By Wasana Nadeeshani Sellahewa
(Commonwealth) _ What does the business lose when a manufacturing employee leaves? The amount of work that one person may produce and any tribal wisdom they may have amassed are both lost. The costs associated with finding, vetting, and hiring a replacement can be added to the list of losses that occur when a familiar face is replaced by a foreign one. The list continues on, but the message is abundantly clear: turnover is expensive, particularly in the industrial sector.
According to some estimates, the financial toll that turnover takes on companies in the industrial sector each year totals hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars. The average cost of training is $3,000 per hire, plus an extra $1,500 per employee every year. A recent study indicated that two out of every five manufacturing enterprises have a turnover rate of more than 20%, making it one of the worst rates of any U.S. industry.
When viewed in light of the present manufacturing worker crisis, the urgency of finding a solution to this problem increases. U.S. industrial businesses have been hampered for years by a lack of competent labor, and the skills gap is only becoming wider. An estimated 2.5 million industrial positions would go vacant by 2028. The issue is partly caused by the Baby Boomers’ concurrent retirement and the younger generations’ generally lackluster interest in skilled labor positions.
A recent study indicated that two out of every five manufacturing enterprises have a turnover rate of more than 20%, making it one of the worst rates of any U.S. industry. Manufacturing employers need to be aware that they are engaged in a fierce competition for top personnel. Retaining the existing workforce is among the strongest strategies for success.
Employee retention lowers turnover costs for manufacturing organizations, and as an extra bonus, employees with longer tenure typically do better work. Long-term workers are familiar with all the tricks of the trade and have a more comprehensive awareness of the rationale behind the operations of your manufacturing organization. The degree of expertise that results from experience cannot be replaced.
Employers in the industrial sector may offer outstanding, unique employee experiences in a number of ways. Some alternatives will make more sense than others depending on the breadth of your company’s resources and the intensity of its current culture. We’ll cover a number of tips for creating a culture and creating an employee experience that rivals that of other manufacturing organizations later on in this eBook.
Low turnover rates are characteristic of the most prosperous industrial firms. We’ll also provide companies practical advice on how to handle the opposite situation, which is one in which workers are blatantly unhappy. In these situations, a hostile work atmosphere leads to turnover. Employers need to address the harmful causes (whatever they may be) to reduce turnover.
Employees in the manufacturing sector occasionally work in noxious surroundings. You are intentionally pushing employees away from your business and are probably also breaking the law if you force them to work in hazardous or otherwise physically damaging conditions.
Even when the physical surroundings of a workplace are satisfactory, cultural issues can nevertheless contribute to a hazardous work environment. Leaders trying to lower turnover at manufacturing organizations should also be on the lookout for interpersonal situations that can drive workers away, whether it be micromanagement, unfriendly coworkers, or a general bad group mentality.
Your manufacturing business needs a plan that combines proactive and preventative actions if you want to reduce turnover far, far below the industry average. Eliminating harmful elements that may be adversely affecting your workplace is the first step in any effective battle against turnover, as was indicated in the previous section. Do not demand that workers compromise on safety requirements. Do not ask them to put up with rude classmates. Do not expect them to put up with unprofessional bosses. Simply put, do not ask workers to endure a poisonous work environment, either physically or otherwise.
