How to Manage Employee Turnover in Your Manufacturing Business
Would you be surprised to know that voluntary turnover in manufacturing businesses reached 30% in 2021? These same trends continued into 2022 and 2023. High turnover not only impacts your profitability, but can also place a significant strain on your current employees.
Finding ways to minimize employee turnover should be a priority, leading to optimized productivity, efficiency, and profitability. In this article, we’ll cover different strategies you can use to manage employee turnover in your manufacturing business.
Find the Right Talent
Talent acquisition costs can be high, especially for specialized work. However, you are much better off taking the time and hiring the right talent rather than hiring the first person that walks through the door.
Maybe waiting an extra month gives you access to a candidate with ten years of experience or you find the perfect fit for your company culture. Take your time in the hiring process.
Incentivize Goals
Incentives go a long way in motivating your team. Do you offer bonuses for reaching a certain sales threshold? How about extra time off or staff parties when specific tasks are accomplished?
Uncovering ways to motivate your team should be a priority to manage turnover. Employees are more likely to remain engaged in their work when there are underlying incentives.
Support Work-Life Balance
One of the primary factors driving the Great Resignation was a poor work-life balance. Nearly 51% of employees in a recent study agreed that they missed important life events because of a poor work-life balance.
In addition, another 68% of employees stated that an inadequate work-life balance negatively impacts work morale. By giving your employees flexibility in the workplace, you are reducing resentment towards work and encouraging retention.
Provide Various Resources
Employees need to be supported in various ways. Do you have comprehensive employee onboarding training? How about resources for childcare and transportation? Finding different resources that your employees can use for support helps build a relationship of trust and reliability.
When you offer different resources and benefits to your employees, they feel like you are investing in them. This not only helps you retain talent but attracts more qualified talent.
Create Clear Career Paths
Moving up the ladder is an integral part of employment. Most employees don’t want to be stuck in entry-level positions for five years. Instead, they want a clear path and goals they need to achieve to reach the next level.
When you onboard employees, be sure you have a clear career path they can follow. This could be working as an entry-level employee for two years before they are promoted, etc. Follow through on these milestones to keep employees engaged and enthusiastic about work.
Reinvest In Your Company
Employees care about more than just their paycheck. How often do you reinvest in your company? This could be upgrading old equipment or leveraging technology to reduce mundane tasks.
Efficient equipment helps your employees stay productive without having to deal with daily maintenance issues or extra steps in the manufacturing process.
Summary
How can you manage employee turnover in your manufacturing business? Implementing a combination of these strategies can give your business the necessary leverage to improve retention.
About IMS Supply: IMS Supply is a leading distributor of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services with facilities in East and West Michigan and Kentucky. Through our MRO Asset Recovery Program we stock hard to find parts and supplies from thousands of different manufacturers at prices up to 70% less than MSRP. Contact us today to find out how we can help your business.
