Adding value to the employee experience with earned wage access

The manufacturing industry has recovered well from COVID-19, as industrial production and new orders are up. But despite the positive economic indicators, some workers aren’t interested in sticking around. The sector is seeing a historic labor shortage, and companies are tackling industry-wide retention issues.

Organizations are putting extra effort into recouping financial losses from the past few years, but increasing sales and revenue requires having the people in place to carry out operations. Succeeding in the new world of work starts with attracting and retaining the right talent.

Deloitte reports that U.S. manufacturers believe finding the right talent is now 36% harder than it was in 2018, despite the near record number of job openings in the sector.  Manufacturers expect the major consequences of this labor shortage will be an inability to increase revenue growth and maintain production levels to satisfy demand. 

Why is tomorrow’s workforce quitting today?

In Ceridian’s 2022 Pulse of Talent report, we surveyed more than 6,800 workers from around the globe, including 492 manufacturing employees. Of these manufacturing employees, 66% are a flight risk. This is higher than the 61% of workers overall we surveyed who pose a flight risk. 

Twenty percent of these employees are actively looking for new roles, and 46% would consider leaving their current role for the right opportunity. What is motivating those job searches? Perhaps unsurprisingly, pay is a top motivator, with 42% of manufacturing employee respondents saying they were seeking a higher salary.

The pandemic motivated many people to consider other career options, including working for themselves or even switching industries. Many manufacturing employers have found that the pandemic’s push for remote work, fewer restrictions on the 9-5 workday, and supply chain challenges have made it difficult to retain workers for in-person work.

Manufacturers are in a tough spot as they try to cut costs, increase profits, and create an enticing employee value proposition. And pay alone isn’t enough to retain manufacturing workers. A great employee experience has a more well-rounded package.

Add value to the employee experience

Manufacturing organizations have ample opportunity to increase job satisfaction. Thirty-seven percent of manufacturing respondents said they are looking for a new job because they want more flexibility. Thirty-five percent said that a lack of growth opportunities is driving their search.

The most popular answer? Half (50%) of the manufacturing workers we surveyed in 2022 Pulse of Talent said that better benefits elsewhere would convince them to leave their current job.

This gives employers lots of opportunities to win back the talent. Trust and integrity are crucial components of the customer-manufacturer bond for helping companies stay in business. It’s time for manufacturers to adopt this mindset about the employee experience. 

Offering flexibility in when and how employees are paid is a key differentiator. Earned wage access is a new payroll benefit that gives employees early access to their wages before the biweekly pay cycle. This valuable tool offers a more sustainable model for people to manage their finances without relying on high-interest loans.

Pharmaceutical packaging manufacturer Nipro PharmaPackaging is leveraging this enhanced benefit in partnership with Ceridian. A division of Nipro International, the North American branch is made up of six locations across the U.S. and has implemented Dayforce Wallet as a pay card solution that fits the needs of both the company and its employees.

The pharmaceutical industry is highly competitive for sourcing talent, and employees at Nipro go through extended training periods to ensure they are properly educated on how to manufacture pharmaceutical-grade products. It’s crucial for Nipro to home in on all aspects of the employee experience to ensure it can continue to attract and retain top talent.

Nipro can compete beyond pay by focusing on how and when employees are paid. Bethann DuBois, Nipro’s Payroll Manager adds that the ability for employees to access on-demand pay with Dayforce Wallet is “the icing on the cake.”

Providing benefits that fit the needs of your workforce

Much of Nipro’s workforce is unbanked, meaning some employees don’t have an account at a bank or other financial institution. DuBois said this was an important factor Nipro considered when selecting both Dayforce and subsequently Dayforce Wallet. Also, approximately 50% of Nipro’s employees don’t have computers at home, so they greatly appreciate that they can access their pay and other HR information on their mobile device.  

Ensuring your people are paid accurately and on time is a critical part of the employee experience. People want to feel secure and not worry about their next paycheck. Earned wage access enhances this feeling of security by giving people more control over their finances. A 2021 study revealed that four in five U.S. workers believe they should have access to their earned wages at the end of each workday.

“As a payroll manager, Dayforce Wallet provides us the ability to offer our employees a method for electronic payment other than direct deposit with the bank, as well as giving us a way to get money to them immediately if we need to make a payroll correction,” DuBois says.

“Things happen in our life. Cars break down, kids need clothes for school, holidays come up. And on-demand pay provides all of our employees an opportunity to access funds in critical times.”

Earned wage access is just one strategy for adding value to the employee experience. Nipro PharmaPackaging is confident this added benefit can be a differentiator in their industry to help them give their employees the flexibility and value they’re looking for from an employer.

There are more opportunities for employers to compete for talent beyond pay and boost their talent retention. Read Ceridian’s 2022 Pulse of Talent survey for more data and strategies to reflect how employee career decisions are being influenced in the new world of work.