Answering the Challenges Businesses Face: Part One
“Making good decisions is a crucial skill at every level.” Peter Drucker In this three-part article, we will address some top challenges faced by manufacturing organizations: Decreasing level of skills presented by entry-level candidates including those of both written and verbal communication, An increase in employee “no shows” and “no calls,” The inability of companies to adjust to market realities, and Why workers, especially temps, seem less engaged Deficits in entry level candidates Choosing a new hire can seem like betting on a roulette wheel particularly when candidates seem to lack even basic skills. Deficits appear in different ways,…
MPS Technical Clarifies Onboarding – Training Process for Clients
1. What exactly is an onboarding and training process? MPS. Onboarding and training are defined as a strategic orientation and training process that seamlessly brings a new hire to his or her A-game as quickly as possible. It should include the following: Learning the organization and its goals Fitting in with the company culture Clarification of roles and performance expectations Introduction of policies and procedures On-job system or task training Onboarding can include additional objectives such as classroom training, e-learning or simulations. Some manufacturing firms also offer mentoring. 2. Many manufacturers consider this process mission critical. Why is it so important?…
More Strategies to Decrease the Skills Gap and Grow Your Business (Part Two)
In Part One, we presented strategies recapped from the winter edition of Enterprise Minnesota’s 2015 CEO Council. Part Two concludes our recap with additional strategies. Leading beyond the command-and-control model While most manufacturers concur that developing leaders is particularly important to growing business, Pat Voyles, a leadership consultant, thinks less than 10% percent of firms admit to having talent management as part of their business planning process. She says attitudes drive behavior; behavior drives actions; actions drive results; and results drive performance. If results don’t look like we want, we need to examine our actions. A different mindset is needed…
8 Reasons to Think About Hiring a Veteran
Those in the precision manufacturing or industrial sector often are preoccupied with finding the right candidates to fill their skills gap. Should you consider taking a closer look at recruiting and hiring a veteran, as there are nearly one million unemployed military veterans in America (House Committee on Veteran’s Affairs)? Could you be part of the solution that assists the U.S. in reducing these unemployment levels? These attributes make good reasons to regard veterans as candidates for manufacturing jobs: They understand teamwork and diversity, for they have learned to work side by side with all kinds of individuals, regardless of…
Strategies to Decrease the Skills Gap and Grow Your Business – Part One
The Enterprise Minnesota’s Statewide CEO Council event in October 2015, yielded ideas that were adapted to address the skills gap faced by manufacturers. The winter edition of Enterprise Minnesota shared several valuable ideas which we thought would be appropriate to pass along to you. The following strategies represent Part One. Position manufacturing in a different way Joe Mulford, President Pine Tech Community College, has direct experience addressing the skills gap. He believes manufacturers must first understand the seven steps to position manufacturing in the right direction. One: Mulford states that firms need to understand that the problem is competitive and…
Are Spring Fever, Rabbit Sightings, and Job Hoppers Headed Your Way?
May brings warmer weather and a yearning for outside activities. Birds seek fodder to build their nests, ducklings waddle in lines, and bunnies scamper under shrubs. Ahhh…Spring! But does spring bring to your door the occasional job hopper . . . the candidate who just a few years ago would have been seen as rare or disloyal? It seems the practice of switching jobs every few years has become more common, especially among Millennials. Since this practice is becoming more acceptable for whatever reason, precision manufacturing companies must recognize both the down and the up side of job-hopping candidates. Evidence…