Management By Walking Around: A Tale of Two Plants
Two plants took completely different approaches to leadership. One hums like clockwork. The other scrambles to stay on track. Curious what made the difference? A few years ago, I visited a food manufacturing plant where the HR manager’s office was tucked away behind a reception area. The door had a glass window—but it had been … Continue reading “Management By Walking Around: A Tale of Two Plants”
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. 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, doesn’t it? While it sounds promising, the ‘weekend warrior’ schedule often brings more challenges than solutions. As … Continue reading “The Weekend Warrior Trap”
Best practices in shiftwork operations (Part 6 of 6)
We have been helping companies to retain and attract quality employees across all industries for more than 30 years.
Best Practices in Shift Work Operations (Part 4 of 6)
It takes an order of magnitude greater effort to recruit from another plant than from the ranks of the unemployed. During times of low unemployment, it is important to understand the cost of your options for keeping a position filled. You can hire people off the street but there is always the “Why don’t they … Continue reading “Best Practices in Shift Work Operations (Part 4 of 6)”
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 6)
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 6)”
Best Practices in Shiftwork Operations (part 1 of 6)
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 6)”