While the country is staring head long into another economic challenge it isn’t unusual for businesses to try to cut their costs any way possible. Many organizations will try to eliminate additional costs by hiring cheap labor, but this move may end up costing more money in the long run. Here are some of the hidden costs of cheap labor to keep in mind while you’re preparing your 2o13 hiring strategy.
- Poor working conditions. You may not think that your facility is substandard, and it probably isn’t, but by adding low pay employees you are lowering the overall quality of work and the experience for everyone in your company. By not providing adequate insurance or less training than your higher paid employees you are setting the lower paid employees up for failure before they even have a chance to start.
- More injuries. Less skilled labor is much more likely to face injury in an industrial environment. Lower paid employees often have a disregard for the safety of themselves and others because they feel they aren’t being paid enough to care. Once they are injured they are more likely to make excessive claims with your worker’s compensation insurance provider.
- More employee turnover. The less you pay an employee the more likely they are to leave your position to take another one for slightly more money. And often times they don’t feel the need to provide a notice. Now, not only have you paid for the employee but you also have to pay for lost production after they left and for the hiring of another individual and their training.
- Working while sick. Low wage employees often feel trapped. They don’t make enough money to support their families and they are afraid of missing any time from work. Frequently they will come to work when they should actually be taking a sick day and worse yet, they infect their coworkers as well. This can result in more lost time than if the individual had felt empowered to stay home and get well.
- Lack of productivity. Employees making less money are less likely to take an interest in the job they are doing. They produce lower quality work and take more time to get it done than someone who feels like part of a team and that they were an investment.
Looking for ways to manage your costs but be safe and productive? Contact one of the top staffing agencies in Virginia today!