Job openings are still on the rise in California but for supply chain so is the skills gap, which is a hiring headache that then shifts the attention on employee retention.
California was responsible for 1/3 of all new jobs added in August in the nation! I see this on daily basis at my clients. They are hiring for key positions and struggling to fill the skills gap. My research showed that 87% of manufacturers and distributors are experiencing a skills gap.
Not only must you be better than your competition at locating and attracting top talent, you must be able to retain top talent. What do you have in place to retain top talent? Certainly some companies have comprehensive training and development programs; however, I find the “simple” is amazingly effective:
- Do you show your employees that you appreciate them?
- Do you give your employees interesting projects?
- Do you allow your employees to experiment and fail?
- Do you hold your employees accountable? Interestingly, I find that if employees know you will hold folks accountable, you will have a much more attractive environment. Who wants to pick up others’ slack?
- Do you celebrate successes?
- Do you ask for and LISTEN to feedback?
Consider implementing a few of these “simple” retention strategies, and I promise you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results.