How do you boost employee retention without breaking the bank on bonuses?

How do you boost employee retention without breaking the bank on bonuses?  

I was recently fortunate enough to be featured on Dustin McMillan’s The MFG Monkey’s podcast, where we discussed the unique recruitment and retention challenges of the manufacturing industry.

One of my favorite questions was, “What are some of the top things employers should NOT be doing with their workforce?”

So we unpacked one of my biggest pet peeves – employers underestimating the importance of a clear onboarding plan that transitions into an ongoing success path.

Companies spend top-dollar attracting talent but don’t invest that same time and money in keeping them. Then, they get frustrated wondering why their turnover rate is so high.

Despite the many 90-day bonuses and other incentive programs, turnover remains high. Why?

Because throwing more money at them doesn’t solve the root cause (and it drives up your costs!).

In our discussion, I talk to Dustin about a better way to frame recruitment and retention.

Here are the three key steps to engineering a workplace that employees never want to leave:

• Improve your recruitment efforts with clear, impactful, mission-aligned job ads
• Streamline their first 90 days with clear onboarding and a transparent success plan
• Capitalize on the momentum of top talent by showing them what a long-term future at your company can yield

Here’s a little preview of our conversation:

Key Questions To Ask Yourself:

1. Are new employees provided with onboarding or do they “figure it out as they go”?

(While the latter is much more common, it is also prone to miscommunications and high turnover.)

2. How often are advancement opportunities discussed with all employees?

(Up-skilling is not only relevant to new workers. Even seasoned managers need a reason to climb higher and contribute.)

3. Does my company have an acceptable turnover rate?

Be honest with yourself. Some turnover is to be expected, but there’s a limit to what is reasonable. If you’re spending money acquiring new hires because you can’t seem to convince people to stick around, then it’s time to try a new approach.

What’s Next:

If you are feeling concerned about any of these responses, it’s not too late to redesign your recruitment efforts.

• Examine your job postings to see if you’re prioritizing mission-alignment from the start.
• Then, streamline your onboarding process to ensure new-hires are getting the most important information to be successful in their role.
• Finally, start foreshadowing their future with the company by being transparent and direct about advancement opportunities and long-term success plans.
  
  #provokebetter recruitment so you aren’t just attracting top talent, you’re retaining it too.