Contractors face many challenges running their businesses today, including employee retention, supply chain concerns and more. But there are mixed answers when identifying their biggest concern.
According to the results of a survey released in July 2022 by frontline digital workplace WorkJam, employee shortages and turnover are more worrying for leaders than supply chain issues. Forty-eight percent of executives from industries such as manufacturing, warehousing, retail and more reported labor shortages as their largest obstacle. Employee turnover came in second with 31%, and supply chain concerns came in at only 9%.
The survey also found that one-third of respondents reported that retention is their top concern, while attracting talent had 28%, upskilling staff had 20% and improving operational efficiency had 12%. Customer service improvements only received 7%.Â
However, contractors are still having issues with the supply chain. According to the 2022 Profile of the Electrical Contractor, respondents reported their level of satisfaction in revenue, staffing, profitability and supply availability before the COVID-19 pandemic, during the pandemic and between February and March 2022. In the most recent period, respondents ranked revenue and profitability as the two most satisfying areas, with staffing (almost 60%) and supply availability (about 42%) as the least.
The WorkJam report also found that compensation and better career opportunities are the two biggest reasons employees change companies. Three-quarters of respondents believed employees left to look for jobs that pay better, and 67% thought they changed positions for career development possibilities. Less than half thought employees left to achieve a better work/life balance, and 44% of respondents reported their employees left for better benefits.
Respondents to the survey are also aware that retention is connected to business success. By investing in employee retention, 72% of executives know this will increase their business’ return on investment. However, only 50% believe their company is doing a good job retaining these frontline employees.