Pub. 9 2021-2022 Issue 2

31 Fall 2021 doing what colleges do and start visiting high schools two or three times a year. If the only message students get is that they ought to go to college, it’s a no-brainer what they are likely to do after getting their high school diploma. Infrastructure jobs ought to be a compelling alternative to a four-year degree with a fat price tag attached. Is a college education important? Yes, absolutely. But everyone’s situation is different, and a college education does not always pass the test when you consider the return on investment. What else can companies do to educate people about career opportunities? Look at television, online news sites and social media. Target the most likely media to reach people; for example, if you want to reach a younger audience, such as Generation Z (1997-2012), look at Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. What are some ways you can keep employees committed to their work? • Keep your efforts at retention in perspective. Employee engagement is determined by personality more than any engagement initiatives you might come up with. The right hires are more likely to be engaged and stay because of who they are, not what you do in terms of programs. • Even so, skilled workers are hard to find, so value the employees you already have. Treat them right, and they will probably be happy in their jobs. • Show active appreciation for the work being done. • Be considerate about schedules and work with employees as much as possible. People need to know as soon as possible when they will have a day off, and if you ask them to work a difficult shift, they will appreciate knowing they won’t be stuck there forever. • Give new employees some time to acclimate to the work they’ll be doing. For the first week or two, educate new employees and have them meet with people to get acquainted. This introductory time gives you a chance to educate them about expectations and help them be invested in what they will be doing from the very beginning. • Check up on new hires regularly after start working. For example, see how they are doing after 30, 60 and 90 days. Ask them whether they are getting enough training. Make sure their benefits have been set up correctly. Schedule regular training sessions about industry trends and equipment, too, so employees stay current. Ensure they know about any career-growth opportunities you offer. • Invest in leadership education for supervisors a minimum of once a year. • Where possible, offer preventive mental health training and support. People have always had problems with mental health issues, but the pandemic has been hard on everyone. It’s past time to get rid of the stigma around mental health care. Suppose you can provide benefits that give managers and team members the skills to improve their emotional prosperity and a way to get help when those skills aren’t enough. Your employees will be more effective in their jobs, more likely to stay and less likely to incur medical costs. • Track what you are doing so you can figure out whether your ideas work or not. Continuous improvement won’t occur unless you pay attention to the process. Even though the obvious solution for a workforce shortage is to recruit more people, retention still matters. As a result, companies with a healthy, positive work environment have a definite advantage over less-savvy competitors because constant turnover is expensive. (How expensive? There are online calculators to help you figure that out.) How big a difference does employee engagement make? If you compare companies with higher employee engagement against companies that don’t, some experts say there’s a 20% difference in productivity. Engaged employees are more proactive than their less-motivated counterparts when it comes to solving problems. They don’t spend the day watching the clock and putting in minimum effort.  RETENTION — continued on page 32 Even though the obvious solution for a workforce shortage is to recruit more people, retention still matters.