New ideas: How to engage a manufacturing workforce

But why is employee engagement such a problem in manufacturing?

There are plenty of theories about this: jobs are too repetitive and unchallenging; wages are too low to be a motivator; it’s hard to feel part of a team when your role is static etc. And add to these the fact that manufacturing businesses commonly feature a mix of older and younger workers and these groups have very different views on what to expect at work and from their employer. Those differences can also contribute to disengagement if expectations are not met.

Clearly there’s an issue. What can HR DO about it?

One of the practical problems in manufacturing environments is that a large proportion of staff simply come to work, do their job and then leave. In doing so, they have limited opportunities to interact with colleagues face-to-face and they don’t have access to a company intranet or a corporate email account. Quite literally it’s difficult to reach out to these kinds of employees and the result is that they can feel isolated and disengaged. It’s a vicious circle.

Manufacturing HR leads need to think creatively

The principles of good employee engagement are the same in manufacturing as they are for any other business in any other sector: to boost engagement you need to ‘connect’ with employees and encourage them to feel valued and part of a team. Achieving that practically in a manufacturing environment is harder, but not impossible. The introduction of technology also creates new opportunities to engage (in addition to more traditional offline ones).

A good first step is for HR to carry out an employee survey to set a baseline for engagement and to deepen understanding of the workforce mood as well as collecting ideas on what staff would like to see. For the staff who are online or have access to a company intranet, communicating is easy. You could also consider using an HR software solution to target and communicate with the workforce. For factory floor and operational staff, perhaps a paper survey in the canteen is an option – or you could get group responses via team meetings for example.

Think about what you want to communicate

Feeling part of something bigger is about having a clear and shared sense of purpose. What do your business leaders say about their vision for the company? What makes them proud and what behaviours do they seek to encourage more of from across the workforce? HR can lead the way on this, helping the leadership team to evolve a vision that all staff can relate to and get behind.

Communicating that vision can be online using company communication tools as well as offline – everything from floor walks and meet and greet sessions with the leaders and factory staff, to posters and messages in payslips for example. The most forward-thinking manufacturers could even consider introducing a company mobile app – pretty much everyone has access to a mobile these days, even if it isn’t a company one.

One other effective strategy is to introduce an employee recognition scheme. That doesn’t just mean offering prizes or gifts for high performers – at the other end of the scale, it can also be a simple yet powerful thank-you when someone has gone out of their way to help a colleague or customer.

Boosting employee engagement should be front of mind for every manufacturing business – especially during times of economic and political uncertainty when it’s so important to pull together. And this is also a great opportunity for HR to lead the way.

For further inspiration about how manufacturing HR leads can achieve quick wins – check out our FREE guide Driving Change in HR: Applying Marginal Gains in 2019 (Manufacturing Edition)