Leveraging Pay and Benefits as Workforce Retention Strategies: Insights from a Case Study of Napa Vineyard Workers

Goals: California agricultural employers are experiencing a sharp rise in wage costs as new labor laws come into effect, while concurrently struggling with labor shortages. Employers often focus on pay increases and the provision of benefits to attract and retain highly skilled agricultural workers. We undertook these studies to assess the impacts of these actions on retention of a population of vineyard workers in Napa County, California.

Key Findings:

• A pilot study conducted in 2017 did not find a strong relationship between hourly pay and worker turnover intentions over a $5.50 pay range differential, suggesting that other factors may play a role in worker retention.

• A subsequent study conducted in 2018 found that pay satisfaction predicted turnover intentions. Pay satisfaction for permanent workers was greater when they were on structured pay scales that reflected seniority, loyalty, and experience, and offered explicit opportunity for advancement with increasing compensation.

• Vineyard workers expressed considerable individual variation in their degree of satisfaction with benefits packages. However, in general, they particularly valued the provision of general health insurance, vision, dental, and accumulated sick days.

Impact and Significance: Attracting and retaining skilled agricultural workers is increasingly challenging in a changing regulatory environment with general worker shortages. We offer four key recommendations to agricultural employers: 1) offer structured pay scales that reward company loyalty and worker seniority to boost pay satisfaction; 2) offer pay that is commensurate for the region; 3) recognize the potential role that provision of benefits has in building a sustainable workforce; and 4) dedicate resources to improving aspects of the work environment beyond pay and benefits. In our experience, benefits packages are easily misunderstood, so they must be clearly communicated and, where possible, tailored to individual needs.