Asking Your People This Question Can Reduce Your Turnover By 50%

During the pandemic, the?Bureau of Labor Statistics?has announced that the turnover rate for the hospitality industry has reached a whopping 130.7 percent compared to just 79 percent in 2019. Over that same period, the turnover rate at Texas Roadhouse has been lower than most national restaurant chains at 113%.?

But for Michael ‘Tito’ Trevino, (upper right corner of photo) the manager at the Texas Roadhouse in Littleton, Colorado, even that rate is unacceptable.?

Tito’s restaurant has managed to keep his employee turnover at a shocking 44%. ?

CULTURE IS THE KEY

Texas Roadhouse is always listed as one of the Top 10 full-service restaurant chains in America, and their fascinating culture is unlike any other restaurant chain I’ve ever worked with or even heard of.

The Managing Partner (Roadhouse-speak for each location’s GM) is commonly referred to as ‘The Center of the Universe’ because they are the epicenter of all decision-making. They are not simply promoted into their management position, but rather they must literally buy into their job at the tune of $25K. That investment is returned in full after five years, with interest, and because there is no ceiling to what an MP can earn, there is no shortage of employees determined to rise through their ranks.

And that’s just one of many things that makes the Roadhouse culture so unique.

TITO’S PROFOUND QUESTION PAVES THE WAY TO RETENTION

Tito started as a line cook 18 years ago at the Roadhouse in College Station, Texas. He worked his way up through the ranks to where, in 2016, he was offered the opportunity to buy-in to his current role as the Managing Partner in Littleton. Tito loves his career with the Roadhouse, and he calls himself a ‘lifer’.

When I asked Tito to reveal the secret sauce behind his remarkably low turnover percentage in his staff of 140 full- and part-time employees, he credited much of the success to a question he asks every ‘Roadie’ (Roadhouse-speak for their people) each week:

“How did I let you down this week?”

Tito’s thinks of this question as a ‘door opener’ to a deeper, more revealing conversation that puts the worker at ease and lets them know that their feedback is both needed and highly valued. Don’t think of Tito’s door opener as a ‘you criticize me first because that will make it easier for me to really let you have it’ sleazy manipulative managerial tactic.?

Tito’s question is 100% authentic and genuine. And his people know it.

Tito really, truly, does want to know if and where he’s been deficient in his leadership. More importantly, Tito wants to know how he can get better in his role so he can make better decisions to lead and guide his workers. He believes this is the only way to guarantee that his restaurant can continue to be the absolute best hospitality job found anywhere in metro-Denver, or on the planet, for that matter.

“I always find great ideas and inspiration when I ask my people how I’ve let them down. Their responses tell me where my employees need more support from me and how I can serve them better as we all work to improve our culture so we all win,” Tito says. ?“My people might be able to make more money somewhere else, but my goal is that they’ll never find a job where their feedback is more highly regarded and acted upon, and where they’ll have a boss who works harder to keep them happy so they come back day after day, year after year.”

How has Tito’s low turnover affected his store’s profitability? This year alone, the savings in otherwise costly employee turnover has added more than $41,000 to his bottom line profits.

Ironically, the only way Tito could ever let his people down is if he stopped asking them how he has let them down.?

And there ain’t no way that’s going to happen.

?