How to Focus on Employee Retention
The ever-evolving world of production has generated a continuous need for skilled laborers in order for companies to maintain output levels proportional to that of consumers demand. Because of fierce competition between companies and industries, the attraction of quality employees can often be a source of stress by those in charge of employee management. Once quality skilled laborers are found the question arises: How can an employer retain them? In this article, we will discuss a few methods of how employers can improve employee retention such as, comprehensive hiring practices, proper training and development, and thorough safety protocols. Let’s take a brief look at each one of these points and examine the justification.
Comprehensive Hiring Practices
Employee retention often begins by simply hiring the right people. And, the best way to hire the right people is to have a recruitment process that ensures hiring the right people.
Subjecting candidates to a long process may send them elsewhere. Furthermore, interviewing with concise, poignant questions can help you assess if an individual has or can develop the characteristics you are looking for. Quality employees with values and characteristics that align with your company are exponentially more likely to remain on staff, rather than jumping ship at their earliest convenience.
Thorough Training and Skill Development
Training and development are crucial to employee retention, especially in the production industry. Employees that are inadequately train are more likely to make costly mistakes, whether it be costly to their health or to your bottom line, these mistakes can be circumvented by more thorough training. If employees aren’t adequately trained for their jobs, they may feel underprepared for their work or as if they aren’t performing well, particularly when compared to their more experienced counterparts. If employees feel like they can’t do their job, they may pursue other opportunities that will offer comprehensive onboarding and on-the-job training.
Safety Protocols and Actively Implemented Solutions
Safety should a high priority for every business, especially those involved in production or manufacturing. After all, every employee shouldn’t have to risk life or limbs for their paycheck. Granted, there is no way to remove all risk from life, but there are steps that can be taken beyond the required safety bare minimums. Implementation of solutions for safety and ergonomic issues makes employees feel more valuable and makes their overall job experience exponentially more enjoyable, particularly when physical strain is removed from their workflow. Utilization of new automation and ergonomic technology can make employees feel more like a member of a team, rather than a cog in a machine.
Overall, employee retention should be a high priority and focus for employers in the production industry. Through comprehensive hiring techniques, thorough training, and active safety and ergonomic protocols, employee experience can be improved which in turn positively affects retention. Employees that are retained, become experienced employees and experienced employees become efficient workers. Not only will a focus on employee retention positively affect your employees’ experiences, it will also positively affect your bottom line.
