A Guide to the Modern Manufacturing Employee

S E L E C T W H I T E P A P E R Preparing for the next generation A Guide to the Modern Manufacturing Employee s e l e c t i n t e r n a t i o n a l .c o m s e l e c t i n t e r n a t i o n a l . c o m Authors: Rose Keith, Cassandra Walter, and Jaclyn Menendez, Ph.D. As expected, when a new generation replaces its predecessor, workplaces will change. As more millennials become leaders and managers in their organizations, we should expect a shift in values, motivators, and expectations. Be prepared to attract, manage, and collaborate with millennials in manufacturing using this guide. How to At tract Millennial Talent and Close the Skills Gap Partner with Local Community Colleges or Trade Schools The skills gap exists when there is no pipeline of candidates who are informed, motivated, and trained in the basic requirements for successful performance in manufacturing roles. One of the most direct and effective ways to combat this is to target your applicant search to students who have already exhibited an interest and basic aptitude for working in manufacturing. Organizations that embrace this mindset will go beyond job fairs and become a true partner with local educational programs. Preparing for the Next Generation A Guide to the Modern manufacturing Employee 1 How can you get started attracting young trade- schoolers? • Have monthly or quarterly tours for students interested in learning about the organization. • Set up internship programs and/or job shadowing opportunities. • Have a social media presence. Regularly post information about these internship programs and your company’s benefits. You can even run targeted advertising promoting the information you want to share. • If you use assessments in your selection process, offer testing opportunities at local schools to make it easier for candidates to complete your process. Assess Aptitude, Not Knowledge If a partnership with local communities is not feasible, great potential employees can still exist in your candidate pool. However, since applicants with little or no manufacturing experience will likely need more time to learn the role, they will require more upfront information about the job itself. Successful organizations know that aptitude to learn is almost as important as already having the skills for the job. If your selection system includes knowledge-based questions for a role that is entry-level or a role in which this knowledge can quickly be learned, then you’re likely screening out candidates who could be successful. Instead, assess a candidate’s ability to learn the job along with their personal preferences for the job type. S E L E C T W H I T E P A P E R Over the next decade nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs likely need to be filled. The skills gap is expected to result in 2 million of those jobs going unfilled.1 1The Manufacturing Institute/Deloitte analysis based on data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Gallup Survey. http://www.themanufacturinginstitute.org/~/media/827DBC76533942679A15EF7067A704CD/2015_Skills_Gap_Report.pdf 2These two factors will help increase your rate of hiring high potentials even when their current skillset is lacking. Consider an Automated Hiring Process You can optimize your hiring process and boost the candidate experience by using Assessment Process Outsourcing. The modern employee expects a smooth, communicative, and interactive hiring process. APO can take your recruiting and hiring process beyond basic candidate coordination to create a more positive experience both for candidates and hiring teams by using cutting-edge, predictive analytics and other solutions, like: • Simplified logistics using a framework for regular candidate contact, scheduling, and applicant tracking. • Psychometric testing to evaluate culture fit and aptitude for critical roles like machine operators, team leads, and production managers. This will give both you and your candidates an idea of the type of role in which they will perform best and be happiest. • Physical production simulations measure applicants’ ability to perform physical tasks. They also give candidates an idea of what to expect on-the-job, which is appealing to younger generations who are used to having information at their fingertips. Update Your Culture to be an Employer of Choice Manufacturing jobs are hard work. They typically come with long hours, less-than-ideal shifts, and physically demanding tasks. But, the manufacturing industry has evolved, and it is important to update your workplace environment, rules, and perspectives. The good news is that the heart of this issue is impression management – and that is entirely within your control. Think about it this way: manufacturing has never been safer or more innovative, and opportunities for advancement are readily available for those who want to turn the job into a career. • Offer social activities and support charities – this will help to build morale and comradery among employees and allow them to feel like they are a part of the big picture within your organization. • Create offerings for a good work-life balance. We’ll provide suggestions for how to do this in the manufacturing industry in the next section. • Provide training and development opportunities. It has been shown that millennials value development opportunities in the workplace. Once you’ve found the right employees to bring onboard, you’ll want to keep developing their skillset regardless of their background. Plus, as a bonus, your company will have a higher caliber of employees who can mentor the next wave of new hires. s e l e c t i n t e r n a t i o n a l . c o m S E L E C T W H I T E P A P E R Manufacturing has evolved – when recruiting young candidates, leverage innovative technology and automated systems Rebrand Now that you’ve done all this work to position yourself to best recruit new talent to your plant, get it out there! Manufacturing has evolved – when recruiting young candidates, leverage innovative technology and automated systems. Young talent will be more attracted to the job if they know that it will be intellectually stimulating and innovative. 