Examine your EX to attract next-generation workers

During the Great Depression, businesses often posted signs in their storefront windows relaying that no jobs were available. Today the opposite seems to be true: The jobs are there, but the workers aren’t.

Nearly every manufacturer I speak with – both large and small – have shop floor staffing problems. And, without intervention, these problems may turn into crises.

According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), Canada's private sector job vacancies rate maintained its record high of 3.2 per cent for the fourth quarter in a row through Q2 2019. In total, 429,000 jobs have gone unfilled for at least four months.

Quebec and B.C. had the highest vacancy rates in the country at 3.9 per cent each. Small companies, those with fewer than five employees, have the hardest time filling vacancies. Their rate was 5.4 per cent.

So, what are the options?

Employees typically look for the same two things when searching for a job. No. 1 is money, typically, and No. 2 is the work environment and location.

Wage is one area in which manufacturing can compete. According to Statistics Canada, the average hourly wage in the manufacturing industry in 2018 was $26.34. Retail and food services industry, which are competitors for millennials and Generation Z employees, had average hourly wages of $20.79 and $15.90, respectively.

So, if money isn’t keeping them away, it must be the workplace.

In a recent opinion piece in The Globe and Mail, Danny Smith, principal, manufacturing industry advisory, at Ceridian, recommended that manufacturers, especially those trying to recruit from the pool of millennials and Gen Z talent, need to create a positive employee experience (EX) at their business.

Every company knows that customer experience (CX) is important. But, as the baby boomers retire and millennials and the Gen Zs enter the work force in large numbers, EX is becoming increasingly important.

EX is the practice of treating employees as another set of customers by creating an adaptable and fulfilling workplace for them. A high EX produces happier, more productive, and more engaged workers.

Smith refers to these workers as “digital natives.” They expect their workplace to mirror their daily life. Just as every app can be personalized, so too should each job be tailored to an individual employee. It’s what they are used to.

Sound hard? Well, that’s because it is. But it’s also necessary.