Best Practices for Hiring Manual Workers for Manufacturing

Hiring for manufacturing positions has become increasingly more challenging. More than 75 percent of manufacturers report a moderate to severe shortage of skilled workers. With a significant portion of manufacturing workers nearing retirement age, hiring managers are faced with the monumental task of filling manufacturing positions with younger workers, which takes a more creative approach.

Enhancing Your Culture

The culture of your workplace plays a big role in attracting and retaining employees. The perception of your company can help make the difference for candidates who might be deciding between several different opportunities.

One important way to enhance the culture of your workplace is to demonstrate trust in your employees. Operations managers should look for ways to give more autonomy to workers and build policies to allow workers to better understand how their work affects customers. Workers who feel valued contribute to a stronger culture.

Offering incentives to employees is another way companies acknowledge the skill of their workers. This is an additional method to help workers feel valued and further enhance the culture of the workplace.

Educational Opportunities

Modern manufacturing has become increasingly more technical. Hiring managers report that it is much more difficult to find workers with the technical expertise to fill these roles.

Partnering with local universities and trade schools can give your business an edge in finding young talent with the technical savvy to fill these skilled positions. Consider implementing an internship program to draw in potential employees. Interns can help cover open positions and provide a well trained pool of candidates from which to draw when hiring new full time employees.

Having a presence at high school and college career fairs can greatly increase awareness of your company. This type of exposure gives you the opportunity to teach people about the product you manufacture and the processes involved in creating your product.

Network with Organizations

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) recently testified before the U.S. House of Representatives about the skills gap that exists in manufacturing. Being a member of such an organization can have a positive effect on recruiting efforts. Additionally, reaching out to other manufacturers in your area can enable your organization to join forces to create assistantships that can be mutually beneficial.  

Broaden the Search

In addition to partnering with universities and trade schools, consider partnering with institutions who provide assistance to the long-term unemployed, single parents, or those who have been incarcerated. These institutions commonly provide training for people to increase their technical and soft skills, as well as offering work placement opportunities.

Military bases and veterans administrations are another good source of potential employees. Participate in events and programs designed to help veterans move back into civilian life. In many cases veterans have already been trained with the technical skills that may apply to your industry. The U.S. Department of Labor provides a useful guide on steps you can take to better reach out to veterans.

Manage Salary Expectations

With the laws of supply and demand, consider raising salaries in order to fill positions and retain current employees. A more attractive salary can help lure potential skilled candidates in a competitive marketplace. Consult with hiring experts to make sure your workers are being paid in line with standards in your industry.

Keep Them Challenged

Salary is not always the greatest motivator for manufacturing workers. Engineering minds like the challenge of solving problems. Providing your workers with challenging problems and allowing workers to solve them on their own creates a culture that could be more attractive to potential candidates.

Finding the right skilled workers for manufacturing positions can be challenging. Working with a company who excels at creatively facing this challenge could be a great benefit to your business!