Efficient Plant July/August 2021 - 4

column | editorial
Culture's
At the
Core
Gary L. Parr
Editorial Director
Some adjustment is needed if you want to hire
and retain young people. The best place to
start is your company culture.
W
E ARE SOMEWHERE
in the early adolescent
years of a sea change in
employee hiring and retention practices.
Finding skilled workers was a serious
problem before the pandemic and, if
anything, it's probably gotten worse.
Added to that is we have now learned
that reporting for duty at the plant at
7:00 a.m. every day is, in a lot of cases, no
longer necessary. We've also discovered
that, for many, working remotely actually
improves productivity. An additional
revelation, and one that's going to prove to
be a lynch pin for employees of all ages, is
that workers with a remote option have a
better work/life balance and are going to
be stubborn about giving that up. Translation:
If you don't offer options, they'll find
someone who does.
Those who must show up every day to
Y
Awards
CULTUREIMPROVEMENT
Proud of your company culture? Tell us about
it by entering the third annual Reliability of
Everything Culture Improvement Awards.
Deadline is Oct. 31, 2021. Details on p. 7
4 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
work on-site for an entire shift are starting
to ask, What about us? Lately there have
been notable rumblings about four-day
work weeks and increased noise about
offering at least some schedule flexibility
that will improve the work/life balance.
That's a tough nut.
There's always going to be a body of
workers for whom flexibility is not an
option because they perform basic functions
such as assembly. But the drive to
increase automation is going to constantly
eat into that portion of the workforce,
making it less of an issue.
Then we have the matter of hiring and
retaining the younger generations. Folks
from my generation (yes, I'm a boomer)
signed up for a job, dedicated themselves
to the company, and showed up every
day until retirement. They have either
left or are leaving the work force. Those
who follow, as we know, roll their eyes at
company allegiance and are constantly on
the lookout for greener grass.
The most important factor, as we head
into the post-pandemic future, is going to
be retention because revolving doors are a
very expensive and very hidden cost that
will silently erode profits.
To put some numbers to this, employee
communications specialist Staffbase
Inc., New York (staffbase.com), recently
completed a survey of the manufacturing
sector to identify issues and offer
solutions. The employee-related issues
they identified were workforce shortage,
upskilling employees, implementing IIoT
technology, and improving safety and
environmental impact. Their solutions:
Invest in technology: Younger generations
are digital natives who prioritize
mobile-first solutions and won't be tethered
to desks or factory-floor kiosks.
Make education engaging: Place
information on phones and tablets. Leverage
video as an education tool.
Go mobile first: Mobile solutions
ease digital transformation for frontline
workers by providing the information
they need on technology they use around
the clock.
Digitize safety information: Use an
employee app to store forms and incident
reports and regularly complete surveys to
gather and share safety information.
Turn communications green: Ditch
traditional paper-based methods for more
effective digital communication.
When I step back from all of this, what
I see is a bunch of elements that, combined,
describe your company culture. If
you don't have a culture that is driven by
communication and allows legitimate collaboration
at all levels, you'll have trouble
finding and retaining employees. That fact
was as true 50 years ago as it is today. EP
gparr@efficientplantmag.com
JUL/AUG 2021
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http://www.staffbase.com http://www.EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
Efficient Plant July/August 2021

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