How can the manufacturing industry recruit new employees after a large majority retires over the next few years, and how can manufacturing companies keep the younger workers they have now?
As the economy improves, hiring and retaining talent become the issues. How do companies hire employees needed for the business and retain strong performers?
In recruiting there is an adage, A hires A and B hires C. As president/COO Bruce Crair says in Getting to the Top, "Really good people aren't threatened by other really good people. They just try and find the very best people that they can. But the B level people tend to be threatened and tend to hire people that aren't as good as they are. As a result, they are constantly running around and just putting out fires and nobody can get anything done."
The key, therefore, is to hire top talent rather than running the risk of marginalizing your business. To hire A performers, start with a detailed, compelling job specification and good interview process for assessing candidates. Then, create a work environment for attracting star employees. Having a great work environment helps both with hiring and retaining talent.
Looking at any number of employee surveys the top three motivators for employees are pay, career development, and new opportunities. And, if you take this further to look at Generation Y, Jason Dorsey, an expert in this generation, says that these Millennials want to feel challenged, included, and valued; they want to have fun. While Baby Boomers show company loyalty, the Millennials have no expectation of lifetime employment and do not have the same loyalty. They'll leave if they aren't being challenged and having fun.
So looking beyond the compensation structure of a company, let's look at what companies can do for career development and creating opportunities to attract and retain new employees.
Getting to the Top: Strategies for Career Success shares how employees can take responsibility for their own development and success. Companies can apply these same lessons.
Career development includes three E's: Experience, Exposure, and Education.
- Experience -- offer challenging assignments that allow employees to develop new skills
- Exposure -- provide opportunities for employees to expand their network inside and outside your organization to learn from others
- Education -- encourage employees to take classes to improve and gain new skills
