Tips and Tricks to Retain Your Workforce

Nine out of 10 mold builders have open positions at their company. Of those companies, 88% face either moderate or severe challenges in finding qualified employees to fill those positions. Actively recruiting, then, becomes imperative to the success and longevity of those shops. Sponsored by Oerlikon HRSFlow and moderated by Wepco Plastics’ Amanda Wiriya, panelists in the American Mold Builders Association’s breakout session “The Do’s and Dont’s of Workforce Attraction and Retention,” provided some key insights to what has been working for them to recruit and build their next-generation workforce.

Active recruitment:

• Building a pipeline via involvement in career centers, high schools and colleges
  • Joining an advisory board for things such as job shadowing, interviewing
  • Visiting open houses
  • Facility tours
  • Educating students in community colleges on what it looks like to work at your company
  • Working with other organizations (an example given was working with Boy Scouts to earn a welding badge at that shop)
• Apprenticeship programs (tailored, hands-on curriculum)
• Internal champions or referrals; word of mouth
• Hiring entry-level and building them up (focusing on character over skill)
• Internship applications through LinkedIn

Hiring:

• Look for attitude, work ethic and trainability
• Ask questions about their experiences/use scenarios 
• Hire slow, fire fast — they may not be a good fit for your organization, but they may be a good fit somewhere else. You’re doing your team and that individual a disservice by holding onto them
• A 90-day probationary period used to check in regularly, get to know the individual better and prove that they are making improvements
• Focusing on potential hires that are local (ask yourself the chances that they would move to your location if they’re not local)
• Onboarding focus — have a process for this in place and make sure it is more than just a few days
  • Make resources available to help them find their way on their own
  • Give them a “buddy” to wander around with, provide a strong welcome, answer any questions and properly integrate the new hire into your business.

Retaining:

• Make sure they’re engaged
  • Do they have direction/career progression? Are they building or able to build upon fundamental skills?
    • Cross-training opportunities
    • Leadership opportunities
• Provide a quarterly review process and set short- and long-term goals
  • Have those checking in be relevant to the employees (e.g., those who understand their technical skills/duties do the reviewing process, and HR execute the goal-making)
• Listening to feedback.