By 2028, there could be as many as 2.4 million unfilled manufacturing roles in the U.S. This shortage of blue collar workers could lead to a negative economic impact totaling $2.5 trillion.
Organizations need to find ways to attract and retain blue collar workers so that their businesses, and the economy, don’t suffer such a huge loss.
So what can you do to boost engagement among blue collar workers? Here are some tips:
Prioritize safety
Some roles can be dangerous. Employees need to know you support them to do their jobs in a safe way. If they think you’re putting them at risk, they’re not going to put as much effort in. They’re not going to want to put themselves in harm’s way just so that they can pay the bills.
Employees have much more to lose than managers and C-Suite executives if something goes wrong. This is particularly true for blue collar workers who work at height, with heavy or dangerous materials, etc.
Provide adequate training
83% of workers have cited inexperienced coworkers as a major safety concern due to the hiring surge.
If you want to save money and reduce incidents among blue collar workers, you need to ensure everyone has the right training for the job. Otherwise, you risk accidents, fines, and lawsuits. It’s not worth it for you or your employees.
What looks like an upfront savings could wind up being a huge long-term cost.
Offer skill-building opportunities
The huge skills gap, combined with safety concerns among blue collar workers, shows that more skills training is needed.
This can help employees to future proof their careers as AI becomes more prevalent in every aspect of our lives.
Give them flexible schedules
Flexible working schedules offer benefits for blue collar workers and employers. It can mean that you have people working a wider range of hours, so you can get things done faster.
They also help to accommodate working parents, for example, who may not be able to work strict 9-5 hours but are still perfectly capable of doing the job.
Provide chances to volunteer
Volunteering is a powerful way to give back to your local community and show your blue collar workers that you care about more than just profits.
You could organize a day where everyone volunteers, contribute towards a particular cause collectively, or offer employees time to choose their own volunteering opportunities.
Offer tangible rewards
62% of employees prefer tangible rewards to recognition, praise, or growth. This could include health insurance, retirement plans, or job security.
How good is your benefits package? It may be worth examining it and asking your blue collar workers what they think to ensure it aligns with what they want and need.
Prioritize health
We live in a highly stressful world and we never know how that’s going to impact us or the people around us.
Simple things, like offering therapy or a healthy eating workshop, show you see your blue collar workers as more than automatons. You want them to be at their best all the time, so that they can be their best at work.
Make communication a two-way street
Some blue collar work can be dangerous. Being transparent and honest with your blue collar workers about what’s happening with your organization offers them some protection. It shows them you respect them, and it means they’re not worrying about their jobs while they need to concentrate to be safe.
Send a survey
Employee feedback surveys are powerful tools that enable you to find out how your workers really feel.
You’ll get far better data if you send them anonymously, as employees will feel able to give honest feedback without consequences. And, regardless of how perfect you think things are, there will always be someone who’s either struggling or unhappy. They should be able to air their grievances in a productive manner.
Rates of loneliness, boredom, life dissatisfaction, depression, and work unhappiness are high among blue collar workers. So are rates of cigarette usage and obesity. As both smoking and overeating can be coping mechanisms for stress, this isn’t surprising.
If you really want to help your employees, you need to find out what they want.
If you’re ready to learn what your employees really think, Workrowd can help. With our all-in-one tool suite, you can send automated surveys at employee milestones so that you can find out what’s really happening within your business. We can even analyze the results for you to be available at your fingertips, giving you more time to act on your findings.
Encourage creativity and innovation
Some jobs can feel monotonous or repetitive, particularly among blue collar workers.
Encouraging creativity and innovation helps work stay fresh and keeps your employees more engaged.
It also stops them from going into auto-pilot mode, which can lead to accidents if they’re not paying full attention. Compare that to challenging them and helping them reach a state of flow, which can improve their skills and instincts when working on the job.
Allow people to bring their whole selves to work
Too often, companies tell employees to bring their whole selves to work. Then an employee tries it, and the company backtracks, saying “not like that.”
A truly inclusive culture means you’ll get more from employees because they won’t spend energy masking or filtering themselves. This will give them more bandwidth, and mean they’ll work harder, be more loyal, and want to progress their careers with you, not another company.
Hold leadership accountable
Leadership shouldn’t be untouchable in an ivory tower. The only way executives can know what life is really like for employees is by experiencing it. It’s all very well and good sitting in on sales calls, but are you spending time with blue collar workers doing the manual work, too? Are you looking for ways to make their lives easier? And are they holding you accountable to improve those things?
Leadership can be held accountable through techniques such as:
- Employee surveys
- Reverse mentoring
- Internal social media
- External social media
- Internal emails
Initiatives like these show that you’re serious about holding leaders accountable and want to make your employees’ working lives as positive as possible.
Conclusion
A key part of keeping your blue collar workers engaged is supporting them to perform at their best. Whether that’s through adequate safety training, upskilling, encouraging a healthy lifestyle, volunteering, or something else, the more you can show them that you value their contributions and think of them as people, not robots, the more you’ll get from them in the short- and long-term.
Want to better support all your employees? Why not try Workrowd? It’s a one-stop shop for all your employee initiatives. Get in touch today to book your free demo and find out more.
