Do you have trouble recruiting workers to your manufacturing company?
I chat with a lot of HR directors and managers, and something they all say is how hard it is to attract and retain talent.
Their experiences are backed by the data.
Deloitte projects that an estimated 2.1 million jobs may be unfilled from 2020 to 2030.
Whatever the reason, it is obvious many entry-level positions are in dire need of being filled– and will be.
The conventional ways of solving this problem are not doing the trick.
HR directors need to think of new, creative ways to solve it, unless they want to keep losing profits and stay in hiring limbo.
In this blog, I will go over four creative solutions to recruit workers to your manufacturing company. While some of these methods may take more time (and money) than others, how much money are you losing to lost productivity and overtime?
Read on to see how you can make workers come to you– NOT the other way around.
If you want to recruit more people to work at your manufacturing company, then you need to make sure they actually know about it. Better yet, you need to make sure they know how engaging and beneficial a manufacturing job can be.
One way to do this is to host an open house.
A study by Deloitte shows that those familiar with manufacturing have a more positive image of manufacturing work and workplace culture than those who don’t.
Setting up an open house will leverage your position in your community and show what your facility is really made of.
Find a day in the year (or month) to have an open house and invite the community to tour your facility and ask questions (Manufacturing Day would probably be a good choice).
Offer refreshments, do a give away, and show potential employees how much higher you will pay them as compared to other industries at other entry-level positions. Let current employees give speeches to say what life in the facility is like, and increase your attraction to college graduates by showing the many skills one can get working at a manufacturing company and how it can benefit their career prospects.
All in all, an open house can increase attraction to your company by showing just how rewarding a job in manufacturing can be.
Another creative solution to recruit workers to your manufacturing company is to increase your amenities.
Polls show that greater support for emotional well-being are one of the top three considerations Gen-z has in choosing manufacturing jobs.
Why not show your employees you care about their well-being by installing things that make them happy?
Get creative and think of ways to “Silicon Valley” your workplace.
A Cushman and Wakefield study reported that some of the most desired amenities from workers include on-site food options, temperature control, and game/workout facilities.
A potential employee may take your job for your really good pay, but he may persuade his friends to join when he discovers you have a private basketball court.
One addition to your facility plus dozens of new workers equals a good idea.
A third creative solution to recruit workers to your manufacturing company is to build a mentorship program.
If a lack of training and development are one of the three top reasons why people leave a company, then you must ensure potential hires that growth is part of your business model.
A mentorship program can show how serious you are about investing in your employees.
The numbers don’t lie:
Less than half of manufacturing workers agreed their company trained people to develop the right knowledge and skills in 2019.
What if your workplace were one of the few who went against this trend?
A mentorship program leads to a strong community and reinstills important knowledge that may get lost as generations leave the workforce.
It’s a win-win for employee engagement and recruitment.
If you have tried all these things and are still lost about how to recruit workers to your manufacturing company, have you considered that there are around 19.2 million people in the U.S. who have limited English proficiency?
As you know, foreign-born workers are some of the manufacturing industry’s most reliable talent pools– but it also makes them the most competitive.
How can your company hire these attractive workers while dozens of other entry-level jobs vie for their attention?
One thing can make a candidate say yes to you in an instant– a phrase made of only four words:
“We offer English classes."
With English being an essential skill, prospects who speak a foreign language would no doubt jump onboard when they hear you offer language classes.
But it doesn’t need to stop with foreign born workers. You can offer, for example, Spanish classes to your English speaking employees as well.
Never in my life have I met someone who didn’t think it would be cool to learn a foreign language. And I’m 100% sure you haven’t either.
Much like a basketball court or mentorship program, language classes may be the extra nudge to get a worker into your facility.
But you need to make sure it’s a good value for your money.
Most English programs are expensive and inefficient. Where can you find the best deal?
For this, I recommend Oxinity.
For only 14 US dollars per hour per student, Oxinity gives you:
– Two online 30 minute classes
– 60 minutes (or more) with our smart app
– Flexible scheduling
– An AI system that siphons what students need to practice vs. what they don’t
– HR services for NO EXTRA CHARGE, including:
– enrollment follow-up
– student grouping
– level assignation
– attendance check
– general student management
– billing
So, there you have it:
Four creative solutions to start recruiting workers to your manufacturing company.
Start recruiting workers by:
1) having an open house,
2) increasing amenities
3) building a mentorship program
4) offering language classes
Try these four things, and let me know how much your business has changed because of it.
If you think you know someone who would find this blog useful, please don’t forget to share! Sharing lets me know you enjoyed what you read.