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Managers responsible for recruiting hourly workers typically do a good job of bringing in candidates and keeping them long enough to recoup their hiring costs. Unfortunately, not much is gained after the initial employment honeymoon is over. In fact, high turnover rates seen in the hourly workforce may impact a company more negatively than we would expect.
The hourly worker turnover rates are the highest in the industry, with the rates soaring as high as 160%. With such frequently published rates announced through media outlets, it's understandable why some employers are unbothered by their own high turnover rates. After all, the numbers are pretty much the same in every other industry. So why not just deal with it, right?
Well, that is one way to look at it. But what if there was a better way of finding good employees and keeping them longer than the average time period? What if we could skew the statistics to work in our favor?
The good news is we can make a positive change simply by going back to the basics - knowing who to look for, knowing where to look and lastly, screening and assessing your candidates properly. Read on to find out how these three simple steps can help you improve the hourly employee turnover rate in your company.
Step 1: Know Who To Look For
We often fall into the trap of assuming what a job entails and what a candidate should be able to do to excel in that position. While this may seem harmless, such assumptions could be detrimental to a company’s operations. That is why an in-depth job analysis should be performed every year or so to make sure that the details in the job description are accurate to the tee. What’s more, the process does not take very long and is well worth the effort.
The best way to perform the job analysis is to observe the employee working and obtain feedback from the employee, the manager or supervisor, other employees and customers. It is important not to leave any tasks or skills required in the job out of the analysis. In the process, you may want to take note of the CAPS of the job or Capacities: the physical and mental requirements to do the job; Attitudes: customer service needs, dependability, etc.; Personality: the traits needed such as temperament and assertiveness; and Skills: what is required to perform well on the job.
After the analysis, you can then put together a job description based on your observations and the inputs you have received. Ensure that you include all of the requirements needed. This not only helps the candidate understand the position but also protects your company in the long run should an employee decide to file a complaint against you or the company.
Step 2: Know Where To Look
To effectively find the right candidates for the job, place your job posting somewhere highly visible and accessible to job-seekers. You want to look for individuals who meet the prerequisites of the job based on your previous job analysis.
Studies show that advertisements are the second-best way to find good candidates, after referrals. If your company depends on hourly employees, your efforts should be focused on a consistent and constant form of marketing for candidates. Be very creative with your ads. If you find that your potential candidates are avid users of social media, place an advertisement on Facebook or utilize Instagram to generate leads.
At Workstream, you can post your job advertisement to 25,000 different job boards in just a single click, improving your chances of finding a quality candidate. Through data-driven analytics, we help you identify where your applicants are coming from and which applicant source provides candidates with higher retention rates. This helps you reduce expenses in areas that do not bring much returns.
Ultimately, the idea is to recognize where your qualified candidates are and saturate their environments with your message of hiring. At the same time, you may want to promote the impressive culture in your company. Find out how you can optimize your job post with our article - ‘11 Tips for Writing a Job Post that Grabs Attention’.
Step 3: Screen and Assess Your Candidates
A pre-screening stage allows you to get to know your applicants better before scheduling a proper interview with them. At this stage, consider utilizing questionnaires that allow you to assess a candidate’s personality and aptitude for the job. This allows you to narrow down your candidate pool so that only the best are shortlisted.
As with every other hourly position, be sure to ask for their availability so that you will know whether the working hours of the job match the candidates’ available timing. There are a few Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) in the market which help you screen your applicants so that you do not have to go through each and every resume you receive. At Workstream, we even allow you to customize your screening questions so that you are not limited to a set of assessments for your potential candidates.
After the pre-screening is done, ensure that you plan out your interview questions in advance. This allows you to better assess your candidates and know what to look out for in their answers. Consider including behavioral questions in your interviews so that you are able to determine how they will react in different situations, and whether their behaviors are what you look for in your employee. Behavioral questions differ depending on the nature of the job. Check out our Ultimate Guide to Interviewing Candidates Using Behavioral Questions to find out how you can make the best out of them!
Begin Today
A high employee turnover rate can cost more harm than good to your company as it comes with an increase in unnecessary hiring costs. By implementing these three steps, you may be well on your way to getting the right employees and retaining them for longer periods. Start your journey in having a more effective and seamless hiring process today! With Workstream, you can get 4x the number of qualified applicants and reduce your time-to-hire by 70%.
Schedule a free demo with us to find out how we can best meet your hiring needs!
