Reducing turnover among entry level workers

You’ve trained them, you’ve watched them grow, they’ve turned into a model employee—now how do you keep them from jumping ship?

Attracting, motivating and retaining entry-level   workers can present a challenge to businesses of   all sizes. The wide age range of such workers,   which may include inexperienced beginners in their late teens to older workers with extensive   job experience, complicates the matter.

What motivates the workers varies according to their different needs and perceptions. Youthful workers, for example, may view the job as only a first step in their work life. Benefits, such as insurance, may not seem as important to them as to the older worker with a family.

Turnover is costly for all businesses, large or small. For a worker you are paying $24,000 a year, it will cost you an additional thousand or so dollars to replace them. However, the small business owner may feel the impact more immediately and to a higher degree.

While there may not be a magic formula for attracting and keeping entry-level workers, here are some tips to consider:  

Avoid the mindset that “it’s only an entry-level job” when advertising and hiring.  If you present the job as a “nothing,” job applicants will view it the same way. It may be entry-level, but it is still important to hire the best person you can find for the job. Pay the highest wages that you can afford. Constant turnover due to low wages can quickly increase your business costs and erode any   savings realized initially. If necessary, stretch the company budget to pay a little more. Low pay can be a false economy in the long term. Recognize and reward entry-level workers for their accomplishments.  Again, “entry level” does not translate into