Addition By Subtraction
Why Keeping the Wrong Employee Is the Fastest Way to Lose Your Best
Owner of Planet Novak & The Novak Network
As I travel the country for the Novak Roadshow, I hear the same refrain from nearly every operator I meet: “Clint, I just can’t find good help.” It’s the universal struggle in the 2026 FEC landscape. We are all fighting for the same talent pool, and when we find someone who actually knows how to smile and show up on time, we treat them like we found the Golden Ticket.
But there is a dangerous trap that many managers fall into during these lean times. It’s what I call the “warm body” strategy. It happens when you have an employee who is consistently late, calls out at the last minute, or treats the employee handbook like a suggestion rather than a requirement.
You know they need to go. You know they are hurting the brand. But then you look at the Saturday schedule, see that you’re already short-staffed, and you tell yourself, “I can’t afford to lose them right now. A bad employee is better than no employee, right?”
Wrong. In fact, I’d argue that keeping a bad employee is the fastest way to ensure your good employees walk out the door.
The Invisible Tax on Your Stars
At Planet Novak, we talk a lot about our “superstar” staff being our best ROI. But here is the reality of the floor: your superstars are observant. They see everything. When a “warm body” calls out for the third time in a month, who picks up the slack? It’s your stars.
It starts with a simple request: “Hey, Sarah, can you stay an extra four hours to cover the laser tag vest room? Jason called out again.” Sarah is a team player. She says yes. She stays. She works the double. But what we often forget is that Sarah isn’t just “working extra hours” — she is giving up her personal life. She’s missing her friend’s birthday, she’s missing dinner with her family, and she’s sacrificing her downtime to fill a gap created by someone who doesn’t care.
She might be okay with it once. Maybe twice. But eventually, Sarah is going to look at the manager and realize that Jason is being allowed to break the rules, while she is being “punished” for being reliable. The longer you keep Jason, the sooner you lose Sarah.
The Policy Paradox
Every facility has a handbook. We spend thousands on legal fees to make sure our policies are airtight. But a handbook is only as strong as the manager’s willingness to enforce it.
I’ve seen it time and again: a facility has a strict “three strikes” attendance policy, but a “problem child” is on strike seven. When you allow that to happen, you aren’t being a “nice” manager — you are being a weak one. You are telling your entire team that the rules don’t actually matter.
Consistency is the bedrock of culture. If the rules don’t apply to the bad employees, your good employees will start to wonder why they are bothering to follow them at all. You have to be willing to “flex your manager muscles.” Sure, there are times to be human — life happens, cars break down and people get sick. But there is a massive difference between a one-time emergency and a pattern of behavior.
Building the Framework
The biggest reason I see operators fail to enforce their own rules is a lack of structure. If your handbook is gathering dust and you don’t have a standardized write-up form or a daily opening/closing checklist, enforcement feels personal rather than professional.
To keep your Sarahs, you need a framework that makes the rules clear for the Jasons. When the expectations are written down and the consequences are documented, the warm body strategy disappears because the system handles the exit for you. You aren’t “firing” someone; they are essentially choosing to leave by failing to meet the clearly defined standard.
Need Help?
If you know your culture needs a reset but you aren’t sure where to start, I am here to help. I specialize in building the operational frameworks that allow your “superstar” staff to thrive while filtering out the warm bodies automatically.
Through my company, Novak Amusement Solutions, I work directly with operators to develop custom employee handbooks that are actually enforceable, alongside comprehensive operational checklists for everything from daily opening procedures to attraction safety. I also provide standardized write-up and documentation forms to take the “personal” friction out of discipline, ultimately connecting all these pieces into a cohesive culture framework that drives your business goals instead of just sitting in a binder.
If you’re ready to stop settling for “warm” and start building a team of “wonderful,” visit www.novakamusementsolutions.com or email me at [email protected] to schedule a strategy session.
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Clint Novak is the co-owner of Planet Novak and the founder of Novak Amusement Solutions and the Novak Network. He provides a bridge between high-level strategy and boots-on-the-ground reality for FEC operators. Visit him online at www.novakamusementsolutions.com or email [email protected].