Employee Engagement Ideas for Manufacturing Industry: 11 Actionable Tips from our Experts

I grew up in a manufacturing family. My grandmother had her own manufacturing company, and my father. was a partner in a local manufacturing company. I still have very fond memories of working in and running the business. It was like one big happy family - most of the time, that is. We had employees who stayed with us pretty much from the beginning, which would be close to forty years in some cases. How do you get employees to stay with you long-term and contribute to the best of their ability? One of the answers is to ensure they are treated with respect, appreciated, and allowed to be fully engaged in their work environment. Employee engagement for factory workers is the key to creating a high-performance manufacturing culture.  Being fully engaged means different things to different people, but here are some of the best employee engagement activities in manufacturing companies. 

According to a recent study from Manufacturing, engaged employees have productivity rates that are 70 percent higher than those of non-engaged workers. They also enjoy a 78 percent higher safety record, 70 percent lower employee turnover, 86 percent greater customer satisfaction, and 44 percent greater profitability.

Employee Engagement Ideas for the Manufacturing Industry

• Ensure employees understand how their work connects to the company goals.  They are aligned to their purpose and impact, and it is more than just a job. Engage them in thoughtful business challenges to offer solutions. Let them know the bigger picture of what they are connected to, and it will make them more engaged and look for ways to achieve the company goals, not just their part in it.
• Make sure employees feel valued and appreciated. This is even more important than pay. I have always found it helpful for people to know how their work contributes to the company’s products, services, and overall success. Make sure you take the time to tell people how much you appreciate their efforts, skills, and attitude.  This must come from all manufacturing employees, team leaders, and the executive team - not just human resources.
• Implement training and development programs. Cross-train and rotate jobs to keep things fresh and strengthen the organization. Create a path of progress for each employee so that they have a personal plan for growth and something to look forward to and be excited about in their professional development.
• Listen to their ideas on how to improve efficiencies and the workplace environment. Implementing LEAN methodologies and creating the right culture goes a long way to providing employees the opportunity to use their minds and positively impact the shop floor.  This engagement strategy is one of the best, and remember to check back in with them regarding the progress of any suggestions that they make.
• Provide as much flexibility as possible with scheduling. If possible, let employees make up the schedule for job and shift rotations so that they are part of the decision-making process.  If employees can work the hours that best fit their lives, they are more likely to be engaged and stay with the team.  This is one of the biggest keys to employee satisfaction.
• Implement the “Great Game of Business” or another open-book management approach. When I was younger, I always wondered how to get employees to think like owners. By teaching people how the business makes money, sharing key information, and sharing in the profits, employees begin to understand how their efforts fit in, and this empowers them to think and act like owners.
• Create opportunities outside the workplace for employees to gather and socialize. This builds relationships across all levels and gives people the opportunity to get to know one another on a personal level. People who play together stay together. It also connects people and engages them more at all levels.  This employee experience allows them to increase teamwork and cross-functional team alignment.  Book Clubs for strategic and career development to create another way for people to engage with one another.
  
• Leverage online learning resources and virtual events with employees. This shows you are willing to invest in them and allow them to engage at a different level with others outside your company. We have been doing the MasterClasses at our company, which are extremely well done and informative. There are more online learning opportunities than ever before.
  
• Allow employees to be creative and innovative. It is a fact that some of the best product improvements or new product ideas come from the people who know the product best. Give employees some free time to work on new ideas and prototypes. 3M gives their employees up to 15% of their scheduled time to do so with the “15% Rule.” Engineers and scientists can doodle around, as they call it, to play with innovative product ideas.
• Hire people who fit the job requirements. Create Job Scorecards for each job and place candidates in positions that closely match their personality type and skills to achieve the most results. Put people in the right jobs to work to their strengths. When people feel good and enthusiastic about their work, they give it their best and stay with it.
• Love your employees. Randy Beck, E&Y talent expert, shared that “employee recognition wears off in seven days. “Give authentic recognition when people hit their goals and milestones. Being interested in and caring for your employees makes an enormous difference. At Rhythm Systems, appreciation is built into our communication, and it makes a difference in how engaged I am. Be open and vulnerable and allow your employees to engage with the real you. These connections can be powerful and encourage people to give everything they have. Throughout history, soldiers have risked their lives for great leaders they believed in.

When you have employee engagement, the result is a stronger company that retains loyal employees and customers, and that can provide better products and services that result in a stronger bottom line for manufacturing organizations.  Actively working on employee engagement in manufacturing industry will improve your bottom line.

I once heard someone say, wouldn’t it be great if we could get people to have the same passion and work ethic on company time as they do with their hobbies at home? I believe that by following some of the tips above you can!  Increase employee interactivity and engagements with these tips applied to the manufacturing sector.

Get your manufacturing employee engagement plan together to achieve optimal organizational performance, Alan

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Rhythm Systems 

Photo Credit: iStock by Getty Images