Our Experts | Annalise Burrington
Millennials, everyone’s favorite generation to talk about, are well-known to be harder to attract and retain than previous generations in the workforce. But there is one solution you may be overlooking: part-time work.
Millennials in manufacturing – or the lack thereof
If your company isn’t offering part-time work like it does full-time work, you could be in trouble. Millennials now make up the bulk of the workforce, and they are a group of workers that insist on work-life balance.
They are, for the most part, willing to earn less money now and enjoy their lives, while living at home with their families and staying on their parents’ insurance until the ripe age of 26. With these perks, they don’t have as much incentive to work full-time, and can stay in part-time roles.
This is where companies get into trouble – especially those in the manufacturing industry. It is hard for a manufacturing company to participate in job-sharing, or allowing two people to fill a job.
Cons of part-time workers
There are hurdles such as more people to manage, handling more benefits and payroll, training two people instead of just one and, of course, having a higher headcount. But something has to be done about attracting this generation into manufacturing jobs.
Baby Boomers – the highly skilled workers you don’t want to lose
In 2013, the average age of a highly skilled manufacturing worker was 56 years old. Young people aren’t aspiring to do this kind of work, and it’s hard to get them interested in learning about the industry.
Even Baby Boomers are looking for part-time work in a lot of cases, and they have valuable knowledge to pass down before getting out of the workforce.
Part-time work or job-sharing, then, is the perfect solution to get younger people interested in your jobs, and attract highly-skilled older workers to lend their expertise.
How to make part-time work
Giving workers the flexibility they desire can be done multiple ways: job-sharing to let two workers split an 8 hour shift, letting one employee work just three full days a week, or letting one employee work a half-day the entire work week.
When your Baby Boomers are ready for less hours, offer them a chance to work part-time instead of letting them leave altogether. When looking for new employees, offering part-time hours is sure to put you ahead of your competition and attract more talent.
Another way to find talent for your company: temp-to-hire through a staffing firm! You won’t be committed to a worker like you are with a direct hire, so you are able to find the right fit without the pressure.
If you are ready to find talent through temp-to-hire or need help integrating part-time work into your company, give us a call today: (866) 939-0100.
