Aug. 21—If you work for the town of Barrington, you could be in line for a $5,000 bonus — just for staying in your job.

Select Board members first approved $70,000 in bonuses for 14 police department employees in June. Then this month the board approved using federal stimulus money to fund up to $250,000 in bonuses for another four dozen town workers.

Replacing workers who left the job would take time and cost thousands of dollars, officials reasoned.

"It makes economic sense to retain experienced staff. Plus, the bonuses are good for employee morale as the Select Board is sending a message that they are appreciated," said board member Joyce Cappiello.

New Hampshire is living through historically low unemployment, putting further pressure on employers, who are using hiring and retention bonuses to fill their businesses in a fiercely competitive job market.

Hiring bonuses include $5,000 for a production team member, $1,000 for a warehouse assistant and $20,000 for a cardiac sonographer at a Manchester hospital.

"We are for sure seeing more of those (sign-on bonuses) and probably at a higher dollar value than what we've seen before," said Barry Roy, regional president at Robert Half, a staffing agency with three New Hampshire offices.

Catholic Medical Center's website lists sign-on bonuses for 18 positions, ranging from $500 to $20,000.

"Bonuses are a part of the overall compensation package we offer at CMC, and they can help seal the deal," said Merryll Rosenfeld, vice president of human resources at CMC.

"However, our experience in these current economic times is that the hourly rate is really what prospective employees are looking for now and are laser-focused on with regard to job offers."

The Manchester hospital had more than 300 new hires in various positions that have received sign-on bonuses in the past year, she said.

"Yes, we are offering more bonuses than previous years to help us have additional leverage to entice candidates to CMC," Rosenfeld said. "Other facilities are all offering the same bonuses as there are so many openings within New Hampshire and not enough candidates to fill them.

"It's one part of a wider strategy employed by CMC, which also includes partnering with area colleges and universities to gain early access to potential graduates who seek careers in the health care field," she said.

More job postings

More than 41,000 unique online ads for New Hampshire jobs were posted in June and July — nearly 10,000 more than the same period last year and more than double the number in 2019 before the pandemic, according to Emsi Burning Glass and New Hampshire Employment Security.

Each year, registered nurses and retail sales people topped the list of advertised positions.

"We have not conducted an employer survey in quite some time but are planning to conduct a statewide employer survey later this year to gather data on incentives and flexibilities that employers are offering," said Richard Lavers, deputy commissioner at Employment Security.

A state fund that offered the unemployed money to join the workforce last year paid out $2.5 million but had $7.5 million left over.

The state paid more than 3,000 people who worked at least eight weeks either $1,000 for a full-time job or $500 for part-time work.

"As we had never attempted anything like this and didn't really have anything to compare, I think the program was very much a success," Lavers said.

"However, I do think the desire at the time of many people to delay their return to work was stronger than anticipated," he said. "We timed the return to work bonuses to coincide with the return of the requirement attached to unemployment eligibility for people to conduct a weekly work search."

Hiring bonuses aplenty

According to the online job site Indeed, 5.2% of its job postings in July advertised signing bonuses, more than three times as many as in the same month in 2019, but below the December 2021 peak of 5.5%.

"Variation among occupational sectors abounds," Indeed said. "A greater share of in-person sectors advertise signing bonuses than sectors where remote work is common."

Simplyhired.com said 359 job openings "near Laconia" offered sign-on bonuses.

Manchester schools recently tweeted: "We're now hiring paraprofessionals, and new hires can get a $1,000 signing bonus at hiring, along with a $500 retention after six months of work."

A new Manchester teachers contract included retention bonuses between $2,000 and $3,000 during the 2023 fiscal year. The bonuses would be reduced to between $1,250 and $1,500 the following year.

A company's own workers might be one of its best recruitment tools.

"Referral bonuses are becoming more popular" with companies rewarding employees who convince someone to join the team, Roy said.

Good employees are "probably going to know good talent, too," Roy said.

Hiring, profit bonuses

At a three-day job fair for its new Salem location, Kelly's Roast Beef offered $400 hiring bonuses for full-time workers and $200 for part-timers.

"I think they're somewhat effective," said Frank Vento, vice president of AAM15, which owns Kelly's.

Workers also can earn anywhere from 50 cents to $2.50 an hour extra for every hour worked if their specific restaurant meets its weekly sales goal.

The Salem location needs about 50 full- and part-time workers and received some applications Thursday, the first day of the job fair.

"We would like it to be more applicants for sure," said Vento, who said hiring has been more challenging than in the past.

It's been tough all over the state.

In Berlin earlier this year, the federal prison was advertising a hiring bonus of at least $11,000 for new correctional officers.

Investing in workers

Barrington Select Board member Robert Gibson said investing in and retaining workers is important.

"The institutional knowledge of seasoned employees takes years of training," Gibson said. "Constant training of new employees is more costly for the taxpayer, hinders the services we provide our citizens, and slows the progress we need to make for our town's future."

While campaigning, Select Board member Cappiello said she heard that town employees did not always feel appreciated.

"Wages were not generally part of those discussions. It was about feeling good about your job and being recognized for your performance," Cappiello said. "That was six to eight months ago. Now, given the ever tighter labor market, many of our employees could earn more money in the private sector or in larger communities."

The town also commissioned a review of compensation for its staff.

"If we need to adjust wages, this will be part of the proposed budget discussion for next year with a town vote on the budget in March 2023," she said.

Barrington received about $970,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Some funds will supplement other money designated for funds for bridge and culvert work as well as be used to hire a consultant to research bringing high-speed fiber internet to the town, according to Town Administrator Conner MacIver.

Full-time workers will receive $5,000, while year-round part-timers will receive a pro-rated bonus.

Exit interviews with departing town workers revealed "a pattern" of people leaving because of pay, he said.

"The bigger picture of making sure we're attracting and retaining employees has been a priority from the get-go," MacIver said.

What's Working, a series exploring solutions for New Hampshire's workforce needs, is sponsored by the New Hampshire Solutions Journalism Lab at the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications and is funded by Eversource, Fidelity Investments, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, the New Hampshire College & University Council, Northeast Delta Dental and the New Hampshire Coalition for Business and Education.

Contact reporter Michael Cousineau at mcousineau@unionleader.com. To read stories in the series, visit unionleader.com/whatsworking.