Gem Care Advisor

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Attracting the Top Manufacturing Workers

5 Strategies for Attracting the Top Manufacturing Workers

Sixty-seven percent of manufacturing executives admit to a significant shift in the Manufacturing Industry. These executives call attention to a large gap that exists in today’s workforce due to a lack of skilled workers and the ever-evolving nature of automation and technology on the industry. According to a survey conducted by The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte Consulting, a little over half of those polled expressed their fears that today’s shortage will only worsen if something isn’t done to prevent it from happening. They also predict that more than 3.5M jobs that will go unfulfilled in the next decade and that a tightened labor market will inevitably produce a shortage of more than 2M skilled workers by 2025, alone. 

Acquiring skilled workers in manufacturing can sometimes be a daunting task. Without guidance, strategy, and a sense of due diligence, you may find all attempts to build a quality workforce may soon fail, and turnover will continue to rise. 

Here are five strategies that will help you improve your workforce while welcoming top talent:

1. Understand the impact of ever-evolving technologies on our society.

Millennials have proven valuable to our workforce, but Gen Z is expected to innovate our environments in ways we can only imagine. For now, we are going to want to build pipeline of workers, ready to learn and prepared to achieve. We want to engage them in new skill sets and develop them, based on our own immediate needs. 

Map out where your company is heading in the next three-to-five years and begin planning according to those findings. Consider adopting STEM-based training programs in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math, while understanding that not everyone will grasp each concept on the same level and not everyone will be able to perform the work specified to a “tee.” 

2. Allow your organization to become a respected leader in its field.

Establish your company as a respected leader in the field. Make it a more desirable company to work with. Show that your company provides its employees with growth, stability, and a meaningful career path. 

Demonstrate the importance of becoming part of the corporate culture, the benefits of career development, and the impact of a positive work-life balance on other aspects of an individual’s career.  Showing appreciation for individual contributions will allow employers to see an immediate boost in quality, performance, and revenueThey are your frontline. They see the problems we don’t understand and sense the opportunities we often overlook. 

Pairing senior members with more junior members of the team will allow mentorship, apprenticeship, and knowledge-transfer programs to continue while creating a desirable place to work in the future. Companies will more effectively influence their teams while setting expectations that aggressively drive the bottom line and continue to welcome new hires to their front door. 

3. Broaden your talent pool by expanding your current search.

The problem with many companies is that they aren’t open to hiring non-traditional workers into their existing workforce. They are reluctant to hire women, veterans, or even young adults due to the stigma that has surrounded each group for decades and often barred them from entry. As the industry progresses and expectations rapidly increase, we should consider breaking through these traditions altogether. And sadly, good help is needed more than ever before! 

Our industries are disrupted through the transformation of society. Use social media to find, vet, and attract the right candidates. Create an open, positive environment, where qualified candidates (regardless of gender, age, or status) feel welcomed to apply. Speak to their needs and meet them where they are. Attend tradeshows, conferences, conventions and other events that might lead to 

4. Retention is everything. Optimize your workforce, based on values, the willingness to learn, and personality type.

Identifying the characteristics that make a candidate successful will allow any organization to replicate their top performers and better engage their employees. It will also provide a sense of what type of employee you are looking to hire, where to start viewing, and how to evolve promising talents into bonafide superheroes within the Manufacturing Industry. 

Many of today’s top corporations, including the Big 4s and Fortune 500s, have adopted DISC-based hiring techniques and behavioral attitude indexing when growing and strengthening their global workforce. They have adopted predictive hiring strategies to weed-out unqualified talents and matchmake teams, based on personality type, the willingness to learn, and the value placed on a hard day’s work. Using these strategies will best define what motivates the workforce. 

5. Forge partnerships based on strategy and a mutual point of interest.

Developing partnerships with colleges, government agencies, and outplacement programs will offer continued support to your hiring teams. Creating opportunities for your community and engaging in social responsibility programs will benefit your company’s reputation, while positioning your company as a leader, therein. 

As your reputation grows, so will your pool of generated leads. Everyone wants to work for a good company and, soon, you will see them apply! These candidates will need to be vetted, but the process has begun, and you will begin finding fresh new talent in no time. 

PARTNER WITH GEM CARE 

We are a Knoxville-based staffing and recruitment firm that specializes in Manufacturing, Engineering, and Sales with a focus on quality control, career placement, and workforce development. We are also the only regional firm providing 24/7 support to our clients, offering valuable expertise and flexibility to permanent and last-minute workforce-related needs. We help you keep up with variable demand under tight production deadlines and the quick turnaround of your most crucial project undertakings. Gem Care does this as serving as a partner, a vendor, and a liaison between top talent and your current pool of committed employees. We match individuals, based on your specific need for a specialized workforce, listening to your goals while developing strategies for reduced turnover and improved rates of retention over time. 

Need help filling a challenging role? Please, get in touch with a member of our Gem Care staff today! 

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