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Engaging blue-collar workers may be one of the biggest engagement challenges facing today.
Hourly workers are unhappier than salaried workers in many job aspects, according to recently released Gallup poll data.
A Harvard Business Review analysis concluded, “People working blue-collar jobs report lower levels of overall happiness in every region around the world. This is the case across a variety of labor-intensive industries like construction, mining, manufacturing, transport, farming, fishing and forestry.”
Retention is a big problem, too. The “new blue-collar” industries, such as foodservice and hospitality, grapple with it on even bigger scales.
What’s Missing in Engaging Blue-Collar Workers? Recognition!
“Blue-collar fields are desperate for talented workers, but few young Americans are aware thanks to the aforementioned image gap,” HR Dive’s Kathryn Moody and Valerie Bolden-Barrett write.
The skills gap facing blue-collar fields is dire enough that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) convened a panel earlier this year on this topic.
One economic expert told the EEOC panel, “Few parents want their kids to work in such industries thanks to a society-wide push for four-year college and a perception that such jobs offer lower pay and backbreaking work.”
Interestingly, perception doesn’t match reality, HR Dive finds. Blue-collar workers are in demand and, in general, paid competitive wages.
But that negative perception can still filter down to current employees in blue-collar industries, particularly in how they’re managed, and that’s an engagement problem.
The stigma attached to blue-collar jobs has a powerful antidote in recognition. Recognition helps build employee pride — and employees who are proud of their work are motivated and engaged. How is your company communicating to your blue-collar workers the positive impact of their day-to-day work?
Leadership needs to understand and follow through on recognition goals, particularly in developing an emotional connection with workers.
The majority of leaders, especially those in blue-collar industries, fail to realize that character development (personal growth) of people at all levels of the organization will create a high-performance culture where associates are more productive (increased performance), more satisfied (less turnover), and more engaged (more creativity, improved teamwork, and better customer service). …
Highly effective blue-collar leaders intentionally build strong, authentic relationships with their team members. They go far beyond what is required and develop meaningful relationships by encouraging, engaging, and empowering all of their team members.
If blue-collar workers are getting a societal message that their jobs aren’t desirable or don’t matter, leaders need to combat that perception with a strong engagement program that focuses on job value and recognition.
The best way to encourage a blue-collar team is to make them feel like they matter. Motivate and inspire them. If they feel like they don’t matter, most often, it’s because of how their leader makes them feel that way.
Tips for Engaging Blue-Collar Workers
1. Provide development opportunities. In industries with a skills gap, helping employees get the education they need is both motivating and good for business.
2. Empower workers in decision-making. It demonstrates trust and invests employees in the company.
3. Train leaders in engagement. Location managers and shift supervisors on up to the C-Suite need to understand the value of recognition — and have the skills to implement it.
4. Make leadership visible and available. Do your blue-collar workers even know who’s on the leadership team? Making management visible to workers and available to connect fosters a workplace culture of “we’re in this together.”
5. Share “winning moments” in the moment. Successes at the company level, team level and individual level deserve recognition, right away! Celebrating small wins is a powerful yet simple way to make the work more meaningful and rewarding.
6. Enable peer-to-peer recognition. Set up a process for employees to thank and reward each other for excellence and teamwork. This can be done with a “gratitude board” in the break room, or by providing small gifts.
7. Recognize with gratitude, not cash. A sincere expression of appreciation, accompanied by a meaningful gift, is more memorable and has greater impact than a cash bonus.
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