Sector: Manufacturing
Location: International
Our client had a 24-hour production facility and was experiencing challenges when it came to attraction, recruitment and retention within its factory-based workforce. The business had been through a major acquisition that took it from being a very traditional British brand to a US-owned, international organisation and it wanted an independent perspective on current employee perceptions and motivations to understand why it was experiencing hiring and retention challenges.
We designed and undertook a confidential employee survey along with a series of internal focus groups to harness employee feedback from an independent perspective. Those involved appreciated our external position and provided extensive insight that went far beyond remuneration-based issues, covering everything from culture to community and work environment.
We also identified roles at organisations recruiting within the same geography, where the salary was similar, but the environment was very different, to provide insight on what other employment options were available in the region and how they compared. We used this information, along with market intelligence to help our client position their proposition within this competitive talent pool.
After undertaking this research in the UK, we then duplicated the project for the company in Bulgaria, engaging an interpreter to support with the focus groups for an independent analysis of an overseas production facility that was also experiencing talent attraction and retention challenges.
Our research informed the organisation’s internal communication planning as well as its approach to talent attraction and retention. The insight gleaned went far beyond what the client initially expected and highlighted a number of tangible ways in which improvements could be implemented in both the short and longer term.