3Master the Art of Managing Millennials Give Regular Feedback Proactive millennials will likely ask you for feedback before you even have the chance to give it to them. Make ongoing feedback a regular practice for all your employees. Here’s how: • Set up weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly meetings to not only discuss current projects, but to also give feedback. • Give real-time feedback. In addition to providing employees with feedback during your 1:1 meetings, give real-time feedback as work is completed so it can be tied back to examples. • Focus on the content of your feedback – feedback is more effective when it is task- focused and simple. Furthermore, being specific to the task can increase learning because employees can envision how to make effective changes. • Give feedback relative to a neutral standard, rather than in comparison to peers. Be Flexible Even your non-millennial employees are valuing flexibility more than ever, many thanks to the technology that enables us to blur the line between work and life. This is easier to accomplish in an office setting, but, there are ways to offer flexibility and offer better work-life balance in a manufacturing setting: • Consider having more flexible shift offerings through split shifts or days on/days off. This allows employees to manage family and health-related priorities in addition to work. • Get the input of employees on when they would most benefit from break time. • Foster an environment that encourages shift swapping. This allows employees to feel like they have more control over their lives and schedules. Focus on Development Create a culture that prioritizes training and development. These efforts do not have to be time-consuming and expensive. Here are some simple, yet effective ways to incorporate employee development into your management plan: • Schedule a monthly meeting with your direct reports that solely focuses on development. Together, come up with a training need, and devise a plan for how you will help your employee get that training. Make sure that you follow up, and hold your employee accountable for his/her own development as well. • Create in-house programs and certifications. Offer voluntary trainings and programs to anyone who wants to learn specialized skills. Investing in new employee development is beneficial for everyone involved: employees gain a sense of pride in themselves and commitment to the organization. Don’t Put Too Much Stock into Generational Differences At the end of the day, try to see beyond generational boundaries. Although a lot has been written (by us, too!) about differences between generations, it’s important not to focus too much on these distinctions. We’re all at least partly products of our time, but some characteristics that have been attributed to millennials are probably simply a factor of them being young. s e l e c t i n t e r n a t i o n a l . c o m S E L E C T W H I T E P A P E R Create a culture that prioritizes training and development. 4For example, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the Baby Boomer generation had just as many different jobs in their twenties as millennials. Take it a step further by promoting cross- generational teams. Many millennials prefer to work collaboratively on projects. Allow opportunities for employees to brainstorm solutions for commonly encountered problems, or set up committees to spearhead new initiatives. This will allow older generations to see value in what younger generations have to offer, and vise-versa. Set Career Paths and Make Them Visible Seeing a clear career path within your company is motivating to employees, especially millennials. Regularly communicate or publish on your intranet a ladder of potential careers available as well as job trajectory for each role in your plant. Demonstrate Task Significance Millennials and Gen Z’s aren’t just looking for a job to pay the bills. They don’t want to feel like a number. They want to know that what they’re doing matters and is having a larger impact. Demonstrate to employees how their work matters to the big picture. Show how they are contributing to the organization meeting its goals and missions, and as an organization, show how you are contributing to society. What’s Next? Looking to Generation Z The next generation has recently moved into the workforce. What do we know so far about this group, born in the mid-1990s to mid-2000s, and what can we expect from them? s e l e c t i n t e r n a t i o n a l . c o m S E L E C T W H I T E P A P E R Extreme Comfort with Technology Although millennials began heavily using technology as children and teenagers, Generation Z was born into a world where the internet, email, and smartphones already existed. Social networking is very natural, and very important, to this group, and most of their socializing happens through their phones. Texting and apps like Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat are more popular than Facebook and regular emailing. In terms of what this means for the workplace, we can expect that they will be comfortable using all kinds of technology. Risk Adverse and Practical They’ve been shaped by the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Great Recession, and are therefore thought to be more risk-adverse than the generation before them. Whether this will translate into less job-hopping remains to be seen, especially since they also are reported to be very practical. If one job doesn’t suit them for one reason or another, they may decide that finding a new job is the most practical thing to do. Recognizing and preparing for the workplace change caused by technology advancements and generational shifts will position HR professionals in the manufacturing industry for success. Understanding how the modern employee is motivated and communicates, as well as being open to new technology, is key. The channels and frequency of communication may change, but as long as those communication channels remain open, generations spanning from baby boomers to Gen Z can continue to work together effectively.