How about you rethink your retention efforts?
Column by MEGHAN MCEWEN
It is a well-known reality that hiring, and training new staff is one of the costliest endeavors for any business, especially one with a significant, qualified labour component.
It also isn’t a secret that the auto industry already has a recruitment and retention crisis on its hands. If you haven’t got a plan to ensure that you hold on to your employees for the long haul, it isn’t just a money issue, but also one that will affect the ongoing consistency and quality of the finished product from your shop. Pizza lunches are not going to cut it anymore, and with the advent of allergies plus evolving personal tastes—you will have to have more imagination than such a banal effort.
What follows are a variety of strategies to assist you in holding onto your businesses most valuable assets. It also doesn’t matter if we’re discussing a master technician or green apprentice, a revolving staffing door puts the match in the powder barrel.
What can you offer as an employer to help you keep the talent onboard? If you ask me, it is unethical to have an apprentice on flat rate. Why not offer a bonus system of sorts at your discretion, involving both productivity and quality metrics? Perhaps integrate/modify it in a collective manner to ensure fairness for everybody.
Pay for their technical training. Investing in your apprentices and others will create a return on your company’s money more significantly than even the stock market can! Apprentices are the future of your business, and you need to provide them with an incentive to perform good quality, timely and dependable work for you. Increase pay based on the apprenticeship level and don’t undercut someone by maintaining the same rate after a higher level of training. That’s when they will jump ship for another dollar per hour. You lose big time!
Offer a tool bonus or some assisting compensation. Tools are expensive and their quality affects the excellence of your shop’s final product. Cover workwear—pun fully intended. Basic footwear alone has reached an all-time high in cost. Compensation for work and safety gear will illustrate that you care for the wellbeing of your staff. After all, you are responsible for their safety on the job site. This is really a case of putting money where the mouth is!
Ultimately, there is no better long-term investment than well trained, satisfied, eminent people working with you.
One Response
Absolutely!
Nailed it!