Retaining Hourly Talent: Ideas from Maslow

Abraham Maslow was a pioneering psychologist who developed a theory of human needs; this theory has since become a classic study of motivation. Maslow's theory offers valuable lessons that can be applied to the workplace for retaining hourly talent.

Employee retention continues to be at the top of employers' minds. According to SHRM's State of the Workplace Report, 78 percent of survey respondents cite retaining top talent as a critical priority. Similarly, a recent SHRM study on understanding hourly workers found that retention of hourly talent, in particular, is a big issue: According to the study, almost half (46 percent) of U.S. hourly workers are actively searching for a new job or have searched in the past six months.

A recap of Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Maslow's hierarchy of needs depicts the many factors that motivate individuals. It starts with the most elemental (needs that must be fulfilled before higher needs come into play), including physiological, safety and security needs. As you move up the hierarchy, needs are characterized less by the physical and more by a psychological nature and can become more difficult to fulfill. These include the need for belonging, self-esteem and self-actualization.

Application of Maslow's hierarchy to retaining hourly talent

An analogy for fulfilling these needs can be applied to the workplace broadly and to all types of talent, regardless of demographic. However, with the competition for talent raging in some of the most in-demand hourly roles (in industries such as healthcare, automotive, and retail), applying this model in practice can provide some valuable and time-tested ideas.

Physiological

In Maslow's model, physiological needs include the most essential needs, such as food, water, clothes and shelter. In the workplace, these can be translated into physical factors, including the quality of the work environment and the appeal of the work location, but they also can be thought of as the basic elements of the job offer, like salary and benefits, PTO, attendance policy and work/life balance opportunities. According to Maslow, these needs must be met first for people to have the capacity to move to higher levels in the hierarchy. Similarly, in the workplace, these factors must be in place at an acceptable level before employees will come and stay at an organization. For instance, ADP Research Institute's latest "People at Work 2024" study found that the top factor (55 percent) most important to survey respondents in a job is salary, indicating it is a foundational workplace need.

Ensuring your company regularly benchmarks its salary and benefits for hourly talent is key. If your competitors down the street are paying more per hour than your company can afford, consider examining non-monetary benefits that can be offered (e.g., company culture, employee recognition, flexibility, holidays, career development and training, etc.) to keep valued hourly talent.

Another consideration at this level is the work environment: Is it comfortable, compelling, or pleasant (to the extent it can be, depending on the nature of the work)? For example, do hourly employees have a comfortable, clean break room for meal/rest periods? Is the condition of the work facility appealing to the extent possible? And if not, are there any reasonable adjustments to make it a more desirable physical work environment?

Flexibility is also of concern to hourly talent, yet often, they are the frontline of the organization and least likely to get it. Companies can consider automating Time & Attendance and enabling hourly staff to easily adjust their schedules as needed to provide a level of flexibility and control over their work schedules.

Safety

Maslow characterized safety and security needs as those related to health, having a job/income, and safety of property. In the workplace, safety has a literal connotation in that all organizations should ensure that they are in compliance with the latest health, safety, HR and payroll regulations. Retention considerations for hourly talent when it comes to safety directly translate into the highest levels of commitment from the company to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all employees.

Beyond compliance, safety at work could also include providing hourly employees with top-of-the-line automation, equipment and tools to perform at peak levels so that the company does not lose valued hourly talent to competitors who are more modern in equipment, tools and resourcing.

Safety at work can also translate to company financial performance, pay practices, and regular and transparent communication with employees. ADP Research Institute has found that the second most important criterion in a job is job security (46 percent). From a financial safety standpoint, other "safety" analogies for hourly talent can include offering more frequent pay, pay cards or earned wage access.

Also, remember hourly talent in terms of inclusivity when it comes to organizational communications. Some hourly talent may not have ready access to a laptop, so mobile apps to provide pay and HR self-service information can be a key differentiator. Hourly employees should be included in the stakeholder analysis portion of any company change management and communications initiatives.

Love/Belonging

Maslow envisioned love and belonging as being related to friendship and building connections and relationships with others. This might include the relationship between managers and employees, work teams and employee engagement activities in the workplace.

ADP Research Institute has found an interesting correlation between turnover and promotions in the short term. For people managers of hourly talent, it is imperative that they are provided with the training and resources they need to be comfortable and prepared to manage their teams (e.g., new hire onboarding, performance management, employee development and coaching).

In addition, regular employee engagement activities should be offered that consider hourly talent. This category also includes employee listening mechanisms available to these workers, such as employee satisfaction and engagement surveys, town halls, suggestion boxes, focus groups and similar. If the CEO or other senior leaders haven't already been on the ground to visit hourly employees in their daily jobs, consider these types of regular field trips to better understand and improve the hourly employee experience in different roles.

Esteem

According to Maslow, achievement, respect and confidence all fall under the umbrella of self-esteem. In the workplace, esteem needs can be likened to career and professional development opportunities and rewards and recognition initiatives for a job well done.

Potential esteem-related retention considerations for hourly talent might include apprenticeship-type programs for employees to continue to build skills and confidence on the job, where they are rewarded with additional responsibilities and compensation for achieving various milestones. Tuition reimbursement and knowledge pay programs that help support hourly employees gleaning additional job-related knowledge and certifications could also be esteem-related considerations for hourly employees.

Another retention consideration is the development of a corporate university where various tracks are devoted to training and development opportunities for what are often hourly roles, such as truck drivers, customer service or hospitality employees in certain industries. When able to see a career path and a future for themselves with the company, they are more likely to stay. ADP Research Institute found that career progression was the third top factor in a job rated by survey respondents (34 percent), following job security and salary.

Similarly, rewards and recognition programs, such as employee appreciation events, peer-to-peer nomination programs, and company spotlights on various employees, can go a long way toward acknowledging great performance and retaining employees.

Self-actualization

Maslow articulated self-actualization needs as those highest on the pyramid, not genuinely accessible to people until most lower-level needs are filled.

According to Maslow, self-actualization needs are the pinnacle of human needs and include considerations of purpose, meaning and potential. When applied to the workplace, self-actualization can translate into tying work to a greater mission, vision and purpose that support and serve the company's key stakeholders and the larger community.

Retention factors related to self-actualization for hourly employees might include allowing them a specified amount of time off during the workweek to volunteer in the local community. It could also include generally educating hourly employees on how their jobs contribute to the larger product or service offering. This might also include offering them job enlargement or enrichment opportunities and / or job rotation opportunities so that they can learn different roles and better understand and appreciate how they fit in as a critical part of the big picture. Other self-actualization retention factors might include ensuring that they work in state-of-the-art facilities that promote environmental sustainability in work processes and foster pride in the work and the company they work for.

Conclusion

Maslow's hierarchy provides a proven framework of human needs and some interesting ideas for retaining hourly talent. Companies should consider a portfolio of approaches at each level of the hierarchy, from the fundamentals to helping employees achieve esteem and self-actualization at work.

Learn more

Organizations that prioritize people first will rise to the top. Find out how to make HR more personalized to adapt to today's changing talent landscape. Get our guide: Work is personal – Your guide to a people-centered approach to the workplace

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