The challenge of recruiting top talent to the manufacturing industry has
grown significantly in recent years, due to a skill and talent drain
that began in 2011. Nations such as China and Mexico have promoted the
education of skilled laborers, drawing businesses into their countries,
as the U.S. education system has moved away from preparing workers for
manufacturing jobs. As a result, unemployment rates are very low in
skilled roles, putting pressure on manufacturing businesses to find
the best people—and keep them.
Carrie Schochet, director of the Overture Group and an organizational
expert in HR staffing, and Bob Lindeman, managing director of the
Overture Group, recently held a Paycor webinar in which they discussed
how successful HR professionals are making compensation strategy a key
part of employee recruitment and retention. Here are their insights.
1. Take a holistic approach
Compensation is the second-largest expense for most manufacturers, so
it’s critical to get it right. That means thinking broadly about
compensation as more than just salary, but also:
* A mix of components: Take into account base salary, annual
incentives, long-term incentives, benefits and perks.
* Fixed vs. variable: Since the recession, many employers place
more emphasis on variable compensation for executive management.
* Market competitiveness: Review how your offering stacks up within
your industry.
can help you understand the complete picture of what you offer. Also
keep in mind that incentive programs should always be linked to company,
team and individual performance, and your overall wage and salary
program should be internally equitable and externally competitive.
2. Have a true benefits strategy
Benefits are playing a larger role in candidates’ decision-making, and
the discussion extends to more than the traditional questions. When you
think about what benefits to offer, consider:
* Health, vision, dental
* Life and disability
* Retirement benefits
* Vacation/paid time off
* Employee assistance programs
* Training and educational assistance (such as tuition reimbursement)
* Other (car, phone, computer)
* Flexible scheduling
Flexible scheduling has become a major talking point in an
increasingly mobile work world. Many employees who have children
and/or a working partner might be as concerned about flexibility as they
are about salary.
When deciding which benefits to offer, make sure the package is in line
with the needs of your employees, then link attractive benefits to
recruitment and retention through a cost/benefit analysis.
3. Stay on top of Affordable Care Act changes
Changes to healthcare legislation are growing only more complicated,
making it more challenging for employers to choose insurance plans for
their workers.
Ultimately the decision relates to your overall compensation strategy,
and employers must determine how much the company should pay for certain
benefits vs. what the employee must pay. That ratio has changed
significantly in recent years. A company that used to pay 85 percent of
the cost now might pay 70 percent, and many companies have gone to
tiered structures.
Effective HR teams think creatively about structuring a staff of
full-time, part-time and temporary workers, taking into account how
those statuses affect overall healthcare costs and build in opportunity
for more flexible scheduling for employees.
Are your business’ HR practices optimized? Learn more from Bob and
Carrie on strategic manufacturing HR by downloading their free Paycor
webinar, *6 HR Functions that Drive Manufacturing
enable organizations to focus on strategy by simplifying administrative
processes, with tools such as:
* Employee/manager self-service: Empower employees and managers to
maintain their personal and team information from anywhere with an
internet connection.
* Online open enrollment: Eliminate paper enrollment and have your
employees’ elections feed directly to payroll.
* Benefit carrier connectivity: Seamlessly transmit your benefit
enrollment changes in the HR application to your carrier.
* Powerful reporting: More than 75 standard reports provide
critical information about your human resources, from federal compliance
reports to a simple phone list.
Want to learn more? Connect with us
today.