If your business requires workers to assume night-shift positions, you need not only to recruit reliable employees but also make strong efforts to retain them. Late-night positions can be taxing on workers. To achieve these ends, take creative measures to promote late-night job satisfaction. Here are proactive ways you can light the way for your late-night staff.
Accessible Nutrition
Hungry workers will turn into grumpy, low-energy ones if you neglect their nutritional needs. Timely access to healthy food and drinks can reenergize workers in the middle of a long shift; keep hunger pangs in check by setting up food and coffee stations created by a Pittsburgh area commissary. Just make sure that your food areas remain accessible and well-stocked at all hours.
Provide Solid Leadership
Avoid treating night-shift duty as a scheduled banishment. To emphasize its importance, assign respected and experienced supervisors to oversee after-hours workers. These managers should possess strong leadership qualities: They should be supportive, rational, calm, knowledgable, trustworthy and personable. Workers will gravitate toward these leaders and recognize how much you value their place in the schedule.
Celebrate Their Contributions
While night-shift workers may come to recognize their value, you need to promote their efforts across-the-board. In newsletters or other public forums, outline their accomplishments using anecdotes and statistics. You do not have to go above and beyond in your efforts; just celebrate their achievements as you do those working in the busy daylight hours.
Provide Bonus Salaries
In the end, you may need to enhance pay for those working during what could be considered overtime hours. In particular, focus on benefits. For example, because working late hours can have a negative impact on worker health, provide enhanced health care options for these workers. Also, look for ways to offer child care since the option will be limited outside the workplace during these hours.
If your company runs 24 hours, your night crew obviously is a valuable commodity. By taking strong measures to support and value this group, you can ensure it will remain a strong link in the chain that supports your company.
