“Now Hiring!” “We’re Growing!” “Start Today & Earn a Bonus!”
Are you tired of seeing these messages posted on every business’s door? Unfortunately, many industries, including manufacturing, are struggling to find enough candidates to fill open job positions. As of May 2021, the US manufacturing industry had half a million job openings to fill, according to a report from Deloitte.
Many manufacturers saw older employees retire at an increasing rate last year, which has contributed to the influx of available positions. According to a survey from MetLife, in 2020, more than 1 in 10 Baby Boomers decided to retire sooner than expected. However, there simply haven’t been as many young workers coming in to replace the retirees.
Having enough employees on hand is essential if your company wants to take advantage of consumers’ surging demand for many products. Consider adopting the following strategies to boost your candidate base and capitalize on the growing economy.
Target New Demographics
Sadly, younger demographics are often hesitant to pursue a career in manufacturing simply because they don’t know much about it. For many people, “manufacturing” still conjures up images of hard and messy work, long hours and potentially dangerous conditions. Of course, that is no longer reflective of most manufacturing positions. There are tons of careers within manufacturing that don’t require manual labor, let alone a hard hat and steel-toed boots.
However, without exposure to modern plants and facilities, potential employees may not understand how far the industry has come in recent years. As you create or update materials used to promote job openings, be sure to prominently feature your advancements in technology, attractive work environment or any other appealing benefits you can offer. Video can be a particularly effective tool to show your employees in action and perhaps even interview them on what they enjoy about your work. Outlining this new reality of manufacturing will start to change the industry’s perception among young, skilled workers.
Address Changing Priorities
The new, young work force of today is quite different than the Baby Boomers, who were coming of age when the manufacturing industry hit its peak employment in 1979. Though pay rate will always be an important factor, Millennials and Gen Zs also prioritize other values in their workplace, including work/life balance, diversity and inclusion. In order to capture the interest of this younger audience, your organization must prove that you also share and have addressed these key concerns. If you’ve already taken concrete actions, such as adding flexible work hours, remote work options or inclusion training, announce those achievements proudly on any hiring materials you create. If you haven’t added these elements yet, consider how your organization can get started to make an impression on future prospects.
Consider Untapped Markets
Though nearly 50% of all workers in the US are women, men still make up more than two-thirds of all manufacturing employees as of May 2021. This phenomenon is part of a larger societal issue, where women are overwhelmingly pushed into more traditional caretaking roles, such as teaching or nursing. However, by overlooking the female audience, many organizations are still fueling the perception that manufacturing is a hyper-masculine industry, and as a result they are missing out on an important half of the workforce. If you do happen to have a number of female employees, consider highlighting them on your website and social media on a regular basis and promote their accomplishments to illustrate your support.
It’s also critical to continually meet female employees’ needs in order to retain their talent. According to a recent Deloitte survey, 1 in 4 women in manufacturing are considering leaving their jobs. For most of these employees, the decision comes down to the need for a more flexible schedule due to family obligations. If they want to keep positions filled, manufacturers must find ways to address and solve these issues internally.
As you work on your hiring efforts, it’s important to make the most of the workers you do have in the meantime. An advanced planning and scheduling tool, such as VirtECS, can be incredibly helpful in optimizing the allocation of your existing employees. VirtECS gives manufacturers the ability to make a model of their unique plant, from the layout of equipment to the number of employees available at any given time. Our clients have told us time and again how helpful our resource allocation tool has been for their operations. To learn more about VirtECS, check out our guide here.
