In recent years, the labor shortage has gone from a subject of interest to a real national issue. What seemed, at first glance, very far away for some people quickly turned into a major crisis that is disrupting the daily lives of our businesses.

There was therefore an opportunity for various players in the sector to share their possible solutions for better employee retention. Here we present an overview to inspire your internal human resources practices.

Your current employees: “a resourceful resource”

When companies are faced with a shortage of personnel, one of the first reflexes is to launch a recruitment campaign to seek new employees. However, as director of human resources, reminded us, “[human] resources are full of resources”.

As proof, the company specializing in the prototyping and molding of cast iron, aluminum and magnesium undertook various initiatives in the face of a crying need for labor. Among those that have worked best is the introduction of a skills matrix.

In concrete terms, this skills matrix is ​​intended as a concept of reunification, which took advantage of the union, senior employees and factory supervisors around a joint committee. The objective: to capture know-how for critical positions and increase the versatility of employees.

Not only did this matrix make it possible to keep the experience within the company, but it also contributed to the retention of employees already in place, by being attached to a salary system that goes beyond of seniority. To date, the pilot project, which was being tested on a small scale, has now been extended to half of the plant’s workstations. There is a lower turnover rate among employees and former workers are even returning!

A question of data and humility

The situation was no better. Even though the company has been firmly established in the region for more than 100 years, employee departures were increasing. We had also discussed it with the director of human resources, Renée Durand, before her retirement.

Insisted on the importance of having figures and supporting data to confirm what we think. According to a survey, in the form of a survey, among employees who had left in recent years. Among other things, we talked about the work climate and training. And, surprisingly, almost half of them were open to returning to the company!

On this subject, all the panelists reaffirm the need to measure and quantify in order to go “beyond feeling”. Listening is also a key factor in improving. Same thing for humility; this is how we grow. This attitude must be reflected in all departments, not just human resources. Operations and all other areas of the business must also become part of this vision.

Reinventing yourself, one step at a time

For product manager, we often underestimate the impact of an employee leaving within 60 days of being hired. And with 2,700 people employed in its various plants, we can say that the food products company had quite a challenge to overcome in order to limit the negative consequences due to early departures!

A 3-phase project was developed by the Industries, starting with an initial awareness phase. An internal analysis was thus carried out to identify the weak points and pitfalls related to the departures of current employees.

The second phase, for its part, made it possible to identify the real needs of the employees in order to adapt the internal reception and integration procedures for the benefit of the recruits. In many cases, certain administrative procedures interfered with reception and integration, hence the idea of ​​simplifying and optimizing everything in favor of humans. Finally, the third and final phase, which is currently underway, involves the transition to reality, that is to say the implementation of a renewed welcome and integration program. In other words, we align with operations, we remain flexible and, above all, we measure the results to improve.

An important awareness

Through all the actions that were presented by the panelists, a significant element constantly surfaced: the need to be aware of the reality of employees.

“Are we going to be paid? asked Mitchell Aerospace employees, as they participated in a mission-vision-values ​​exercise. For Plant Manager, this anecdote proves that we sometimes don’t have the same concerns or the same questions, hence the importance of putting yourself in their shoes. We always win by listening and acting to retain our employees.

There are also other realizations that can take the company further. For example, still concepts from the restaurant industry have been introduced and adapted to operations. All thanks to the previous experience of employees in this field.

The panelists agreed with this, evoking that beyond profitability, there are precious values ​​and a beautiful humanity that make all the difference. “It’s an ongoing process, there’s no magic recipe, it takes a lot of practice.

If there’s one thing to remember from this panel on employee retention, it’s that despite all the commonalities from company to company, each has to find its own winning formula.

The experts also provide you with an HR guide on employee retention to help you create your own, based on your challenges and your reality.

Do not hesitate to write to us to share your testimonials, your learning and your success stories in terms of employee retention. Who knows, maybe you could inspire other companies in the sector in their efforts!