Ready for some surprising American Temp Employment Stats?

• Nearly 4.3 million people, including blue-collar (Temp, temp to hire, part-time) workers, quit their jobs in January 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s JOLTS report.
• In 2021, there were 11.3 million job openings, and according to Glassdoor, Job resignations are still at 23% before the strike of the pandemic.
• One-third of new employees, be they Blue Collar or White Collar, quit within 6 months last year, according to statistics and multiple reports.
• Silkroad Technology and CareerBuilder’s survey indicated that 9% of Blue Collar employees quit their jobs due to bad onboarding experiences.
• The same Survey also said that 37% percent left their jobs as their manager did not wish to be a part of their onboarding process.
• Now surprisingly, a decrease of 16% in the blue-collar retention rates was seen with employees who weren’t comfortable giving upward feedback.
• Then, an interesting report by the Tinypulse retention report indicated that job retention depends on the communication between managers and employees so that the employees understand the needs and make improvements. This effort has the potential to reduce Employee resignation.
• A workplace survey report on a popular social media platform, LinkedIn, found that 94% of surveyed employees wished to stay longer with the firm if the company is willing to invest in their learning and development.
  

What are the 3 most common reasons for Quitting a Job?

• Lack of attention, time, and importance devoted to management practices.
• Poor career advancement prospects.
• Bad culture fit and feeling out of place.

In the last 5-6 years, especially post-pandemic, Blue-collar workers are becoming scarce across different industries, and it’s a scary situation. Because, how can a manufacturing company run smoothly without its ‘nuts and bolts?  In addition, various industries such as agriculture, construction, mining, manufacturing, and health care, are also facing a shortage of blue-collar workers. The low blue-collar employee retention is due to prevailing economic and educational trends.

Graduates are increasingly pursuing fields that lead them to white-collar jobs. Moreover, blue-collar jobs are perceived as hard and dirty. If you, as an empathetic employer wish to increase blue-collar employee retention and reduce turnover, follow these five simple tips.

Competitive Salaries are a MUST!

Blue-collar workers should be provided with better salaries for their work. Compensation and benefits will have a direct impact on employee retention. If an employee is paid well, he/she will feel valued. The amount of money workers are paid per week/month directly affects job satisfaction. A big reason to work in the first place is the paycheck. Money acts as a good motivation for everyone. If the current employer doesn’t pay well but the competitor does, then employees are likely to seek employment with the competitor instead. So think Thrice before experimenting with the salaries of the backbone of your company.

Provide Non-Monetary Benefits

Yes, Giving Perks, Definitely Works! Sometimes, companies can’t offer higher financial rewards. Sometimes, workers are looking for more than just money. In these cases, companies should provide workers with perks and non-monetary benefits. These are easy to implement, track, and maintain. Also, the company budget is kept in line. Examples of non-monetary benefits are one-on-one meetings, extra leaves, flexible working hours, free lunches, and demonstrating trust in employees.

Rewards Employees for Their Achievements

Through the hot summer days in Texas or Florida and the cold Winters of Pennsylvania, a ‘true blue collar worker’ embraces in his way with gusto. Their daily jobs are taxing & demanding, both physically and emotionally. For such dutiful efforts and remarkable diligence, all they look for is some kind of meaningful recognition or validation from their employers to take back home. We all crave appreciation for our efforts in the workplace, as it’s a great motivator to perform even better. For employee retention, employers need to show gratitude for the hard work that they invest in every day. Employee recognition and reward programs greatly make a difference in the overall work approach of an employee. A simple note of thanks or a small awards ceremony, followed by the introduction of an “Employee of the Month” reward will uplift the morale of employees.

Job Safety

Blue-collar workers sometimes have to toil under harsh work conditions. Just imagine a huge steel factory and the furnace within it. The Job conditions of Oil workers or those building skyscrapers encounter tough conditions. This can often make a job less worthy and ultimately would lead to quitting. So how to prevent such a thing? Companies must create safer work conditions for the workforce to believe that their employers appreciate their efforts and care for them. Firms should proactively invest in safe and high-quality equipment and provide safety-training drills. Employees will genuinely be grateful for such efforts and thereby will be less likely to leave their jobs.

Make Employees a part of the Decision-Making

Blue-collar workers have direct on-field experience detailed understanding of the workings of the business. They can ideate if asked and can explain to the employers the pros and cons of a certain mechanism or what works in general and what doesn’t. These valuable ideas can impact the bottom line if employees are a part of the decision-making process. Psychologically speaking, they will feel valued and motivated when stakeholders will ask for their opinions. They will automatically feel more responsible for the firm’s success and will be likely to stay longer with the company.

Conclusion

Blue-collar employees are tough to find as the job is not everyone’s cup of tea. One needs to have a certain type of determined and undeterred mindset, thus making the retaining process even more important. With a sensible and timely application of human resource reward principles, you can surely expect a high employee retention rate. Everything depends on how valuable you make your employees feel.

Bear Staffing Solutions has an intelligent high volume recruitment policy in place, aimed mainly at blue-collar employee retention that caters to their interests, integrity, and job safety.