees have a 105% turnover rate within the first year. That doesn’t even make sense to me. How can it be? Maybe it means that some people accept the job and don’t even start. I don’t know. Their management has a 40% retention rate. Granted it is a high turnover industry but wow. However, those people who stay a full year are overwhelmingly promoted to management and those managers have about a 98% retention rate. That is very impressive.

One thing we need to work on is how to better prepare our clients for the other things that com with work. While we wouldn’t send someone who is in school at all different hours every day out to apply for a 9-5 position, that doesn’t mean they don’t do it on their own and some of them actually get hired. They then quit because it doesn’t work with their school schedule, duh. We have to find a way to ingrain the idea that keeping a job is important to their future success even if it s a job that isn’t as high paying as another one they may be less likely to keep. I don’t know how we will do this but it has to be done.

Maybe we can start threatening our clients in regard to them leaving their jobs before they should. The whole suspension from the program thing is fine but is nothing like going to their homes and posting signs like “Quitter Ass Loser” in front of their house and electrifying them so they can’t be easily removed. Maybe we can kidnap their pets and hold them hostage for the first 90 days of employment? There has to be something that is a better motivator than you need to keep your job to create a stable work history so you will be more likely to get hired in the future. That doesn’t work.

Any other ideas?

1. Let me tell ya’ll what it’s like/ Being male middle class and white/ It’s a bitch if you don’t believe/ Listen up to my new Cd/ Shamon

2. She set your goldfish free/ And now she's sighing/ Blew out your pilot light/ And made a wish

3. Last night it was so good/ I felt like crying/ I felt crying/ Last night though you looked so cold/ I felt like smiling/ smiling while I'm dying

4. This is the end/ Beautiful friend/ This is the end/ My only friend/ The end. The End, The Doors. Identified by Danielle

5. I want a nasty little Jewish princess/ With long phony nails and hairdo that rinses/ A horny little Jewish princess/ with a garlic aroma that could level Tacoma. Jewish Princess, Frank Zappa. Identified by Johnny Yen. and a little shout out to Mom for knowing it was probably Zappa.