If your business doesn’t stop after “business hours,” you’ve probably dealt with the unique challenges of staffing second- and third-shift positions. Employees aren’t usually chomping at the bit for a shot at the swing shift or the night shift. You can try to make these positions more attractive by offering shift differential pay. But what if the prospect of making some extra cash isn’t enough of a draw? Here are a few suggestions for adding some juice to your off-shift recruiting.
Make Sure Off-Shift Workers Know They’re Part of the Team
Because the majority of a company’s employees work during the prime shift – or normal business hours – off-shift employees can feel isolated. For one thing, the office or factory can seem like a literal graveyard during the graveyard shift – or any other off shift. For another, employees can feel distanced from the rest of the organization because their contacts are limited. That’s why it’s important to keep off-shift employees invested and engaged. One important way to accomplish this is by including them in companywide incentives, promotions, and contests.
Show Them Where They Fit in the Puzzle
It’s a best practice to continually communicate to employees how their jobs specifically help a company fulfill its mission and meet its goals. This can be even more important when it comes to off-shift workers. Let them know they are just as important as prime shift workers, and make sure their contributions are communicated to prime shift workers.
Help Off-Shift Employees Maintain Work-Life Balance
One of the most important considerations for recruitment and retention is helping employees to be as productive as possible on the job without sacrificing their quality of life off the clock. This can be even more critical for off-shift employees. Think about ways you can facilitate work-life balance for off-shift workers, like flexible scheduling, capping the number of hours in a shift, instituting frequent breaks, and not scheduling employees for too many off shifts in a row.
Provide Creature Comforts
There are multiple approaches you can take to make your facility more off-shift-friendly.
- Make sure your workspaces have adequate lighting and ventilation.
- When possible, keep off-shift workers close to each other to reduce feelings of isolation.
- Maintain rest areas to help employees stay awake and alert.
- Provide healthy eating choices, so employees aren’t restricted to standard vending machine fare.
- Consider offering overnight childcare services for parents who don’t have anyone to stay at home while they work.
Suppose you can demonstrate you’re aware of the unique challenges off-shift workers face and that you’ve invested resources in helping those workers. In that case, you’ll not only help your retention, but you’ll also be more attractive to workers considering a shift change. And to give your recruiting efforts another boost, contact Mega Force. We provide quality staffing for businesses in Fayetteville and throughout North Carolina. Visit our website today.
