We asked: What keeps associates showing up every day?

No employer can know every facet of their workforce, even if they are checking in daily.

From the outside, it can be challenging to see what’s actually impacting the decisions your temporary workers make when they decide to take or leave a job.

That’s why we decided to ask! We reached out to our associates across the country to dive deeper into the issues that matter to them: from flexibility to pay rates to commute times.

To learn more, download the Adecco 2024 Associate Survey in the chatbox to the right.

Adecco has been in the staffing industry for more than six decades – but even we find ourselves surprised sometimes. After our analytics team pulled together the data, we did our own Q&A with our Adecco experts to see what they thought.

What’s motivating today’s temporary workers?

“Pay rate is the biggest factor. Location/ability to commute – in my experience – has been the second largest. For instance, if you are recruiting in certain regions such as central Wisconsin, workers are only willing to travel up to 20 minutes, regardless of the pay rate. In Oklahoma, due to the rural nature, we could get people willing to commute up to an hour if we have a competitive pay rate. Each area of the country is different.”
Jessica Morgan, National Account Director
West Chester, Pennsylvania

Is it surprising that women name flexibility as their top motivator?

“A flexible schedule is increasingly important as households are trying to juggle family demands and livable wages. I have clients piloting scheduling technology options to be able to provide flexible schedules and reduce turnover caused by attendance concerns.”
Jennifer Warren, National Account Director
Atlanta, Georgia

Why do workers abandon the hiring process before starting a job?

“Higher paying jobs always win out. I can speak specifically to the low pay rate at a former client and the turnover/quality issues it caused. We would have people that applied simply to just get something coming in, while they waited for a better job offer. This caused extremely high turnover, while also being the last resort for many. By simply raising their pay by $1/hour, that client was able to attract the candidates they wanted and keep them there, long term.”
Chase Loren, Branch Manager
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Would a pay increase motivate temporary workers to transfer to 2nd or 3rd shift?

“Moving to a 2nd or 3rd shift is about more than just money. Our associates are bound by their lives outside of work: kids, school, partner's work schedule, one car, etc. We are seeing that in order to move to another shift, it would take a significant increase in pay. It is easier for us to recruit for 2nd and 3rd shift with higher pay rates rather than ask a 1st shift associate to move.”
Lisa Clark, National Account Director
Houston, Texas

Learn what else we discovered

The Adecco 2024 Associate Survey is available now and can be downloaded through the chatbox to the right.

In it, we ask our associates for their opinions on:

• Biggest stressors
• Workplace policies
• Pay rates
• Shift schedules
• Top motivators

Reach out today to talk more about your staffing challenges and learn how Adecco can help better manage your contingent workforce.