Welcome back to the second part in a two-part series on combating staff turnover in social services. Previously we talked about the budget dilemmas that typically put the least experienced and least paid staff on the frontlines, spending most of their time with the clients. Moreover, the heavy toll often inflicted on frontline social service workers means turnover is a common recurrence. If you work in social services, then you've seen this play out time and time again. If you find yourself an administrator in social services, you know it's a problem that is not easy to solve. Taking lessons from military service, I'm going to submit to you that small unit participatory leadership must focus on leadership development in social services. Only here can you infuse the necessary experience and leadership to ensure turnover does not harm client outcomes. So let's jump right in. Learn the Lessons of Leadership and Gallantry When you take a brief survey of military recipients of the Medal of Honor, you'll notice a recurring theme. Namely, you don't see a good number of high ranking officers in the mix. Certainly, there are some, but by and large, you will see lower-ranking enlisted men and junior officers as the norm. That's because actions that require inexplicable gallantry occur on the frontlines rather than in the rear with the gear. So it is for social services and the inexplicable fortitude that is required to tackle some of our nation's most pressing human services problems. Every nonprofit executive or board is heavily involved in the strategic planning process, but very few will spend the majority of their time on the frontline. This is right and appropriate as both the executive and board serve very specific functions. However, for the strategic plan to become a reality in terms of client outcomes, an organization must be dedicated to creating a talented core of small unit leaders that are both empowered and accountable. Once again, let's a look at the military for some guidance. If You Can't Beat High Turnover, then Control the Ground Game. Though it varies by service branch, reenlistment rates in the United States military can vary between 26% to 47%, based on a recent 2008 study. What that means is that approximately 74% to 53% of the military workforce is done after their first contract, which typically ranges from 4 to 6 years. Meaning that just when a military service member really knows what they are doing, they are gone only to be replaced by the next generation of inexperienced workers. Does that sound familiar to anyone in social services?