It’s no secret that our industry constantly faces worker shortages, from drivers to technicians to logistics to finance—virtually every aspect of the business.
At a recent NationaLease meeting, Adrian Chapman, founder and CEO of Cover 3 Consulting, addressed the challenges of putting together a great team and then keeping that team together. This has become even more challenging in a business environment that, until very recently, put most of the power in employees'—not employers'—hands. That is changing, but it’s still a challenge.
Hiring the right people from the get-go is vital. That’s because, according to SHRM, hiring the wrong person is costly ($30,000-$45,000 per employee) due to recruiting and training as well as having to recruit and train their replacement. There is also the factor of time: time to recruit, time to replace, and time to productivity. And then there’s the cost of hiring the wrong person, who might turn out to be disruptive at best and damaging to your workforce and customers at worst.
Recruiting starts with first identifying the talent gaps within your organization. Once you’ve done that, you need to define the role as well as the skills and qualifications required. At that point, it’s time to find that talent (location-oriented, salary-based, or background experience-related). Chapman noted that when recruiting, you should look for recruits where they are most likely to be looking. Social media and job sites are abundant today, so decide which are the best for each role’s needs and post your jobs there. Also, look for recommendations from within and outside of your organization.
See also: Fontana: Mentorship programs can increase worker retention
You’ve recruited talent... now retain the employee
Once you’ve found that talent, keeping them can be difficult. We all know driver turnover is depressingly high—above 90%, according to the American Trucking Associations. Of course, other positions are nowhere near that level. However, according to SHRM, although you should look for a turnover rate of 10%, “most companies have a rate closer to 20%.” So, keeping your team happy and ensuring loyalty are your primary goals.
How to retain your talented new hires
Here are Chapman's recommendations for managers who want to retain new, talented employees:
- Find out what motivates new workers before they start: Then make sure to align that with your organization’s vision and mission.
- Connect upfront: HR should communicate with the workers to let them know who they’ll work with before their first day.
- Make senior leadership part of the welcome: This will make your new person feel special and acknowledged. “If the boss is interested in me, then that makes me important to the company.”
- Pair them with an existing worker: This turns into a mentor/mentee situation and makes the new worker feel they have someone they can communicate with that they can trust.
- Treat them well: This should be communicated to everyone, especially managers. (Most people who voluntarily leave jobs do so because of their supervisor. A 2022 MIT Sloan Management Review study found that leaving a toxic workplace culture was the primary reason respondents quit their jobs).
- Acknowledge and celebrate success: It can mean a great deal when an employee is acknowledged publicly for doing an excellent job. Quantifying that value may be difficult, but workers who feel appreciated are more likely to stay. A recent Gartner study found that while “82% of employees say it’s important for an organization to see them as a person, not just an employee, only 45% of employees believe their organization actually sees them this way.”
Ensure your organization is one of those 45%, and you stand a much better chance of keeping your best employees.
