Manage workforce turbulence in manufacturing

“The younger generation is willing to take less comp if your company is more aligned with their social beliefs and values, so community support and ESG initiatives matter — that's one way of attracting workers apart from salary.”

Kelly Schindler

National Managing Principal, Manufacturing Industry, Grant Thornton Advisors LLC
Partner, Audit Services, Grant Thornton LLP

“The younger generation is willing to take less comp if your company is more aligned with their social beliefs and values, so community support and ESG initiatives matter — that's one way of attracting workers apart from salary,” Schindler said. She added that it’s also important for manufacturers to recognize how to recruit female workers. “Demographics are changing to more female labor. But a lot of manufacturers don't have uniforms to fit a woman's body, or the women’s locker rooms are a mile away because they were an afterthought. There's more than just considering the gender of your hire — it's also how are you going to serve that gender.  Workers want to feel like they belong and are accepted for who they are. So, making a conscience and noticeable effort in getting to know what is important to them can go a long way.”

To retain workers, you also need to address their biggest concerns. Our survey respondents in the manufacturing industry said their biggest concern was long hours.

“There's an ability for the laborers to pick their time slots online. It's like an incentive program where, after six months of perfect attendance or another achievement, you get to be in a pool of workers who can do that.”

Kelly Schindler

National Managing Principal, Manufacturing Industry, Grant Thornton Advisors LLC
Partner, Audit Services, Grant Thornton LLP

That’s part of why some manufacturers are implementing technology that lets workers pick and schedule shifts through an app. “There's an ability for the laborers to pick their time slots online,” Schindler said. “It's like an incentive program where, after six months of perfect attendance or another achievement, you get to be in a pool of workers who can do that.”

These systems can manage the complex calculation of what shifts, for which skills, are available when. “Automation comes into play, where it fills in the rest of the schedule while it’s also timing the production for when an order is going to get to each station — because that's when that skilled laborer is going to be there,” Schindler said. “The automation is scheduling the people and the production, and it gives younger workers gamification — because they're collecting badges that give them privileges, like the ability to manage their schedules or pick a time slot. It creates efficiencies in production, because you're not getting employees who just don't show up for work.”

Many workers of all generations like new scheduling technology, but the older generation might not be as interested in new production technology. New production technology can seem unfamiliar, or even threatening to job stability. How can manufacturers maintain worker engagement and retention while they continue to modernize their facilities?

“Identify who your supervisors or super users are going to be. Coach them, and work with them, because they have the hardest job — they have to go through the change and also lead people to change. They have the double whammy.”

Doug Thompson

Director, Transformation

“Identify who your supervisors or super users are going to be,” Thompson said. “Coach them, and work with them, because they have the hardest job — they have to go through the change and also lead people to change. They have the double whammy. They're the ones that folks are going to look to, and say, ‘Are we really doing this? Is this worth it?’ They have to say, ‘Yes, we're going to do this.’”

To help clarify changes and drive adoption at every level, it’s important to communicate both from the top and from the floor. “We do roadshows with supervisors, coach them, and talk to them about the change,” Thompson said. “Then, they get hands-on training and experience. We set up training on the floor. We'll set up equipment, scanners, everything, and load in a dummy environment — the exact orders they're working on that week. We can say, ‘This is what you're doing today. This is what you're going to do tomorrow.’ They can see the side-by-side comparison, and it really resonates that this isn't cumbersome. They’ll say, ‘I thought it was going to be three extra steps, but it's literally click, click, beep. Those are the steps. This isn't bad.’ That's usually the best way to communicate — they'll buy in, and the buy-in is the key.”

Worker buy-in is key for tech initiatives on the floor and in the back office, too. When manufacturers implement new enterprise solutions, they need the right approach to achieve the expected returns. “We've seen a major uptick in the last five years, where manufacturing clients will not entertain introducing an ERP solution without a robust change management package,” Thompson said. “They've learned that, without it, it does them no good. You can implement all the technology in the world, but if people don't know how to use it — and use it well — you’re never going to see the return on investment.”

As manufacturers drive change internally, they are also being changed by external factors. Mergers, acquisitions, supply chain shifts and new product offerings will continue to affect the workforce skills and approaches required across the industry.

“Identify who your supervisors or super users are going to be. Coach them, and work with them, because they have the hardest job — they have to go through the change and also lead people to change. They have the double whammy.”

Doug Thompson

Director, Transformation

“It’s a volatile market,” Thompson said. “Every time we think we're close to finishing a client’s nationwide rollout, they buy another company and add 12 more sites. I see that continuing in the future as well — consolidation of the same type of manufacturers into single entities. I expect to see a lot more acquisitions, mainly by competitors.”

As manufacturers acquire workers with similar skills from competitors, they might also acquire workers with new skills. “I'm also seeing acquisitions in vertical integration of the supply chain,” Schindler said. Beyond acquiring their existing competitors, some manufacturers are branching out into services. “Manufacturing is evolving into more of a service business. It's more of a solution-for-lease rather than just making-the-widget.”

That business evolution, along with other factors, will change the future workforce needs for manufacturers. “That evolves the employee from doing repetitive tasks to aligning more with technology and a service-minded skill set,” Schindler said. “That evolves with more of a service/lease mindset that will come into play.” To recruit new skills, manufacturers will need new approaches, Schindler said. “Getting skilled labor is very difficult. Some manufacturers are putting sites next to high schools, where they can have vo-tech training that high schoolers can attend and then become employees afterward.” Thompson agreed, “we're using AI to target better recruits with the right skill sets. That's helping quite a bit.”

From the front office down to the floor, many manufacturers need to change how they recruit, retain and re-train their current and prospective workers for the future.