Keeping good employees

[brucehwalker]

I have been open for 1 1/2 years and have had 16 employees. Only one has stayed with me since the beginning. I pay $6 hour and have several days of training. They work from 7-3pm or 3-12 pm. Closing is the hardest. Anyone having the same luck?

[Laundry_Mike]

It's hard to find good employees, considering the pay scale and the hours. The 3 to midnight is a long shift. Personally, my hours are 8 to 10, and I run 2 seven hour shifts, so it makes it easier to find employees. Have you considered offering incentives, such as a commision on drop offs, or higher pay for the night shift?

[brucehwalker]

I can't afford to pay any more. Barely breaking even so paying more for the same is not a good idea. When I started I paid $7 hour and people still were hard to keep.

I used to pay commission on wdf but it caused more grief than anything. Everyone bickered about it not being enough so I cut it out. I paid .10 pound.

If I split the night shift in two then no one would get enough hours without working 4 or 5 days a week. I don't think they'd go for that.

[Duane]

Would you be able to go part time unattended? If so, you could be attended in the morning when you open for a few hours then end the evening to clean up and shut down.

You will need to be able to lock down your counter area and having a good DVR camera system would be a large benefit.

Not all locations can be unattended.