The Manufacturing Institute and the American Psychological Association recently teamed up to look at best practices for retaining workers. The Institute's Center for Manufacturing Research released results of the study, which included responses from workers and employers.

MI, an affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers, said a key finding of the Manufacturing Engagement and Retention Study was that—while competitive benefits and pay are important—designing work to increase positive experiences also is effective in boosting retention.

"With 814,000 jobs open in manufacturing, there has been a great deal of attention on recruitment, but part of the equation is also retention," MI Executive Director Carolyn Lee said in a July 15 press release about the study.

"We partnered with the APA to provide manufacturers a deeper dive into the forces affecting retention—what works, what motivates employees and where employers likely can improve. And as the study shows, not all employees are motivated by the same factors.

"It's important to understand key differences among employee groups so that we can continue to foster the most engaging, productive and inclusive workplaces possible," she said.

Other key findings:

• Eight in 10 workers said they stay with their employer because they enjoy the work.
• Employees under age 25 said they stay with their current employer because of training and development (69%) and career opportunities (65%).
• Employees who feel valued were more than four times as likely to report high levels of work engagement (59% vs. 13%) and less likely to say they feel stressed out on a typical workday (16% vs. 66%) or that they plan to leave the company within the next year (2% vs. 12%).
• More than 9 in 10 senior leaders are satisfied with training and development, compared to two-thirds of frontline workers.
• The most sophisticated retention efforts employed by manufacturing leaders include ensuring every individual understands how their efforts are linked to overall company success and equipping frontline managers to support workers.

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