Manufacturing / HR
Bottom line: When a Dongguan hardware owner told me two pay hikes still lost techs — leavers said no rules, no path up — the issue was mechanisms, not base pay alone. Check pay structure, piece rules, supervisors, promotion lanes.
Four patterns
| Who leaves | Often why | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Line workers | Opaque piece rates | Point KPI + quality |
| Skilled techs | No skill grades / pay anchors | Job system + 3P |
| Line leaders | Volume only, not team | Cup KPI + turnover metric |
| Staff | Bad fixed-floating mix | Cubic Compensation |
Case direction
Shenzhen manufacturer (anonymized) — org, roles, performance, pay, promotion; turnover 70% → under 30%, output +30%.
Two steps for smaller plants
- Document piece/time rules with auditable sources
- Pilot 8 weeks — scores tied to bonus before group rollout
Mechanisms are the soil; culture is the environment — see OSMP.
Liu Xinzhen · XieChunQiu Management Consulting · Shenzhen
FAQ
Root causes of factory turnover?
Unfair pay structure, opaque piece rules, bad supervisors, invisible promotion paths.
Why base pay alone fails?
Fixed cost rises; high and low performers look the same.
Piece plants?
Point rules with quality linkage; supervisor scored on team turnover.
Case signal?
Shenzhen manufacturer — org, role, performance, pay; turnover 70%→under 30%, output +30% (anonymized).
Cubic Compensation role?
3B structure + 3T incentives link contribution to income.
Small plant first steps?
Write piece/time rules with auditable data before broad band pay.
Time to signal?
Often 8-week pilot, two cycles with pay linkage.
Related methods?
Point-based KPI and compensation retain key talent articles.
