In our last blog, we shared why it often makes sense to rehire former employees. While rehiring these boomerang employees is typically a good idea, wouldn’t it be better if they hadn’t left in the first place?

Retaining your current workforce should always be at the top of your mind, even if the average tenure at your company is 10 years or more. The manufacturing industry is dynamic, and workforce sentiments can suddenly change. Fortunately, psychologist Abraham Maslow has made it easy for business owners to remember what’s most important to their employees.

Maslow introduced “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs” in 1943 and it’s been relevant ever since. This theory proposes that people are motivated by five levels of needs in this order: physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. Based on these needs, here are five actions you can take to keep your employees from wanting to move on:

1. Provide a Comfortable Environment
   Physiological needs refer to physical comfort, and until that need is satisfied employees can’t focus on anything else. So pay attention to your company’s climate. Is it stifling in the summer? Freezing in the winter? Noisy? Dirty? If the workplace environment isn’t comfortable, fix this first. Sirois Tool employees appreciate our bright, clean, climate controlled facilities.
2. Make Employees Feel Safe
   Adhering to OSHA regulations and guidelines will go a long way toward helping your employees feel safe at work, but it’s important that they know your company isn’t complying just to avoid being fined. Workers need to know that the company truly cares about their safety. At Sirois, we make sure our employees know that we want them to take every safety precaution, even if doing so might slow production.
3. Offer Competitive Salaries and Good Benefits
   When Maslow cites our inherent need to feel safe, he’s not just referring to our physical safety. He includes the feelings of safety that come from employment and financial security. Paying competitive wages and providing good benefits is a no-brainer, but it’s worth mentioning because companies sometimes fail to keep up with changing industry standards. Schedule time each year to look at what other, similar companies are currently offering to new hires. If you’ve fallen behind, catch up. This is an area where Sirois Tool excels. We offer 100% company paid medical insurance, 401K company matching, and profit sharing, which is almost unheard of these days.
4. Promote a Sense of Belonging
   Your company may have hiring practices that promote diversity, but that doesn’t mean everyone on your team feels included, respected, and valued. Good managers regularly share company goals with their teams and remind them that they’re all in it together. They encourage their employees’ feedback and suggestions, consider them thoughtfully, and show their appreciation. They openly celebrate their employees’ milestones and achievements, and host fun team-building events that aren’t work related. Participating in community outreach events also brings employees together, not just as work colleagues, but as members of the community. You’ll find some of Sirois Tool’s initiatives on our Facebook page.
5. Help Them Be All They Can
   According to Maslow, when our first four inherent needs are met, we’re finally free to focus on our ultimate goal: self-actualization. This represents our need to use our talents to their fullest potential. Business owners can help employees do this by creating an environment that fosters growth, learning, and the opportunity to tackle challenges that align with employees’ skills and ambitions.
   We do this by offering tuition reimbursement to our employees, and we promote from within as much as we can. One of our employees, who was hired for a cleaning position in 2019, was trained as a CNC machinist and is now getting experience in our grinding department. She appreciates the educational opportunities we provided and she’s excited to come to work each day to do something she enjoys.

We’re grateful for our low employee turnover at Sirois Tool. We know our skilled workforce is our most valuable company asset, and we’ll never stop trying to retain them by proactively meeting – or exceeding – their needs. But if we ever lose our way, we’ll look to Abraham Maslow for directions.

Contact Us and we’ll meet (or exceed) your needs, too.