42% of Voluntary Quits Were Preventable, Leavers Say. Talk to Drivers Before Peak Season.

The Situation

Replacing a frontline worker like a driver costs about 40% of a year's pay, Gallup estimates, and losing one in January also leaves a route short at peak. For a technical role, Gallup puts the cost at about 80% of salary.

The same research has better news. Gallup's survey of 717 people who quit found 42% said their manager or organization could have done something to keep them. Yet 45% told Gallup that no manager or leader talked with them about their job satisfaction, performance or future in their last three months.

The Facts

Pew Research Center asked people who quit a job in 2021 why they left. Low pay and no chance to advance tied at the top, each cited by 63% in the Pew survey. Feeling disrespected at work came next, at 57%, Pew found.

Gallup looked at how fast people decide. In its survey, 77% of voluntary leavers quit within three months of starting to look, or never looked at all.

Thirty-six percent told Gallup they talked to no one before deciding to resign. Of those who did talk it over, 44% skipped their direct manager in Gallup's data. Gallup surveyed 717 people who voluntarily left an employer in the past 12 months.

Neither study looked at propane companies.

Business Impact

Pew didn't ask about on-call duty, but 45% of 2021 quitters told Pew they lacked flexibility to choose when they work. Unpredictable winter call-outs are our best guess at the propane version of that. When the rotation isn't set ahead of time, last-minute swaps can keep landing on the same two drivers. Those are often the people you can least afford to lose.

Action Steps

1. 1.By October, have each driver's and technician's manager sit down with them one on one. Ask how the on-call load felt last winter, whether the pay still works for them, and what would make them stay through another season. Write down what they say so you can follow up.
2. 2.Publish the on-call rotation before the first cold snap, and spell out how swaps work.
3. 3.Check your driver and tech pay against local openings before your next staffing meeting.
4. 4.Tell each driver and tech where the next step up is and what it takes to get there.

Competitive Advantage

Gallup's timing finding is the case for October. A talk then can come before a driver decides. A talk in January may come after they've already chosen to go, and that can leave a route with no trained backup.