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Be Flexible to Attract New Manufacturing Talent

Although most today’s manufacturers have embraced the latest innovations in technology, many still rely on traditional forms of workforce management, including recruitment and retention, as a means of filling their ranks. The problem with that, however, is that many traditional strategies are not effective toward the millennial talent now entering the workforce. Some of today’s top manufacturers are still struggling to maintain a staff that is equal parts talented and dedicated.

Offering Flexibility

More than anything, young workers of today crave freedom and flexibility in their careers. While a manufacturing company may not be able to offer luxuries that other industries can, such as opportunities to work from home or remotely, there are a number of ways you can offer increased freedom and flexibility within the workplace.

Some manufacturers, for example, may offer longer workdays in exchange for increased off-days during the week. Facilities that are open seven days a week may even offer voluntary weekend shifts, which give your employees the chance to earn overtime when needed while still providing plenty of freedom in their scheduling. Letting employees choose which shifts they want to work is another way of giving your staff greater control and flexibility on a day-to-day basis.

Another proven way to increase the flexibility within your workforce is to offer cross-training in the other disciplines, roles and activities within your company. Effective cross-training reduces the need for “floating” employees while still maintaining, or even increasing, productivity. Moreover, properly cross-training your staff members, particularly in the manufacturing industry, can help eliminate bottlenecks or pitfalls associated with absent employees, new projects or evolving timelines.

Complications

There are a number of inherent complications involved with offering greater freedom and flexibility in the workplace, and there are some that are unique to the manufacturing sector. Deadline-driven roles and projects that have an established timeline typically offer increased flexibility compared to those projects and roles  subject to change or modification on a day-to-day basis. Likewise, manufacturers who rely on sequence-based production lines will find it more difficult to offer workplace flexibility than those who utilize non-sequential production methods.

Creativity

As previously mentioned, some of the traditional means of attracting and retaining talent are no longer effective. With this in mind, it’s important that you take a proactive and highly creative approach to your recruitment and retention strategies.

For starters, make sure to take advantage of all of the available resources for recruitment. Apart from attending tradeshows and posting newspaper ads, today’s proactive employers make full use of Internet ads, social networking portals and online job postings.

Many companies, particularly within the manufacturing industry, have found great success in working with local staffing agencies. Not only are these agencies able to understand your impact and exposure within the surrounding communities, but some feature expertise in your specific industry. You are far more likely to attract and retain staff members that already have the skills and qualities needed to exceed with your company.

Mega Force will simplify your temporary staffing, give you greater insight into your staffing spend, and help you improve the quality and reliability of your contingent workforce. Contact one of the leading staffing companies in North Carolina to get started!

 

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