As I travel the nation visiting independent operators, I’ve observed a common theme: The lack of available resources—people. Now, this is not a shocker. We’ve been observing and discussing this shortage of people, regardless of their role in the labor pool, for the past three years. If necessity is the mother of invention, then I’ve seen some very inventive solutions to the recruitment effort—some successful; some not so much. However, the key message of this article is not about those inventive solutions to find and hire people. This article is about retention. It is supporting and growing “our most valuable ...