Attracting and Retaining Younger Employees for Your Shop

What are these younger employees are looking for when working in your job shop?

There is a topic on many shop owners’ minds as they start planning their shop in 2024 – how do I recruit and keep Millennials and Gen Z in my shop? Lucky for you, we’ve researched this topic by talking with customers at trade shows and within their shops. What we found include the following: 1) often emphasize the “why,” 2) pay a competitive salary, 3) improve their employee experience, 4) offer an apprenticeship.

Sharing the "why"

An article by Korn Ferry mentions a recent survey in which 63% of millennials say that the primary purpose of business should be “improving society.” Job shops are in a prime position to do this. It’s easy to see how shops significantly contribute to the American dream. Whereas larger manufacturing facilities may have a more difficult case to prove that each man matters, our shop owners tend to describe their employees as family. These family members build parts and processes to contribute to community centers and other businesses. Shop owners are very active in their communities. They support the businesses in their area by donating their profits and time to local non-profits. Sharing the “why” and the bigger picture of how your shop makes a positive impact will help you attract and retain those under forty.

Competitive salaries

While communicating purpose is important, so is paying the right amount of money. We’ve heard many of our shop customers emphasize this point. The labor market is tight, and recruiters are very active. Additionally, this younger generation is more likely to move. Therefore, though labor may be more expensive, a competitive salary is wise as a necessary investment in the future of your shop. This is why you need to invest in a proven shop solution for job costing. Proper job costing helps you offset the high labor cost so you can grow in profits and attract and retain younger talent.

Employee experiences

We’ve heard customers mention that younger generations don’t want to work hard or get their hands dirty. That makes sense, as alternative options are now seemingly more attractive. Yet, the other options don’t guarantee family treatment, a relatively stress-free role, or minimal overtime. The ambiance of the shop is also essential. We’ve seen well-lit shops where employees have the freedom to socialize. On the other hand, we’ve also seen dark shops, where employees are separated and discouraged from frequent communication. You can probably guess that the shops with a friendlier, warmer environment are experiencing fewer retention problems.

While an easy-to-use ERP won’t help you improve your shop ambiance, it can enhance the employee experience. A connected shop ERP that automatically does data entry and is easy to learn provides easier day-to-day for employees. We’ve heard customers say that once they learn one module, the other ones are easy to pick up. Having an all-in-one solution also eliminates the need for double entry, reducing the chance of errors that will later require an explanation or the headache of correcting all the mistakes. This will help your younger employees feel like they are impacting your shop's day-to-day.

Apprentices

Our last recommendation for attracting and retaining Millennials and Gen Zs involves offering apprenticeships. We’ve seen several shop customers gain a handle on their recruitment process by partnering with local trade schools and colleges to find interested students. When we talked with these apprentices, we learned they had parents who also worked in shops or manufacturing, so they were already interested. They were also appreciative of the attention and training that their leadership provided for them. Many plan to stay in the shop for their whole careers, as they sincerely enjoy their day-to-day. Some of our shop customers have already started building career programs to give these younger employees a career trajectory.

While a shop ERP can’t build a career program for your shop, an intuitive one can save you time, which you can use to plan your shop’s goals, including a career program. That’s exactly what some customers did. As a result, they are not experiencing a labor problem but instead have already promoted several apprentices into leadership positions.

JobBOSS² is a shop ERP that’s helped over 5,000 shops for almost 40 years. The JobBOSS² team frequently talks with customers to understand their shops' main concerns. If hiring and retaining younger employees is relevant for your shop, we recommend the following: 1) often emphasize the “why,” 2) pay a competitive salary, 3) improve their employee experience, and 4) offer an apprenticeship. JobBOSS² helps you pay more while still growing in profitability, makes data entry easier, and gives you more time to focus on a career and apprenticeship program.

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