Stop trying to retain employees

Every CEO I know frets over employee retention. The inquiries are typically similar: How can we cut turnover? How do we prevent our top talent from departing? How can we compete when a neighboring employer offers a slightly higher wage? After dedicating much of my career to designing and building factories, I believe we're pursuing the wrong strategy.

Instead, we should concentrate on constructing a company that employees wouldn't want to leave. In manufacturing, employee turnover has become so prevalent that many firms simply acknowledge it as an inherent part of business operations. For certain roles like consumer electronics contracting, labor-intensive food processing, and temp-heavy/light manufacturing and assembly, the lowest-paid positions experience turnover rates exceeding 100% annually.

This implies that each job is replaced annually—sometimes even more frequently. Companies often gauge turnover by the number of applications received and the quantity of drug tests administered. They budget for churn because they've learned to anticipate it. I don't think we should acquiesce to this reality. When our team enters a factory to devise an automation strategy, you might be astonished to discover that one of the initial elements we examine has no connection to machinery.

It's employee turnover. Turnover reveals critical information because it highlights where the work is most problematic. Most companies initiate an automation project by asking, "What can we automate?" Instead, we've discovered a more pertinent question: "What are the jobs people continuously abandon?" These are typically repetitive, physically demanding, and ergonomically challenging tasks.

These are the positions where employees resign after just a few months, convinced they cannot endure performing the same duties for the next four to ten years. THIS IS WHERE AUTOMATION SHOULD BEGIN Our approach to automation aims to eliminate the work people never desired in the first place. This is where I believe many leaders misconstrue automation.

Frequently, their emphasis is on discovering methods to diminish labor expenses. In my experience, the most effective automations are designed to accomplish something far more valuable: enhance the worth of the employees who remain. When mundane tasks vanish, employees ascend to managerial roles, collaborating with robots rather than repetitively executing physically taxing movements that deteriorate their mental and physical well-being and result in injuries.

They acquire software skills instead of merely loading parts. They evolve into troubleshooters, trainers, and system specialists instead of performing the same manual tasks repeatedly. We frequently invite employees to volunteer for what our team humorously refers to as "robot university"—months of training to aid in installing, commissioning, troubleshooting, and eventually teaching others how to operate new automation systems.

Remarkably, the first employees to volunteer invariably become the factory's cultural leaders. Of course, they are acquiring new technology. More crucially, they are also constructing careers. Shortly after, their colleagues inquire how they can join in. An automation project swiftly transforms into a leadership development program.

AUTOMATION IS MORE THAN A TECHNOLOGICAL INVESTMENT I do not perceive automation solely as a technological investment. I consider it one of the most underutilized people investments a company can make, for the following reasons: Employees remain where they progress. They remain where they are entrusted with superior tools. They remain where they are perpetually learning.

They remain where they can envision a future. For years, we've attempted to address turnover through enhanced recruitment, superior perks, and improved HR programs. While these initiatives have their merits, lasting loyalty is cultivated much earlier. It is established the moment an employee perceives, "This company invests in me."

I reiterate this sentiment frequently: The companies that reduce turnover in the coming decade will act swiftly and emerge as the innovators who leverage technology to create safer work environments, more fulfilling careers, and a culture where the best individuals stay because they choose to—not merely because they lack alternatives.

For decades, we have centered on employee retention. Now, it is time to focus on becoming the type of organization individuals do not wish to leave. Matthew Chang is a founder and primary engineer at Chang Robotics.