Many print buyers measure the success of their printers by their turnover.  If a print supplier has a big turnover they must be doing well.  

But turnover is vanity and profit is sanity.  I prefer to measure the success of a printer by the profits that they are making.

However, there is one turnover figure that I am interested in
It has nothing to do with a printer’s revenues.  The turnover figure that I am interested in is their staff turnover figure.

Print buyers who use staff turnover as part of their supplier evaluation can create great partnerships.  They know which printers will have staff who want to work positively with them.  And they know which printers may do what is asked of them but no more.  These buyers know that they are using printers that have a good company culture.  They will be in control of their supply chain.

Print buyers who don’t use staff turnover as part of their supplier evaluation won’t achieve the same results.  They waste time when things go wrong.  This is because their print suppliers won’t be working so hard to resolve issues.  There will be no culture of partnership between the printer and the print buyer.

Staff turnover may seem an odd thing to ask about
But it is a very good indicator of the company’s culture.  Is the culture so poor that staff are leaving all the time?  Do people hate working for the company?

Or is the company full of people who have worked there all their lives?  This can be equally worrying.  It may be that there has been no new people with fresh ideas coming into the company.  And that may mean that the company dies not have a modern, forward-looking culture.

The ideal figure to look for is around 12-15% staff turnover per year
This means that there is not so much staff turnover that people must dislike working for the company.  And it means that the company is not undergoing constant change.  It also means that the company is not full of staff who have just joined.  You won’t be dealing with people who are still trying to learn their roles.

The figure of 12-15% also means that there is a healthy movement of staff.  People who are bored with the company or the print industry move on.  And new people join the company.  These people will have fresh ideas.  They will make sure that the company does not stay still.  

But does the company culture really matter for print suppliers?
After all, we are talking about a manufacturing environment.  Does it matter if a press minder likes their company?  They only need to do what they are asked.  

However, print buyers need to remember that press minders can really make a difference.  I remember the one who spotted a big error in the copy of a brochure.  They saved their customer a lot of money.  And I also remember the press minder that wasn’t really on the ball.  So the colour on an important brochure didn’t stand out as it should have done.

Press minders aren’t the only ones who can make a difference to your job
There are many team members who can affect your work.  Sales people, despatch managers and customer service staff are just some of them.

If a print company employs the right people, your job will run much more smoothly.  If they do not, your job will suffer.

But finding out about the right people can be hard work.

Don’t expect print salespeople to know the company’s staff turnover
You may need to dig deep to find this out.  But it is worth persevering with this question.  Many printers will not know why you are asking it.  So you are likely to receive an answer that is not distorted by sales speak

The staff turnover figure is a valuable question to add to your supplier evaluation.  In fact, it can tell you a lot more than the revenue turnover figure.

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