Non-wage Solutions to Rising Wage Pressure
Unable to compete on wages, HR managers in manufacturing need alternative ways to attract quality employees. This post discusses non-wage solutions for controlling costs, reducing turnover, and keeping employees engaged. Back when we were recovering from the Great Recession, we all knew this was coming. We watched and cheered as unemployment numbers dropped, month after … Continue reading “Non-wage Solutions to Rising Wage Pressure”
12 Symptoms You May Not Know Are Connected
Business Leaders and Managers regularly scan the health of their organizations. Even the most well-run businesses are embedded in a complex ecosystem with many influencing factors. Certain sub-optimal signals and symptoms may show up from time to time.Β When this happens, managers first look for the root cause – often buried among multiple signals – … Continue reading “12 Symptoms You May Not Know Are Connected”
The Weekend Warrior Trap
Human Resource Managers, how would you like a schedule your employees will love? Plant Managers, how about a schedule that adds 40% more potential production hours onto your weekly schedule? It sounds like the best of both worlds, doesnβt it? While it sounds promising, the βweekend warriorβ schedule often brings more challenges than solutions.Β As … Continue reading “The Weekend Warrior Trap”
Make Flexible Scheduling part of your Shiftwork Operation
During the pandemic, many companies have found that flexible scheduling ideas such as work-from-home, helped them to attract and retain valuable employees. A neat trick during a tight labor market if you can pull it off. However, for many companies with production lines on-site, work-from-home is not feasible. Does this mean flexible scheduling is not … Continue reading “Make Flexible Scheduling part of your Shiftwork Operation”
Reducing Employee Turnover
A case study Problem This food processing company was experiencing severe problems with employee turnover. The underlying cause of this turnover problem was excessive overtime. Located in a small town with several other labor-intensive companies, the company constantly competes for labor, often operating with less than a full complement of personnel. This staffing shortfall was … Continue reading “Reducing Employee Turnover”
Best Practices in Shift Work Operations (Part 2 of 10)
Operators and Sanitors should be the same people. The sanitation process associate with all food manufacturing processes is often a time-thief. It takes away from valuable production time. Many such operations will have a separate sanitation crew that specializes in sanitation but is not skilled or staffed to run the lines. This has two negative … Continue reading “Best Practices in Shift Work Operations (Part 2 of 10)”
Best Practices in Shiftwork Operations (part 1 of 10)
Whenever we meet with a leadership team at a facility, the question always comes up, “What are other sites doing that works?” The second most asked question is, “What are other sites doing that doesn’t work?” Operations managers want to hear the answers with regards to other operations while Human Resource managers want the answers … Continue reading “Best Practices in Shiftwork Operations (part 1 of 10)”
5 Things Human Resource Managers Need to Know About Shift Work
Letβs start with this: my intent with this post is NOT to tell H.R. how to do their job. Rather, I want to round up some of the most important aspects of shift work that seem obvious but are easily overlooked. So, letβs get to the listβ¦ #1: Beware of the lone messenger. No one … Continue reading “5 Things Human Resource Managers Need to Know About Shift Work”
What does the New Year Bring to a Tight Labor Market?
During our 30+years of cross-industry experience we have found that once unemployment drops below 6%, companies find it hard to staff adequately to meet production demands. At the current 3.6% unemployment rate [1] a labor shortage is the single biggest production problem many companies are facing. For as many as eleven states, unemployment falls to … Continue reading “What does the New Year Bring to a Tight Labor Market?”
Have you Made Your Business Resolutions Yet?
If you want happier employees this year, you may consider doing some things differently than last year. Otherwise, if you do what you did, youβll get what you got. Employee engagement, better-work life balance, and improved communication might be at the top of the wish list. But what comes after establishing these resolutions? How to … Continue reading “Have you Made Your Business Resolutions Yet?”