Anne Peire
Group Director, International, Fountain
Wellbeing for hourly employees is critical to attract and retain candidates and cannot be taken for granted. In order to be successful, policies should be audited and designed to reflect the needs of hourly work.
Reward and recognise hourly employees
The manner in which hourly workers think about their careers means that the yearly review cycle does not work for them. Employers should implement quarterly mini-reviews to keep employees engaged with their careers and give them incremental incentives that keep motivation levels high.
Regularly recognising the achievements of your team, work anniversaries and other milestones also helps to create a sense of success and togetherness that can reinforce other employee retention strategies.
Flexibility and teamwork
Being intentional about creating a sense of belonging at work is key for hourly workers. Employers should facilitate peer-to-peer programmes that allow workers to get to know one another. Better understanding between co-workers builds a greater sense of community and trust within teams that can sometimes be missing because of changing shift patterns. This togetherness can provide greater benefits.
People often take on hourly work because of the flexibility that it offers them to attend to other responsibilities, such as caring for family members. It is inevitable that, sometimes, personal events are going to get in the way of work for employees.
In trusting workplaces, employers can enact initiatives such as an ‘on-call worker’ — a volunteer to be on hand in case of last-minute emergencies. This does require slightly more commitment from the team, but it can benefit everyone if the whole team is aligned and committed to one another.
Being intentional about creating a sense of belonging at work is key for hourly workers.
Return to work programmes
Many people considering hourly employment roles are returning to the workforce after some time away. Properly designed return to work policies must acknowledge that new employees will need time and space to adapt, such as offering them extra flexibility and reduced schedules to allow them to reacclimatise to the pace of the working environment.
Put wellbeing to the fore for hourly workers
Companies with hourly workers need to take a purposeful approach to wellbeing. Given the high mobility of hourly employees, worker retention is critical for avoiding the disruption and costs associated with employee churn.
Organisations should not borrow wellbeing practices and benefits designed for full-time work and should instead do an empathetic audit of their policies and implement benefits that properly respond to the needs of hourly workers.