Heres How Top Companies Find Tough-to-Find Manufacturing Workers

Heres How Top Companies Find Tough-to-Find Manufacturing WorkersHeres How Top Companies Find Tough-to-Find Manufacturing WorkersHeres How Top Companies Find Tough-to-Find Manufacturing WorkersByCatherine ConlanAs a manufacturer, having the right people in place can make the difference for yur products. Yet finding top talent can be challenging, especially since youre not the only employer trying to recruit manufacturing workers. So how do you stand out and win the race for the best?In todays market, its not only about what the candidate can contribute to the company but what can the company contributes to the candidate, says Brian Kingston, HR director at MC Assembly in Melbourne, Florida.Here are some expert tips for how to recruit and retain the best manufacturing employees.Build a Strong Employer BrandIn a hyper-competitive job market like the one were in today, recruiting via online career sites like and building a solid online employment brand is critical. Taking the time to bui ld out our company profiles and job descriptions so that candidates can get a sense of our culture, values and an overview of our business is more important than ever.In addition, we work hard to ensure that each and every job description we deutsche post ag not only describes the skills and experience that we need, but also helps candidates understand whats in it for them. Whether thats advancement opportunity, fun technology tools to work with or our company culture, we want the candidate to get excited about our role, hopefully setting it apart from all of the competition.Steve Nielsen, Co-founder and CMO, aspectLED, Arden Hills, MinnesotaExperiment with Your Social Media ChannelsTo bolster our recruitment efforts, we mobilize our established social media network they are some of our best advocates. To break through the clutter we try to make our recruitment posts engaging, as opposed to traditional, staid job announcements. For instance, we recently featured a successful post of feringFantastic Jobs and Where to Find Them.Tammy Clausen, Business Growth and Development Manager, Product Handling Concepts, Appleton, WisconsinCompete on Pay and BenefitsIf we want to attract and retain the best workers, we have to continue investing in our employees with competitive pay and benefits. Gold Medal provides employees with competitive pay and an outstanding comprehensive employee benefits package. We offer medical, dental, vision and life insurance, as well as short- and long-term disability insurance. In addition, our excellent 401(k) plan matches 57 cents on the dollar for the first 12% of the employees contribution. Plusprofit-sharing is also offered to all employees annually, based on business performance.Craig Oaks, Vice President of Human Resources, Gold Medal Products, CincinnatiBuild a TalentPipeline EarlyWe partner with local trade programs and high-school shop classes to get in front of candidates before they even graduate. Identifying candidates that are o pen to learning manufacturing skills is the key to having a successful employee training program.Andrew Gilbert, Director of Operations, Caretta Workspace, Lewis Center, OhioOffer ApprenticeshipsBradley teamed up with non-profit group GPS Education Partners to launch an in-house manufacturing school and apprenticeship program at its headquarters/plantwith the idea of ultimately hiring the trained students upon graduation. Twenty-five local high-school juniors and seniors attend academic and skilled trades classes at its headquarters every morningand work as paid apprentices in its plant and some other plants in the area every afternoon. Students also work through school breaks and summer vacation.Bryan Mullett, CEO, Bradley Corp., Menomonee Falls, WisconsinStreamline the ProcessMaking the application process as simple as possible is very important. We evaluated our job apply process and continue to do so in order to balance that line between simplicity and compliance and getting eno ugh details to determine if an bewerberinterview is appropriate. Also, we recently enabled the ability to apply via any device. This way if someone wants to apply directly to one of our jobs with a smartphone, tablet or computer, they can.Corey Listar, Director of Staffing Operations, Oldcastle, Rochester, New YorkOnboard Employees ThoroughlyOn the first day we start new hires with a safety and quality training. This allows employees to learn safety tips, who to call, where to go and how to work in a safe way. It also stresses the most important aspect to our business quality as our No. 1 priority. This happens well before an employee walks onto the production floor.On-the-job training follows the safety and quality training. New hires are identified on the production floor with a different colored smock and are assigned a mentor. Once the supervisor and mentor believe the OTJ is complete and the employee is ready to be on their own, our quality manager will assess their skill and w hat they learned, and confirm the employees is ready to perform the job on their own.Brian Kingston, HR director, MC Assembly, Melbourne, FloridaProvide Ongoing TrainingAn effective employee training plan can be the key to keeping employees happy, engaged and efficient. At Totally Promotional we focus heavily on ongoing training that keeps employees on the cutting edge of job and best practices. This employee development includes webinars and outside sources, internally composed training and live training provided by vendors and suppliers. We have found that with an excellent training plan in place you can take a motivated new hire and get them up to speed in a very short amount of time.Brad Stultz, Human Resource Coordinator, Totally Promotional, Coldwater, OhioIts Time to Find the Best Manufacturing Talent for your BusinessAre you ready to hire great manufacturing workers to help grow your company? That talent may be hard to find in todays tight labor market. Were here to help. Si gn up for exclusive https//www.youtube.com/advice and well send you the latest information to help you hire the talent you need, from crafting the job description to posting the job in all the right places. Well even throw in a special job posting offer to get you moving in the right direction. Its time to hire the team you need and start manufacturing.