10 Ways to Improve Hourly Employee Retention

Finding ways to keep your employees happy, engaged, and paid is especially crucial right now.

The 'Great Quit' phenomenon hit businesses hard last year, with an estimated 4 million Americans quitting their jobs every month (and over 4.5 million Americans leaving in November 2021 alone) .*

The dropout rate was particularly high in industries that pay by the hour, including retail and hospitality. More than a year later, the impacts are still being felt. In fact, Gallup** has discovered that replacing an employee can cost up to twice their salary!

That's why finding ways to keep your staff on board has never been more important.

But retaining employees isn't just about "how to keep people from leaving." It's about improving their work environment and engagement, so they're happier in their role and don't even consider leaving in the first place.

And doing it efficiently can seem like a major challenge for a small business that is already struggling to find the time to do it all.

To help you, we have defined:

Why hourly workers leave their jobs Exactly how to measure employee retention 10 of the Best Hourly Employee Retention Techniques The technology that can help make it all a whole lot easier to manage effectively Give your team the tools they deserve.

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*Statistics from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics / Statista

**Statistics of Gallup workplace study

Why hourly workers leave their jobs

Here are some of the top reasons employees quit.

Not enough planning control

Employees want to feel like they have some sort of control over when they work if they are hired on an hourly basis. This differentiates an hourly paid job from a monthly 9 to 5 role, and could be a major reason why they turned to hourly work in the first place.

So if an employee feels like they have no control over their schedule, aren't knowledgeable enough about their schedule, and are at the mercy or whims of manager or other people's schedules, he may become disillusioned and leave.

Not enough flexibility to trade or take shifts

Just as employees like to have some control over their initial schedule, they also like having the ability to swap or take shifts as needed. Life may get in your way or the staff may want to save some extra money.

If workers find that their workplace has rigid schedules that do not match their real needs, they are likely to develop resentment. They will feel left out and be more likely to leave.

Lack of growth opportunities

A good employee will want to keep learning. They may want to find ways to improve current systems or processes, obtain certain qualifications or training certificates, or aim to move up the ladder.

Research from 2022 shows that “good training” to grow in their role is one of the top five things employees look for in a new job.

Of course, you need your staff to stay focused on the work they were hired to do, but failing to provide employees with opportunities for growth will lead to them becoming bored or feeling stagnant. This in turn can lead to lower productivity and standards, as well as increased employee departures.

A desire for better remuneration

If staff feel their work is undervalued and underpaid, they won't stick around for long. If they never receive bonuses, feel aggrieved when working overtime, or if their base rate of pay is simply too low, they may be forced to leave.

If employees have to work multiple jobs or hustle at the same time just to make ends meet, it can lead to them being burnt out, unfocused, or less productive at their workplace, and more likely to leave sooner.

Bad leadership and not...