Adding “Cultural Fit” into Your Hiring Practice
A healthy selection process is a lot like good gardening. Companies that fail to pay attention to and critically assess the cultural fit of job candidates are missing a fabulous opportunity to plant healthy seeds and thus shape the future of their “organizational garden.” They are also apt to inadvertently sew seeds that will not grow well in their soil. Worse yet, they may allow “weeds” to slip in. The result is a lot of unnecessary work and waste. A most successful workplace was a major plant start-up in southeastern North Carolina. A multi-national organization was building an electro-mechanical, metal fabrication…
Manufacturers Are Hiring!
According to a poll conducted this summer by Twin Cities Business, 38% of business leaders from around Minnesota are planning to hire. Hiring is up 10% and this is currently one of the best hiring outlooks since Q2 2012. The precision and medtech manufacturing industry in the Twin Cities and western Wisconsin is definitely ready to increase their workforces. In fact, the Twin Cities Business’ survey also found that a top concern for business leaders was finding qualified candidates to fill positions in engineering, machining and technical. Many of these high-skilled positions are found in manufacturing. As a job seeker…
Finding the Next Generation of Manufacturing Leaders
With Minnesota experiencing a 4.6% unemployment rate, according to Twin Cities Business, the labor market is tight. As a manufacturer with high demand for products and a workforce edging closer and closer to retirement age, you are not only concerned about finding employees to keep the day-to-day operations going, but also employees who can be future leaders and keep the company moving forward. The Manufacturing Leadership Community recently cited that attracting Millennials into manufacturing is critical to developing a pipeline of future leaders. By 2025 Millennials (born early 1980s through early 2000s) will make up 75% of the workforce. What…
The Flip Side of Lower Unemployment
In June, Minnesota saw its unemployment rate decrease to 4.5%. While this is a good sign for the economy, there is a flip side. It means a tighter market for skilled workers. Precision manufacturing and medtech in particular have experienced this downside for quite some time. David Fondler of the Saint Paul Pioneer Press recently interviewed MPS Technical about the flip side of lower unemployment. When asked if businesses are suffering from the current environment MPS responded, “Absolutely.” They point not only to a tighter market for skilled-workers, but also to demographic and cultural trends. There aren’t enough young folks to…
Minnesota Manufacturing: Thriving
Jake Anderson of the Twin Cities Business Magazine recently reported “More Minnesota Manufacturers Say They’re Thriving” based on a new report. The report also showed that Minnesota is also faring better than the nation as a whole. The annual report by McGladrey LLP surveyed 920 U.S. manufacturing and distribution firms, 62 from Minnesota, reports Mr. Anderson. Here are some of the results: 42% of MN respondents said they were “thriving” compared to 36% nationally Sales grew for 74% of the MN respondents versus 69% nationwide Wisconsin is even more confident with 44% reporting they are “thriving” Mr. Anderson reports these…
The Importance of Candidate Credentials
NIMS certifications will only continue to grow in importance in a local precision manufacturing market with such a strong presence of medical device companies. Certifications offer candidates a significant edge in job competition as these Twin Cities employers seek greater and greater levels of assurance that prospective employees can deliver what is required in the workplace. Why? Medical device employers live in a world governed by ISO 9000 and FDA “traceability” standards. They are required at the macro-level to certify they can perform at defined levels of excellence with respect to their ultimate experience and satisfaction of their customers. These…