The resurgence of American manufacturing means companies look to innovate, boost efficiency and hire the right kinds of manufacturing workers. To that end, ResourceMFG surveyed as many employees, job seekers and clients' workers as possible in July 2015 as a way to gauge exactly what the industry's workers want out of a job.
This online survey sought to determine how strategic decisions impact the workforce at a plant. When managers, supervisors and owners make changes that seem to benefit the company, it may affect the productivity of manufacturing workers on the floor. Therefore, this survey wanted to get the reactions of employees and figure out what they want the most from their positions.
Questions started with basic employment needs such as "What is most important to you?" and "What is least important to you?" Then the survey delved into issues important to manufacturing workers as a whole that may not come up in everyday conversations among managers and supervisors. More specific questions helped ascertain the thoughts of employees regarding unions, pay levels, shift preferences and reasons for changing jobs.
In the first part of a series of blogs, Keith Wisner, Vice President of Supply Chain Analytics at EmployBridge, says the findings of the survey should help businesses create strategic decisions that benefit manufacturing workers. Moving forward, the ultimate aim of the research is to create an understanding of what makes employees work better by aligning the goals of workers with that of companies. The results compiled the responses of 2,500 workers over a wide range of manufacturers and clients.
Survey respondents denoted pay as the most important factor — out of a total of nine factors — for manufacturing workers looking for a job. The second-most important issue for job seekers is employment security, followed by benefits, enjoyment of the work and good supervisors in descending order. The answers to this question, and other questions in follow-up blog posts, illuminate how companies can take this information and make relevant decisions about higher-paying jobs, training and other workforce issues.
This research follows a pattern in American manufacturing as more jobs return to the United States. Manufacturing companies gained more jobs than they lost for the first time in 20 years in 2014, a statistic borne out of the reshoring of jobs and a better global economy. This means higher-paying jobs could be on the horizon for workers, but they must have the right training to maintain a competitive advantage.
Employees need to know how to use machinery, repair automated equipment and understand the software behind it. Companies must provide a way for workers to receive training, either through a local community college or within a plant, to keep employees educated on the latest techniques. Otherwise, American companies may find it more difficult to fill positions due to an underqualified workforce with a huge skills gap, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Manufacturing workers have a lot to look forward to thanks to better jobs, more job openings and opportunities for advancement. Companies must take the issues most relevant to employees into account when applying strategic company decisions to have the best outcome for the industry as a whole.
Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Become a member to take advantage of more features, like commenting and voting.
Register or sign in today!