Hiring and retention strategies to improve business are no longer something “nice to have”. Today they are business fundamentals. In the second part of this two-part series, we demonstrate how to apply Minnesota’s available labor market tools and data to hiring and retention strategies to improve business.
In Part 1 of our job quality and labor market tools series, we used regional and county profiles and the job vacancy tool to inform your recruitment and hiring plans. What labor market insights did you gain from regional and county profiles for your business’ location(s)?
In Part 2, we will look at cost of living, livable wages and predictable pay as tools for increasing job quality to improve your recruitment and retention prospects.
Livable Wages and Predictable Pay
When workers are paid a stable and predictable living wage before overtime tips, and commissions, they have a level of economic security that may decrease their personal stress and increase their work productivity, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Do your wages rise above the basic needs cost of living in your county and region for a single worker or a one or two worker household with children? You can find out by using the Cost of Living tool on the Labor Market Information section of the DEED website. On the Cost of Living tool page, select your county or region, the parameter for a single or partnered scenario, and the number of children. Costs of living vary by region and county, so if your business has multiple locations, gather the data for each location.
You can see cost of living for a family with one full-time worker, one part-time work and one child for 27 of Minnesota’s 87 counties in this screenshot. You can view information for all counties and various household scenarios on the Cost of Living interactive online tool.
Noting the yearly cost of living in your county, move over to Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) to compare your company’s wages to both the cost of living and to the wage range offered in your industry and/or region. What do you find? Could you lose employees to your competitor solely due to wages? With rising costs and increased competition, attracting job seekers starts with good wages and continues with transparency about how to earn pay increases. The 10th–25th percentiles can be used as a starting wage for someone with entry level skills, and as they gain experience and training, wages can advance.
For example, a customer service representative in Southeast Minnesota may start at a base rate of $14.55 with no experience, while a colleague at the top of their profession can earn $29.66 or above (90th percentile). It is important to share information about this room for wage growth with prospective and current employees.
Next Steps
Business data, job quality strategic plans, wage analyses, and hiring and retention initiatives can be combined with labor market data for a win for both employers and employees. This data may seem like an extra burden for businesses to put into operational guidelines, but the payoffs lead to a higher employee retention rate, increase productivity, improved employee engagement, and greater new hire rates of referrals.
Need assistance? View this page if you have questions about how to use any of our data tools, plus video tutorials and other tools, or contact your regional labor market analyst. DEED’s Labor Market Information team provides expert analysis of the state's labor market, industries and economy through the monthly blogs on the regional labor market information pages, monthly in-depth analysis of labor market conditions and key economic indicators in the Minnesota Employment Review publications, and research articles in the quarterly Minnesota Economic Trends publications.
Access even more job quality resources through CareerForce, Minnesota’s state’s official career exploration and job search resource, serving both job seekers and employers, and get connected with an employment specialist in your area by calling 651-259-7570 or emailing careerforce@state.mn.us.
